Overview

The Citadel is a 13er just off I-70 about an hour from Denver. It goes at class 3, but has great options for picking 4th and 5th class lines out. Most of the route up to the Citadel is class 2 hiking, but the finally summit towers require a few class 3 moves. This is where you can optionally venture into 4th and 5th class terrain. The distance is reasonable for a half day, and it does not have 14er style crowds. In my opinion, this makes it a better a experience than any of the Denver metro 14ers via their standard routes.

Distance: ~ 6.5 miles

Vertical: ~3100 ft

Time: 4 hours 40 minutes

Getting There

Take I-70 to the Loveland Ski Area Exit 216. Parking is roadside on FS-193.1 just before the gate.

From here, follow the forest service road leading up into Dry Gulch which is the meadow sitting beneath the Citadel.

Route

The route follows a dirt trail before turning into a mucky semi-path leading through willows. It then turns abruptly up hill for a steep section for which there is more or less no trail.

After climbing above the treeline, the steep section flattens out below the saddle on the southeast side of The Citadel.

Follow the saddle up for a while before hitting the a section rocks just below the base of the final summit towers. There are two summit towers, and one is slightly than the other. For full value, however, do both!

To gain the first summit tower, pick from a series of chutes on the south side of the tower. There is 3rd class chute. Opting for fun, we took the 2nd chute up which was solid 4th class. As always, there was some loose rock, so exercise caution and wear a helmet.

From the first summit tower’s top, you can walk west to downclimb class 3 terrain and follow more class 3 terrain leading to the final summit block. Finally, enjoy a seat on the summit block!

For the descent, walk down the final summit tower; then, downclimb through the dirt-filled chute between the towers heading south. You then walk the base of the towers back down and retrace your steps the rest of the way.