Mount Rosa Trail

Following the Steps of the Pioneers (almost): Zebulon Pike & Rose Kingsley The red route line for this trail represents the hike. However, the drive to the trailhead is as important to your enjoyment of the adventure as the hike itself. So plan for a drive time of at least and hour from the time you exit I-25 (see directions below). I'd recommend even longer, especially if this is your first time using Old Stage & Gold Camp Roads. The opportunities for dramatic photographs abound. The goal for this hike is the summit of Mt Rosa at 11, 533 ft (according to my GPS). From eastern Colorado Springs, you can spot its unique "witch's hat" profile by looking at Pike's Peak, then turning your eyes south past Almagre Mtn. During his attempt to climb what is now called Pike's Peak in November 1806, Lt Zebulon Pike's unit was ambushed by the weather. He spent one night in a cave on the southeastern ridge of Mt Rosa. The next day he reached the summit, climbing through waist deep snow, only to realize that his goal was still eight miles away, farther north. You will be climbing by a different route, beginning in a wide valley west of Mt Rosa (Frosty Park) and finishing by ascending the northern ridge to the summit. The mountain you're about to climb was named for Rose Kingsley, an aristocratic young English woman who arrived in Colorado Springs in 1871, and, incidentally, started its first library. She was an avid hiker, and soon earned the nickname Rosa del Mont, or Rose of the Mount. Ms Kingsley was the first woman to climb this mountain.