Our Vantage Point
We also rode to several vantage points along the edge of the Wilderness on day two of our ride in Routt County, this time farther south in an area known as Lost Dog. That was later in the day, though, as we spent a good portion of our morning and early afternoon working to get to the top of Farwell Mountain (10,824 feet) from the south side. It was a truly amazing adventure, one we almost gave up on as the snow was so deep and we were digging our sleds out on a regular basis.
Our first route ended with us turning out to find a spot a little more wide open to climb. Part of the issue that day was that the mountain was obscured in clouds and we couldn't even really see the peak and the light was flat because of cloud cover. The second route we tried had us weaving through Quaking Aspens and pines as the hill got steeper. We made it to within a few hundred feet of the mountain top but didn't try to climb any higher due to the flat light and not being able to see a clear route to the top. Rocks, boulders and ledges littered that last few hundred feet.
So we dropped back down and found another spot, this time taking a ridge along a drainage to the top. It was a battle, but well worth it. We spent a couple of hours digging and trying to find the right path through the trees, which eventually opened up as we got closer to the top. By the time we ascended that last route, the clouds had lifted and the views from the top of Farwell were excellent. There isn't really a defined peak on top of Farwell, but more of a flat area with big rocks and trees. Once to the right spot on top, we could see our tracks from our second attempt up the mountain. We really were pretty close but the last stretch would have been treacherous.
You could see for miles in all directions from the top of Farwell, including the ski runs at Steamboat Springs, several peaks in the Wilderness and Hahn's Peak to the west.
Interestingly, there is a trail on the north side of the mountain that leads right to the top of Farwell. We definitely took the more challenging route-and in our minds, the more fun way.