Thinking about climbing Engineer Mountain? This almost 13-er situated off Highway 550 (aka the Million Dollar Highway) about 40 minutes north of Durango is an awesome adventure. Here are my key takeaways:
- You don’t have to be a rock climber to climb Engineer, but it does help… and it helps to not be afraid of heights
- Even if you are afraid of heights, if you have a great partner (like Reet) encouraging you, it can be done!
- Most of the way is a typical mountain climb, but there is a small section (after “the chimney”) that is steep, rocky and can be a bit intimidating.
- Go early in the day and watch the weather. Afternoon thunderstorms are common, you don’t want to get stuck up there in one!
The hike is pretty straightforward until you reach the narrow “chimney”, where there are basically two ways you can go. One goes up and to the right and requires some rock climbing skills and no fear of heights. We chose the other way! Go as high as you can go through the chimney but just before the section ends at a large rock, turn left and scramble over the rock to the shale-y section. Stay to the right once you get over, and continue climbing up. There will be some larger rocks to climb up and over first, and then some smaller, shale sections. The sketchiest section of large rocks requiring some good footholds doesn’t last very long and soon you will be going up a trail of sorts over smaller shale rocks. It will still get steep in parts, and you may need to switch to all fours. Soon you will be able to see the top of Engineer and you wonder how the heck you will get up what looks like a rocky, straight up vertical. It looks worse than it is though, just keep following the path (there may be multiple paths) and eventually you will make it up to flat top of Engineer Mountain!
I am not a fan of heights (but I’m working on pushing myself!) so this was not an easy climb for me, but after a few threats of turning around, I eventually just kept going and am so incredibly glad I made it all the way to the top! We were rewarded with incredible views of the San Juans. I’ll be back every year!
