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Last Updated on January 8, 2014 by James Dziezynski

Mount Alice 360 degree view. Click for larger image.

Download the free Mount Alice & Tanima Peak guide!

Though it was getting late in the season, my buddy Kyle was on a mission: to climb 13,310 ft. Mount Alice in Rocky Mountain National Park. He had been thwarted on two previous attempts due to such unforeseen circumstances as climbing the wrong peak (neighboring Chiefs Head, oops!) Alice is a long day so we decided, what the heck let’s make it longer by tacking on 12,420 ft. Tanima Peak and making a humungo 17.2-mile loop via Boulder Grand Pass. We recruited Belgian strong man/beer expert Bart and set off on October 23, 2011 on a picture perfect autumn Colorado day.

Mount Alice Tanima Peak traverse map.

A look at the 17.2 mile round trip adventure to Mount Alice and Tanima Peak via Lion Lakes and returning by Boulder Grand Pass and Thunder Lake.

The above map shows our route and here’s the elevation profile.

Mount Alice Tanima Peak traverse elevation profile.

The 5,000 ft. plus elevation day is good for the legs and the lungs!

The approaches to Mount Alice are long but quite fast. The 5.7 mile trail to the start of the Lion Lakes can be reached in about 2.5 hours at a strong pace. Navigating through the lakes is relatively easy and the scenery in Wild Basin is flat out amazing.

Mount Alice from Lion Lakes in Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park

Bart gets his first glance at Mount Alice's sort of famous east face, known by some as the "Mini-Diamond" in homage to the Diamond on nearby Longs Peak. Some prefer to call it the cubic zirconium.

Snowbank Lake below Mount Alice, Wild Basin.

The boys grab a bite at Snowbank Lake just below Hourglass Ridge.

Since we were doing a lollipop loop, the best way to get up Mount Alice is the class 3 route that follows Hourglass Ridge. There is an established trail to Lion Lakes that fades out, meaning a good chunk of the navigation is off-trail, though the ridgelines are fairly obvious. Hourglass Ridge connects with a saddle between Chiefs Head and Alice and an ambitious hiker could snag both peaks in a day if they felt so inclined.

Ptarmigan on Mount Alice.

The Ptarmigan is one of Colorado's masters of disguise. Can you find him in this picture?

Hourglass Ridge Mount Alice

Kyle in red and Bart in black at the start of Hourglass Ridge.

Mini Diamond on Mount Alice

A good look at the Mini Diamond on the east face of Mount Alice.

Mount Alice ridge

Kyle navigates a small notch on the way up Mount Alice's north ridge.

Mr. Rei model posing in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Kyle at the base of the half mile scramble to the top.

Bart climbs Mount Alice

Bartman gettin' it done on the way up Mount Alice.

Mount Alice summit Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado.

The crew on the summit of Mount Alice. Not a cloud in the sky!

From the top of Alice, it’s a mellow and beautiful traverse over to the lesser-known Tanima Peak. We were in one of the deepest pockets of Rocky Mountain National Park. We had great views of the forboding Isolation Peak and the rarely seen Moomaw Glacier that feeds into Frigid Lake. Frigid Lake is set on a shelf below the Cleaver.

Tanima Peak Rocky Mountain National Park

Tanima Peak is 900 feet lower than Alice but is a surprisingly fun summit with great views.

Tanima Peak Rocky Mountain National Park

Kyle on the final push up to Tanima's summit with picture-perfect views of (left to right) Chiefs Head, Longs Peak, the Notch and Mount Meeker.

Tanima Peak approach.

The final approach to Tanima had some surprising mini-moves.

Tanima Peak summit

Bart is king of Tanima Peak! This cool mushroom rock is the 12,420 ft. summit.

Tanima Peak summit shot.

Kyle and Bart chillin' on Tanima.

James Dziezynski on the summit of Tanima Peak.

I made it to the summit of Tanima Peak too!

Moomaw Glacier and Frigid Lake Isolation Peak Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado

A very cool look at the Moomaw Glacier (middle snowfield) on the shoulder of The Cleaver/Isolation Peak.

The crux of the day ended up being figuring out how the blast we were going to get down Boulder Grand Pass to Lake of Many Winds and onto Thunder Lake, where we would once again find a trail. Scouting out the pass showed there was no obvious trail down and the hardened snowfield was way too steep to attempt without ice axes. Luckily, we found a perfect descent couloir on the north side of pass that was the perfect escape. The thought of possibly having to re-ascend Alice was just about the last thing we wanted to do and it was good route finding that saved us even more hours of work.

Boulder Grand pass Rock MOuntain National Park Colorado

The red line shows our escape couloir, which for some reason Kyle refuses to follow. The gully was a little loose but safe and easy to scramble down.

Below Boulder Grand Pass

Bart is making tracks just past the Lake of Many Winds as we bushwack towards Thunder Lake.

Thunder Lake Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado

A look back at the route we took to bushwack from the top of Boulder Grand Pass to Thunder Lake, where a well worn trail would lead us home.

When we finally made it to the heavily used trail to Thunder Lake, it was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other. Even at a fast pace, the entire journey took us 12 hours and the stars were out by the time we made it back to the Wild Basin parking lot. It was a spectacular day with perfect weather and I couldn’t have asked for better company.

Third time’s a charm, Kyle!

Google Earth view of Mount Alice and Tanima Peak

Bonus picture of our GPS tracks in Google Earth view. Neat-o!

James Dziezynski

James is a best-selling author and writer based out of Boulder, Colorado. His writings reflect his personal passions: adventure, science, exploration, philosophy, animal welfare and technology. When not spending time in the mountains, James volunteers at several animal rescue organizations and is a collector of classic video games.