Peak Condition Update | Mt. Democrat

Peak:	Mt. Democrat
Route:	East Slope
Range:	Mosquito
Posted By:	rayraysayshi
Date of Info:	6/13/2015
Date Posted:	6/14/2015

Details
The dirt road up to Kite Lake is blocked by about a foot of snow about a half mile to the campground and is melting quickly and only accessible by foot. I climbed the DeCaLiBron and started at the Democrat trailhead at 6am. If you are climbing any later you will need snowshoes as the snow starts to melt later in the day. You are going to need traction cleats for snow and ice because the trail on the eastern slope is mostly covered with snow. Additionally you will need an ice pick to make footing holds along the steeper parts of the climb. Otherwise I would not advise trying for the summit without climbing poles as the trails are covered with snow. We were able to reach the summit at 8:26

Details

The dirt road up to Kite Lake is blocked by about a foot of snow about a half mile to the campground and is melting quickly and only accessible by foot.

I climbed the DeCaLiBron and started at the Democrat trailhead at 6am. If you are climbing any later you will need snowshoes as the snow starts to melt later in the day.

You are going to need traction cleats for snow and ice because the trail on the eastern slope is mostly covered with snow. Additionally you will need an ice pick to make footing holds along the steeper parts of the climb. Otherwise I would not advise trying for the summit without climbing poles as the trails are covered with snow.

We were able to reach the summit at 8:26

Comments or Questions

Zorba	DeCaLiBron 6/15/2015 10:14am Did you do the full DeCaLiBron? If so how the trail coming down Bross and how were the saddles?
rayraysayshi	Zorba 6/15/2015 10:25am Yes, I did the complete DeCaLiBron and it took around 8 hours. Started with Democrat then headed to Cameron and then Lincoln, back to Cameron and then went to Bross. The descent down Bross was a pain in the ass because the trail was snowed in and we went down a rocky ridge (west side) that was extremely sketch and we lost the trail several times because the snow covered it. I would advise planning the descent on Bross so that you stick to the SouthEast side of the ridge...the west side is rocky AF and I would not try it again. Lemme know if you need any other details;D
DVB1	Decali 6/15/2015 11:43am How much different do you think the conditions will be by the next few days? We’re only bringing snowshoes. Hope it gets better.
rayraysayshi	Decali 6/15/2015 11:55am Over the next few days I bet it will continue to melt but there will still be a significant amount of snow in some areas. If your bringing snowshoes then you will be just fine! Especially climbing Democrat and descending Bross.
DVB1	Decali 6/15/2015 12:21pm Ok, you’re giving us some confidence now. Were the trails/routes fairly visible?
rayraysayshi	Decali 6/15/2015 12:53pm For the most part, yes. If you print out the guide that is supplied by this site and then follow along while you are hiking you will see the path. In some areas the snow completely covers the path but you will see footprints that are off the path headed toward the top in relatively the same direction. If you print the route guide from this site you will be golden!

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