Find Nearby Peaks

This peak is not in the book. Published January 2023

---

Dairy Benchmark is the middle of three ranked summits on Schmid Ridge on the east side of Slug Creek in the Aspen Range. There is a trio of ridge summits on this ridge, all of which can be climbed in a single outing. The peaks are Schmid Ridge (7,916 feet), Dairy Benchmark (7,805 feet), and Peak 7405. USGS Harrington Peak

Access

Same as for Schmid Ridge. This is the second leg of a 3-peak adventure that includes Schmid Ridge (7,916 feet), Dairy Benchmark, and Peak 7405.

South Face, Class 2

The Climb

From the 7,500-foot connecting saddle with Schmid Ridge, bushwhack west through a short patch of aspens to reach open, thick scrub. Climb the scrub north to the open summit of Dairy Benchmark. The summit still has the USGS “Dairy” benchmark. There was no summit cairn so I built one next to the USGS benchmark.

North Ridge/North Face, Class 2

The Descent

From the summit, descend north on a forested ridge (not much blowdown) to a saddle then move left/west and do a short scramble up open, short scrub to reach the top of Point 7720+. Unlike its higher neighbor to the south, this ridge point has an impressive summit cairn and offers stunning views. From Point 7720+, descend briefly northwest in open scrub then head north then northwest down a ridge, which soon turns into a face. The face is a reasonable pine forest without too much blowdown or brush. There are numerous elk trails in the forest from midway down the face all the way to the saddle below. The 7,050-foot saddle has a good cattle trail coming across it and aspens in it. This is the connecting saddle with Peak 7405 and concludes the second leg of today’s 3-peak journey. Peak 7405 is up next.