Pilot Knob

Ice Lake Basin, located up South Mineral Creek and northwest of Silverton, CO has become one of the most popular hikes in the state and may be second only to the Maroon Bells near Aspen as a destination for photo enthusiasts.

The hike to the upper basin where Ice Lake is to be found gains the equivalent in elevation of two Empire State Buildings sitting atop each other. The hike is “classic Colorado,” complete with tumbling, cascading streams, aspen and conifer forests, luxurious vegetation and dazzling, vivid wildflowers. If you make it to Ice Lake, there are two other lakes in the immediate vicinity – Fuller and Island. All three lakes display amazing color during the summer months varying from a milky aqua early summer to emerald green as the season ends.

The upper basin is surrounded by rugged, high and dangerous thirteen-thousand foot summits, with Pilot Knob being the most technically difficult to climb, requiring some sustained third class scrambling with moderate exposure. The most popular route to climb Pilot Knob takes climbers through upper Ice Lake Basin. Other summits include Fuller, Golden Horn, Vermillion and U.S. Grant.

While a photo scene such as this is fairly typical, no Colorado photographer should be without an inventory of photos of this dramatic and magnificent area. Besides, even if we were not there to photograph, we would still visit this most remarkable place.  

Photo taken 07/2014