Jagged Mountain earns its name, a serrated granite crown rising above Sunlight Creek in the remote heart of the Needle Mountains, roughly 12 miles south-southeast of Silverton in the Weminuche Wilderness. Dwight Lavender's San Juan Mountaineers made the first ascent in 1933 and called it the hardest peak yet climbed in the Colorado Rockies. Its parent is Sunlight Peak.
The north side, first descended by the second-ascent party in 1934, is now the usual route. The usual route starts at the 4WD Bear Creek/Hunchback Pass trailhead, crosses Hunchback Pass, descends Vallecito Creek and then climbs Sunlight Creek to a camp near treeline, about 26.2 miles and 8,500 feet of gain round trip. Some parties take the train to Needleton and go up Noname Creek instead. From camp, a cairned path leads past a crescent lake at 12,700 feet into the north face couloirs, with Class 3 scrambling to a notch and two short low fifth-class moves (a chockstone crack and a gravelly ledge) before a traverse onto the south side for the final ledges. Some strong parties have climbed it without using a rope, but bring one and a helmet.
The summit is a flat granite slab with a spectacular view. Exposure is severe, snow hangs in the couloirs into summer (bring an ice axe), and retreat off a wet north face in a storm is slow, so leave camp early.
