At 7,893’, Garfield County’s Red Mountain isn’t a very powerful peak, but it does have a name and a dramatic north face that towers 1,600’ above I-70 and West Glenwood Springs. It is the namesake for several business in Glenwood. This steep, broken face consists of loose, rotten cliff bands punctuated by several nasty gullies whose steepness exceeds 60 degrees. It seems like an unlikely place for a climb. Despite these drawbacks, there are two possible routes directly up the face: a large couloir just east of center (class 5) and a dirt buttress that forms this couloir’s west ridge (class 4). Both of these routes are extremely steep, loose and dangerous. They are also theoretical, and it is possible, if not likely, that they have never been climbed. The North Couloir has been skied, however, by at least two brave parties in banner snow years.
Red Mountain
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