Peaks Climbed: "Tincup Peak" & Emma Burr Mountain

Peak Heights: 13,345' / 13,538'

Route: W Slopes / S Ridge

Difficulty: Class 2

Location: Sawatch Mountains, Colorado

Trailhead: Saint Elmo

Mileage & Gain: 16.7 mi & 4,600 ft RT

Date Climbed: February 10, 2019

Saint Elmo is a great winter destination. It seems to be a snowmobiling hot spot and the jeep roads in the area are very well tracked. The six mile stretch to 12,154' Tincup Pass is even GROOMED and we didn't need snowshoes until the very end.

What better way to start off a birthday than an absolutely magnificent alpine sunrise, complete with that comfortably familiar and somehow enchanting screech of those dear mountain chickens (aka ptarmigans). We'd started slogging up the road in the wee hours and endured bitter cold to earn this prize.

The route from the pass up and over Tincup Peak to Emma Burr was straightforward and posed no difficulties other than the cold!