Signal Mountain and South Signal Mountain (WINTER)
Date: February 24, 2024 (Sat)Trip Report #: 676Partner: solo
Route: Snow-covered Bulwark Ridge trail (~12.5 miles round trip, ~3600 ft gain/loss, snowy)
The northeastermost point in RMNP.
South Signal Mountain lies at the extreme northeastern corner of RMNP. The slightly higher Signal Mountain is located 0.6 mile northeast in neighboring Comanche Peak Wilderness Area. The two summits peek out over the forested landscape of the Comanche Peak Wilderness Area and offer a unique view of RMNP's northeasternmost peaks, such as the Mummy Range, Rowe Peaks, and Stormy Peaks.
There is a trail leading all the way to the top of Signal Mountain, starting at the Dunraven Trailhead and taking Bulwark Ridge to above treeline. The area is scarred by the Cameron Peak fire of Fall 2020, so much of the forest is through open burn. The section of trail through the trees is largely snow-covered in the winter, but it still makes for a nice winter objective.
I was actually joined by a friendly mountain ethusiast named Nick for the first part of the ascent; but about half way up he turned around, claiming "it's just all uphill!", whereupon I though "well, isn't that the point?" and it left me chuckling all day. Psyched as I was to have a partner for a winter adventure, I also relish the solace, so I popped in my ear buds and enjoyed my audiobook for the rest of the adventure. I didn't see another soul the entire day. For most of the ascent, the snow was thin and I wondered if I could have gotten away without snowshows. Then, at about 10,700 feet, the snow all of a sudden got quite deep—I was up to my knees even with snowshoes. This section was a nice workout. When I broke above treeline around 11,000 feet, the wind began buffeting me around. The forecast had called for 40mph winds, and I think it was every bit of this. An occasional gust would knock me a couple of steps sideways. I enjoyed the alpine flavor. First I summited South Signal Mountain, which was a bit closer. Because of the wind I almost decided to head down, but the thought of tagging another summit trumped getting out of the wind so I headed over the windswept tundra to tag Signal. It was definitely worth the extra burned calories and the view looking back at South Signal and the other peaks on the northeastern section of RMNP.
The round trip just over 7 hours, which is a bit longer than most of my winter days out. Two new summits!
Below is a sampling of photos from my adventure.
