Precipice Peak is in the Cimarron Mountains south of Montrose, Colorado. The peak is quite visible from the town of Montrose. So since moving here in August, it has acted as a magnet, pulling me that direction ever since.

The timing was also good in that we would get to see the aspen trees turning on the drive to Owl Creek Pass. With a great day forecast, a really cool looking peak and the fall colors; I was getting excited!

The road was a bit of a mad house even early in the morning with a lot of people out hunting and leaf watching. Once we passed the Courthouse Mountain trailhead, the road got a bit rough. I used 4-wheel drive in a few spots and definitely needed all my clearance getting to the Wetterhorn Basin Trailhead at the end of the road.

From the trailhead you could pretty much see the entire route up to the peak. The initial section through the trees sucked, partly because I couldn't keep us on the use trail. Early on we saw a group of 5 about 500 feet above us. Soon we passed them, I guess we are finally getting acclimated to starting every hike above 10k, and were above the treeline on better terrain.

There were some spots of loose scree, but never too bad or long. The route really becomes enjoyable when you start approaching the huge notch in the rock which you will climb through and gain access to the upper slopes.

From here the fun doesn't stop as you get some more easy scrambling, then a use trail to the top.

The views of Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn from the peak are tremendous, but I think the hoodoos all around take the prize. We will surely need to explore the Middle Fork of the Cimarron drainage, as that looked stunning!

Great day and great peak!

From Highway 550, take Owl Creek Road to Owl Creek Pass (15 miles). .3 miles after the pass, turn right onto FR 860. Follow FR 860 for 3.3 miles to the trailhead. The last 1.5 miles of the road are rocky and require slow driving and high clearance. I had to use 4WD coming out of the creek crossing.

From the trailhead, basically start heading east up the creek bed. There is a use trail through the trees, it is hard to stay on it. Once out of the trees, we really just angled toward the saddle south of the peak at ~12600'.

From the saddle, there is a good climber's trail to a huge notch. Climb through the notch, which gives you access to the upper slopes of Precipice Peak.