Senator Gulch

This beautiful high alpine canyon is a downclimber's dream and includes incredible views of the Canyon Creek valley as the approach hike takes you above treeline.

Drive up Camp Bird Rd from Ouray. Just after Thistledown CG and Weehawken Creek, you will reach a culvert under the road and two switchbacks just after a drainage with falls in it. This is Senator Gulch and you can leave your vehicle for the shuttle at the parking area at the lower switchback. After you've dropped your car, continue up Camp Bird Rd. Once you've passed the turnoff for Governor Basin and gone through the overhanging section of the shelf road, there is a pullout on the right which used to be an old mining road. You will see an open gate and maybe an old campfire, this is the start of the approach ( 37.974872°,-107.740745°). Don't camp here, the NFS will leave you a ticket. Walk up the switchbacking mining road towards Bimetalist Mine. Start out on the obvious overgrown road, then go right onto the less visible road. If you head up to Hawkeye Mine with a view just left into a waterfall/dry fall, you have to retreat back down and find the other road. As you near treeline you will see an old mining cabin, this is where the route finding becomes more difficult. Find little used trails with occasional cairns as you work your way uphill. When turning toward the north, find a well used wide game trail contouring up to 12,000ft. At 12,000ft, keep on the trail to the northeast dropping into the basin and enjoy the amazing cirque surrounding the upper basin. Work your way down about 1,000ft in elevation staying to the right or the left of the rivulets that form the gulch. Take a trail on either side of the valley down to the 11,100 foot level. The first rappel is just above 11,000 feet.

R0 Walking down the watercourse, the first 50' waterfall can be bypassed before the canyon really starts another thousand feet further down canyon. R1: ~100' from tree CR into a multi-stage rappel R2: ~70' from an anchor built on a middle stage Combined, these can be done with one rope of 180'. Be careful of the pull if combining. R3: 130' from a tree CR R4: 100' from a tree CR. Nice chute into a pothole, then a second drop. The good down climbing in Senator Gulch begins after R4. R5: 60' from a rock in canyon center R6: 100' tree RDC, two stage Long walk to next rap, lots of down climbing throughout R7: 60’ log in water course R8: 130' from a tree CR. This is the big rappel near the road and is ice climbed in winter. Two bolt anchors are on the shelf just below the top. Use a tree or rock pinch to rappel to the bolts on the shelf or to rappel in or out of the flow to the bottom. A climber trail departs the base of this waterfall and returns to a switchback on the dirt road, skipping the last rappel. R9: roadside 45' final drop using a 100' rope from a tree CR or climb up CL and rappel from tree