An excellent way to run James Peak (a local 13er) is via the North Face and the Rogers Pass trail. You can do it from the east side via St. Mary's Glacier, but that way usually has a few people on it. Running James Peak from the north, however, is great because the trail is clear and very runnable, and there are usually no people. There are two options: you can run it from East Portal/Rollins Pass up to Heart Lake and Rogers Pass, then south along the Divide to the top. Or, you can start on the Corona Road and run the Rogers Pass trail the entire way. We did a 9 mile version a couple days ago running from the Corona Road up that a little, to Rogers Pass and then along that to the top of James and back. 100% runnable, not a soul to speak of, and even a decent time at 2:17 roundtrip.
Heading up...
View from the top
Cruzing back down...
