La Plata Peak

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/19/2024, By: sean23
Info: Dry conditions all the way. Go get it! 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/15/2024, By: nibbler
Info: Summer conditions for the most part, but....There is not a "little bit" of mud in the basin; there is a TON of mud and the trail is flooded for a good quarter of a mile. You can hop from rock to rock but it would be good to have poles to balance and help you hop between the big gaps. The section of scree that starts your climb to the ridge is very very loose and not a fun experience. We descended by sliding down on our butts and a lot of the other climbers we met said they planned on doing the same. Overall good conditions, but watch out for those two sections. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/12/2024, By: Kcmartinez22
Info: No need to repeat what everyone else has said about this route. Believe the hype, it is long, arduous and requires complete focus on route finding. Even then, its nearly impossible not to back track due to a cliff wall several times. The description here (.com) is quite limited, so plan on being on unfamiliar ground most of the day, regardless of how much research you put in. The first talus climb above treeline is quite enjoyable (comparatively haha). Stay right of the gully for more solid rock and a tundra mix. We found ourselves making several class 5 moves even staying to the left of the ridge as advised. We also found ourselves needing to drop lower than expected in a couple of spots. Test every single hold; its loose folks. Rocks are going to fly so helmet is highly recommended. There are some lingering snow fields that require some sketchy crossings, especially when you traverse around the Buttress. Great day of solitude in the mountains! I clocked this route at just under 12miles. A truly impressive and beautiful challenge. Take lots of snacks and water. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2024, By: cschaller
Info: The stretch of road of road to Winfield isnt bad at all, but the stretch from Winfield to S La Plata TH was pretty rowdy. Definitely need at least an AWD with 8 of clearance + Id say. Hike starts off nice with a moderate first mile with a currently raging creek on your left. The next mile through the meadow, while swampy/muddy/wet in some parts, is absolutely delightful. With the mud in the meadow and multiple creek crossings in those first two miles, Id definitely recommend a waterproof hiking boot of some sort Around the two mile mark after the meadow you have to gain the ridge by climbing up a pretty steep scree-fest but youre rewarded with amazing views, including views of Huron/Apostles to the south, and a nice flatter section as you work your way to the steep boulder field portion. Its nice that the two cruxes of the route are separated by two easy sections. The boulder field is definitely the overall hardest portion of the route but if you stay just right of the middle on the way up its not too bad. Pretty much smooth sailing after youre through the boulder field. Just a couple of false summits that you can skirt around for the most part to avoid unnecessary gain and then youre done. Phenomenal views at the summit, up there with Huron as my favorite of the 15 Ive done No snow on the trail so no traction devices needed 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/6/2024, By: Pwrfghtr08
Info: Summer conditions except for a few easily avoidable snowfields. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/5/2024, By: maylemay1
Info: Beautiful day out. Got to the trailhead right at 5 and got the last spot in the actual lot. We finished in about 5.5 hours, 4:45 of hiking time, which involved jogging the flat bits. The falls are roaring and there are plenty of wildflowers. There is one snow patch along the ridge but its easily avoided on the rocks. We actually lost the trail a bit on the way up and stayed to the west side of the ridge for a while. It stayed class 2 but was colder than the sunny side would have been. The lot and road were packed with cars by the time we got down. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/30/2024, By: jakebotdorf
Info: Got to the trailhead around 4:45, lot was already pretty full which was to be expected for a Saturday. Started at 5:07a, la plata falls was roaring and a car or two was heading up the road after us. Trail was well marked up to about 500 feet past the treeline, where snow had covered most of the route and it became a scramble up some loose rocks. Not too difficult, two major avoidable snow crossings in addition to the rock scramble. The sun came out on the descent, causing minor runoff and a few muddy puddles that were easily avoidable. Amazing hike, lots of wildlife, and one I'm sure to come back to. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/29/2024, By: bajayo
Info: As other said, great summer conditions all way up. @ small ice fields you can go around, or cross (no need for spikes or anything). The trail is well marker until you get to the last 1.5 miles - this is a straight up incline along boulders. The "original" trail is probably still covered in snow, but it is clear where to go on the boulders. It was more difficult than I anticipated. There are 3 sections with a very steep incline that are hard, and made it much longer than my usual speed 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/28/2024, By: Ptglhs
Info: Trail is steep but in good shape to tree line. After that it's a swamp in the willows. Loose and steep scree going above basin to Ridgecrest. Trail is in good condition on upper slopes. Confusing warren of social trails and Cairns all over the place on rocky slope before summit ridge. More rock to climbers right, more dirt to climbers left. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/28/2024, By: Steep Slabs
Info: This was more of a challenge than I was expecting. I wore trail runners the entire time and exospikes were helpful for part of it. There were only a few areas of snow left. The weather was a little sketchy and I lucked out that there wasn't any lightening. If you are taking a dog I recommend hanging on tight as there are plenty of ledges where they could go falling off. I wish people would stop feeding the wildlife. The parking lot is pretty small and was already about full when I arrived at 6 am. There is no camping at the trail head. It took me almost 6 hours and my GPS said 5000 ft of vertical and I only got slightly lost. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/24/2024, By: redmanr
Info: Hiked northwest ridge then skied north face from summit. Summer trail is 95% summatime condies. Skied ~2300 feet directly from summit, probably around ~2200 continuous. Would not expect this to be possible in a few days as there is a thin choke a few hundred feet below the summit. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/23/2024, By: StevieRay
Info: There's one relatively long patch of snow as you climb up to the ridge but it can be bypassed on either side relatively easily. The ridge itself has some snow patches here and there left but nothing major 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/23/2024, By: Ejthomd
Info: Climbed the NW ridge in my trail runners to the summit. A couple of easily managed snow patches as mentioned. Skied the N face in some fantastic conditions. Dropped 9a with some warm convection cloud covered conditions. Seems to still be getting good freezes in the couloirs but the apron is very soft. The exit is bad recommend climbing up the ridge to the summer trail for the exit. 

Route: NW Ridge to ski North Face
Posted On: 6/15/2024, By: ericahlstedt
Info: NW ridge route is mostly dry. The few patches of snow are easily bypassed or have good bootpacks. No crampons or ice axe needed. North face skied as fantastic corn around 9am. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/25/2024, By: Will_E
Info: Lots of snow on LaPlata, did a variation on the standard route up a gully that slid, worked pretty well to gain the ridge just past the headwall. Ridge is holding a lot of snow, spent most of the day in snowshoes, snow was generally pretty good, wind today was not pretty good.