Ben Lomond

Maybe the best thing about living in Boulder, CO is that I think it has some of the best "in town" mountains of just about anywhere I've seen. (This is, of course, ignoring towns of, say, less than 15,000 people.  There are scads of little mountain towns all over the American West that can claim better quality, larger scale run-from-downtown access...but actually finding a job and a community of like-minded people there can often be a little tough.)  Being able to reasonably run to a peak from my doorstep is very high on my list when it comes to determining quality-of-life factors.

Queenstown might take that to a new level with its backyard summits of Ben Lomond and Bowen Peak.  Ben Lomond offers 4600' of vert in ~4mi with the trailhead being only a couple minutes of jogging from the city center.  In addition to the stats, though, is the variety the trail offers.  The start is nestled snugly at the mouth of a major drainage, but quickly climbs out into lush coniferous forest that, at times, is so thick it can be hard to see even at midday.  After ~25min of climbing, though, the route pops out of the trees and into the open grasses that is characteristic above timberline, taking a steep but runnable tack up the slope to Ben Lomond Saddle at ~4300'.  The final 1500' of vert, though, really kicks up, with options for a bee-line to the top even offering some brief but fun scrambly moves on large outcrops of gneiss.  Definitely a world-class daily summit.

Lake Wakatipu, Ben Lomond and Bowen Peak.

Ben Lomond trailhead with the sun rising on the peak itself.

Photo: Mick Donges.

Photo: MD.

At Ben Lomond Saddle, with 1500' to go.

Photo: MD

Photo: MD.

Other NZ posts over at Running Times.

• Taranaki & Ngauruhoe
• The Remarkables
• Kepler Track