La Plata Peak

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/21/2012, By: gprandall
Info: I attempted the northwest ridge of La Plata yesterday. The recent storm had dropped three to five inches of new snow on top of the snow laid down by the big storms earlier in April. There was quite a bit more snow than I had seen on my ascent of Mt. Antero in early March, and quite a bit more snow than I had expected after our ultra-dry winter. The road to the trailhead was dry, despite the recent snow. I re-broke the trail into La Plata Gulch and up to about 11,200. The summer trail is invisible above about 11,100. I contemplated heading straight up to the ridge, but I had planned to shoot sunset from the summit and the thought of descending all that snow-covered talus was not appealing. Good judgment finally got the better of me, and I turned around. The new snow will melt quickly, of course, but the drifts are deep enough to linger for several more weeks. You probably won‘t need snowshoes if you‘re traveling early in the morning, but that trail is going to get quite icy very soon, so micro-spikes will be helpful. In short, the peak is still in much more difficult conditions than it will be in summer. Don‘t let our warm March lull you into thinking snow season is over. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/8/2012, By: Andymcp1
Info: The peak is in great shape with areas of rapid melt out, but has some trouble areas. Around photo 2 in Bills trip report the snow was hard slab with a powder base about stomach deep. On our descent we elected to use the hill to the side to avoid the snow as it had softened up and looked to be primed for a slide. As you cross the terrain in photo 3, we had to traverse 1 large ( 200ft), and a few smaller snow fields. With the cold weather last week there almost no purchase with the spike on my ice axe as we crossed, an a fall would have been very bad here. From about 11,000-11,5000 the snow will be a post hole heaven if you don‘t have cold weather before you go. If anyone has questions PM me for more info. At this time crampons, ice axe, and snow shoes are needed if the standard route is to be followed. If you bushwack a bit and dont mind some extra vertical then microspikes and snowshoes will do the trick. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/14/2012, By: Rcizzle
Info: I climbed Plata today, it was a long day.... a very long day that could have been avoided if we opted to take the standard summer route. The Standard winter route was a frozen snowy prison. I was post holing on every step to my waist with BIG snowshoes on for .25 mile, which lasted for an hour or two. It sucked. DONT DO IT. If I was to advice anyone interested in climbing Plata soon, I would suggest taking the standard route with a packed trail. It‘s really obvious and very solid in the morning, not so much in the afternoon. Definitely bring microspikes and snowshoes. The snowshoes may help if your day lasts as long as mine did. There is also some fairly decent glissading available. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/11/2012, By: javy20040
Info: The route looks in fantastics winter conditions climb! We did La Plata Peak, Nothwest Ridge yesterday. The trail all the way up to tree line is well pack, traction will be necessary. From tree line at 11200 feet we head straight to the Northwest ridge, pretty step, rocky with some snow fields. From the Northwest Ridge to the summit, the trail is visible. Microspikes or crampons will be necessary for the last 1500 feet because of the hard pack snow about the ridge. Snowshoes weren‘t necessary about tree line, so we leave them at 11200 feet. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/17/2012, By: WDavis
Info: Went via the NW ridge yesterday. TR to follow soon. The trail terminates at treeline below the northern most head wall of the ridge. I chose the steep but short scree slope over traversing the side of the ridge. I feel it was way safer. The crux of this route for me was coming down. On the upper half of the trail BELOW treeline is very steep. The snow was soft and there was nothing for my micro spikes to bite into. I took 4 or 5 hard falls that turned into an uncontrolled slides. There‘s a story for about this to follow in my TR. Basically my glove saved me from smashing into a tree. Crazy I know. When possible I walked down in the powder on either side of the trail to slow my movement down and keep me from sliding. If you attempt this anytime soon be extra cautious coming down on the trail below timberline. Feel free to PM me with any questions. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/16/2012, By: DoubelDD
Info: Road to trailhead cleared, parking lot cleared. Packed snow on trail into the basin. Micorspikes were helpful on the trail into the basin and almost essential on the ridge. I dropped the snowshoes after about 1/2 mile in. I wished I would have kept them as we glissaded down into the basing on the descent and there was waste deep snow in there. You could follow the standard trail and never need snowshoes. The traverse on the west slope of the NW Ridge looked like a nightmare with the snow on it so we avoided it by ascending the ridge earlier on the way up and descending the ridge (glissading) earlier on the way down. Those were kind of nightmarish also so I‘m not sure it was the better option. Keeping snowshoes and glissading into the basin would probably be my choice in hindsight. The light blue trail is our route and dark blue is the standard route. and the tebowing on the summit did not help the Broncos win:( 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/3/2012, By: RJansen77
Info: Summitted La Plata on 1/2/12 with dillonsarnelli. Some other forum members on the moutnain too, all of whom took advantage of the spring-like conditions to grab the summit. Snowshoes are helpful but not essential from the parking lot to treeline. Dillon stashed his maybe 1 mile in, and I didn‘t wear any the entire day as I don‘t own them (had microspikes though, quite helpful). I postholed knee deep maybe 30 times total while in the trees, and only a few times on the ridge. I would say snowshoes are unecessary on the ridge, but microspikes are helpful. Upon leaving the trees the good trench went a million different ways as it seems people were choosing various lines to gain the ridge. We went right and sidehilled on frozen scree before climbing steeply up a gully to the ridge proper, which we followed easily to the summit. The descent was a but spicy as we left the ridge earlier than we had gained it on the ascent, and found ourselves sidehilling loose scree and crossing a few sketchy snowfields. It was unpleasant to say the least but once we hit treeline we cruised to the cars for 8:20 RT. I will have a TR up tonight with pics. Any questions let me know. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/5/2012, By: BenfromtheEast
Info: As a supplement to RJansen and Exiled‘s notes: Gaining the ridge earlier seems better than later once out of the trees. A delay in gaining the ridge (or an early left turn on descent) requires crossing sketchy snowfields with mixed talus and boulders and was no fun for anybody. Please see RJansen‘s TR! 

Route: Northwest Ridge Direct
Posted On: 1/2/2012, By: Exiled Michigander
Info: Snowshoes recommended for the first couple of miles, but as of right now you can safely stash them at the bottom of the scree gully just above timberline. Certainly no need for snowshoes at all along the ridge; we didn‘t even need to break out the microspikes. Be careful when ascending and descending the scree gully. The scree is frozen and solid in some parts but loose in others, so don‘t get lulled into a false sense of security after having had several steps on a firm footing. Trip report and photos to follow tomorrow. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/21/2011, By: CO Native
Info: The trail is easily passable, though easily lost in snow in several areas. Snow is not deep though. No snowshoes required. Micro Spikes recommended but not necessary either. The willows are very boggy, I suggest heading to the slope on the east of the bog and traversing south to catch the trail higher up. We did this on the way down and had a much better time. I will try to get a trip report up tonight. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/16/2011, By: Vincopotamus
Info: Route was a bit muddy in the basin, and some unavoidable snow above 12,500. Snow was firm in the morning but softened in the afternoon. Was 2 feet in drifts, but usually only 6-12 inches. Snow patches on the steep slopes the last mile before the summit made the route/a good route hard to find. Gaiters would have been helpful, but snowshoes would have been overkill. Microspikes might have helped in some spots, but not necessary at all. This will probably all change after it snows tonight and tomorrow. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/17/2011, By: ilium
Info: Just below tree line, there is some ice on the trail. Microspikes or trekking poles would probably be helpful. I had an ice axe, and used it in lieu of trekking poles. Above treeline, there is some snow, but I did not use any aides. I carried crampons, but they were not necessary. Overall, the trip is in great condition. At least 35 other people were making an attempt on this route on Saturday. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/16/2011, By: slapshot
Info: Route gets kind of hard to find in the marsh area, just make your way to the back of the valley. You will eventually pick up the trail again. Gators, waterproof boots, and microspikes, or similar, suggested. Snow is unavoidable and can get thigh deep at higher elevations. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 9/25/2011, By: Wentzl
Info: Climbed Ellingwood Ridge and descended NW Ridge. No snow issues at all anywhere on either route. Fall colors in this area seem at their PEAK! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/26/2011, By: BigfootUSAF
Info: NW Ridge Route almost completely snow free. Patches of snow are pretty avoidable. Aspens are beautiful!