Mount Sneffls

The United States Congress designated the Mount Sneffels Wilderness in 1980 and it now has a total of 16,566 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Colorado and is managed by the Forest Service.  The United States Congress designated the Mount Sneffels Wilderness in 1980 and it now has a total of 16,566 acres. Mount Sneffels, a 14,150-foot intrusion of igneous rock on the eastern verge of this area, stands higher than any other point in the Wilderness. Members of the Hayden Survey purportedly named the peak after the Icelandic mountain in Jules Verne's " Journey to the Center of the Earth." Sneffels is the Nordic word for snowfield. Westward stretches a sheer vertical world of sharp ridges, icy slopes, and ragged peaks. It makes for dangerous climbing typical of the San Juan Mountains, sometimes called America's Switzerland, a land of unsurpassed mountain drama. Technical climbers are still discovering new routes here, but loose volcanic rock often moves the rating from "dangerous" to "very dangerous." In early fall, when light dustings of snow highlight the jagged terrain and the aspens have turned gold, you'll encounter an absolutely indescribable world of wonder. I have considered declaring this Wilderness the most sheerly magnificent in the state.