La Plata Peak

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/6/2023, By: jpoyfair
Info: There's some mud to pick through in the basin, but the rest of the route was dry. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/29/2023, By: minnesotanclimber
Info: Camped at the trailhead the night before (see trailhead review) and started up the trail at 6:20AM. There were a couple other cars in the small lot at this time, and several spots still available. The trailhead sign (La Plata Peak Trailhead) in the route description is missing, but the rest is still there. The trail feels not heavily traveled, with some fauna growing over it. After hugging the creek awhile you enter the valley, where the views are impressive. In this section among the willows, the trail gets quite muddy. Hiking shoes (not boots) have a high chance of getting your feet wet. Beyond the willows where the climb up the valley side begins, the surface is dry and gravelly and tough to get purchase on. Thankfully it didn't last long before gaining the ridge. Once at the bottom of the rockpile, there are several options for a route - the true one is obvious on the way down but not up. The rest of the trail is as described. There are no snow crossings, so spikes are unnecessary. Poles were a HUGE help and I would recommend them. This less-traveled trail was very enjoyable for my 13th 14er. Distance and elevation gain are as stated on the description. I was back at the car at 11:34AM, 5h13m total. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/29/2023, By: UTDOGS1997
Info: This is really a "short" trip report and peak condition combined, so hope that's ok. Very Warm and incredibly enjoyable. Got to TrailHead parking lot by 4:10am. I was the first on the trail at 4:30am. I'm not particularly fast, but I'm not slow either. I just like getting started in the dark, with my headlamp. Staring elevation is around 10,150ft. I suppose there are technically three (3) stream crossings in the first mile or so. The first crossing is 100 yards from the parking lot, over a wide bridge which is part of the private road. After a quartermile along the "private road" you turn left onto the hiking trail. (You could miss it in the dark if you're not looking for it and don't have a map/app). After another quarter mile you get to the second stream crossing. Luckily it has a nice wooden/steel bridge over it. This second stream crossing is over a beautifully cut gorge about 20-30 feet deep. In the dark, you cannot appreciate the beauty of the erosion and the formations and the orange mineral stains. I had scouted the trail the day before so I got some good pictures--and of course you can see the features during the day on the way back down. The third and final stream crossing is about 30min along the trail, and it must be navigated over several placed logs. It was easy enough...Anyhow, the trail was completely dry and the temps were in the 50sF. Also, there are several dime sized reflectors on the trees every 200-300 yards helping to keep you on the trail. Much appreciated! There was one giant fallen pine blocking the trail about a mile along hike. You can go around it by hiking up the hill about 10-15 feet. Annoying, but no sweat. I was in shorts for the entire hike, even on the summit. By the time I got to the base of switchbacks that come up out of the valley, it was about 6:15am and I was getting passed by a solo hiker and a group of four with their wonderful puppy dog "Norco." Those switchbacks show up around 11,400ft From this point to the rocky ridgeline, it's just a matter of alternating between switchbacks and short reprieves of relatively flat trail. There was one short section above treeline during a steep switchback that had a sign indicating reclamation/maintenance. The sign had fallen over, but was sitting in the middle of the area to avoid. The first ridge is around 12,800-13,000ft and I arrived there about 7:30am, so 3 hours into the hike. I felt incredibly energetic and good at that point, so I had no concerns. From that point all the way to the summit, it was series of short bouldering exercises followed by a flatter section of easily marked/worn trail. The bouldering sections had multiple kairns on them, which I appreciated. It seemed like the "best" route through all the boulders was literally up along the high point of each section. I didn't veer off to the left or the right too much and it was easy enough. The wind was light and the weather really cooperated nicely. Two small snow fields were in the way of the main trail. I plowed up through one of them, cuz I don't really care for bouldering and it seemed easier to tackle the snow...it was. The section through the snow was probably less than 50 yards and I was back on my way--no microspikes, just boots. The second snow field, I simply avoided with no problem. There were lots of other routes through the boulders to get around the white stuff. At around 8:30am I got to what was to be the final "flat" area around 14,200 before the turn back to your left and the last push . I summited around 8:50am, and because the weather was so nice, I spent a full hour up there! Descent was straight forward and it was obviously quite warm back at the car. Got back to parking lot around 1:20pm. 4hrs 20min up, 1hr on the summit, 3hr 30min down = 8hr 50min total Overall, I LOVED IT! It's my 6th 14er in the Sawatch and my 9th 14er over all. It maybe my favorite! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/27/2023, By: enoki
Info: One stretch of snow covering the trail on the ridge. Easily avoidable with some rock hopping to climber's right. Did seem to cause some confusion since you lose cairns. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: amlynczak
Info: As advertised, the Ellingwood Ridge is a slog. Set off at 3 am and gained the ridge by sunrise. Summited in 9 hours and back to the car in 11 hours. Tried to stick to the ridge as much as possible which definitely added some time. There are a few patches of snow left near the summit, but nothing requiring traction. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: haileyraskovic
Info: We started around 6am because the forecast was clear all day. There was not as many mosquitos as I would have anticipated given all of the water so that was a plus because I had forgotten to put on bug spray; it really was a nonissue though! The trail was dry all the way to the basin and most of the way to the rock face, with the exception of a few muddy/marshy areas that we were able to rock hop through. We didn't think the rock face was as rough as we were anticipating based off other trip reports (definitely easier going up than coming down though lol but we were still able to make it down without poles or butt-scooching). The wild flowers are popping the whole way up and we saw a ton of pika but hardly any marmots. We followed the cairns to the left up the scree but we went a bit too far left and ended up adding some distance through the scree it seemed, but no major issues there. There is a couple snowfields around 14k but nothing crazy and all avoidable except one which was really short and we didn't posthole in). After spending a while at the summit we made our way down & stayed more towards the other side of the scree and it was definitely more straight forward and felt a bit shorter too! Bluebird day so the descent was really toasty (I brought 3.5L of water and finished it before the end). Lots of running water earlier on in the trail if you need to filter. Neither of us have done the standard route for La Plata but the SW ridge was SOO pretty I'm really glad we chose to go this way! Definitely one of my favorite hikes I've done, and easily my favorite 14er to date (this only makes #6 for me though)! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: bagelbattalion
Info: 99% summer conditions. There is a snowfield that slightly covers part of the trail towards the end, but you can skirt it with a little extra time with light scrambling. Little loose in spots so trekking poles recommended for way down. Fun and tough trail, great views! 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: colin j
Info: 98% summer conditions. Some snow right before East La Plata makes the finish pretty funky; otherwise a long, tiring day (12.5 hrs car to car). Saw two other parties on the ridge. To add some beta, most descriptions suggest bypasses on the left; I found going climber's right at 39.05190, -106.46885 (avoids notch with leap of faith) and 39.04235, -106.46468 (avoids committing headwall) was way better than the left side. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: wintersage
Info: There was just enough snow on the climbers left side of the ridge and just before the summit to cause a nuisance but overall we had summer conditions. We stuck mostly to ridge direct or close to it to get a little more technical climbing experience but the route could certainly be kept at class 3 by staying lower or with careful route finding. Sunny bluebird day overall 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: glenhanderson
Info: Arrived at TH just after 7am on a Monday and only 1 parking spot left! There's only room for about 10 cars and then some overflow on side of road. Paved road all the way. Wasn't too busy overall today. There were storms and clouds threatening today and the forecast got a bit worse overnight. Luckily it didn't impact us too much. It rained briefly as we were driving near the TH. Heard from an early summitter that several of them huddled under rocks on the summit due to early thunderstorm which we avoided by sleeping in, if you call 5am sleeping in :) No snow gear required on this trail. There are a few minor snow crossings but they are well defined and short. Trail is in good shape. 2.5+ miles of the trail is nice dirt path, not too rocky, not big steps. There are some steep rocky sections and the upper part requires the usual boulder hopping. By about 9:30 another storm was brewing with precip and thunder. Luckily it stayed a ridge or two over, closer to Elbert. We got some high winds and 5 mins of rain and snow. But it moved through quickly and we made it up and down with decent weather. By the time we returned to the TH, it was hot and sunny. Made it to the summit in about 3:15. There's a sign with elevation at the summit for celebration photo. Great views of surrounding mountains and valleys, enhanced by the unsettled weather. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: leo_hermacinski
Info: Trails mostly dry and dusty. Remaining snowfields either trenched out or avoidable by scrambling. No need for traction/micro spikes at all. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: mtn14
Info: I saw a guy pushing over cairns near the snow fields around 13.5k. I called him out, so hopefully he stopped after that (He responded Whatever. You can see the trail.). I did a terrible job rebuilding the two I saw, so just pay extra attention to the route around 13.5k. Please respect - those cairns are life savers! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/6/2023, By: harryschmach
Info: Trail is ever so slightly wet above the river crossings. Careful on the last switchback stretch before the saddle as the middle has a section that has (I'm guessing) partially washed out with a tumble downslope if you lose your footing. Snow is mixed on 3 parts of the trail: 1) End of the saddle into the scree - easily manageable, 2) between scree and the trail section that wraps around the true west side to summit approach - advise micro spikes if you're not comfortable using the class 2 scree to bypass, 3) pre summit - flat and solid, don't let the summit view break your focus. All in all, great conditions with some considerations recommended for the loose dirt and sun-warmed slick snow. I saw a Lynx today and tons of pika. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: fdgonzalez
Info: Close to summer conditions today. Small section of snow around 12k feet, but no postholing and microspikes were not needed. Theres more snow at 13k ft, but if you stay to the climbers right you can avoid it and scramble up rocks instead. Summit still has some snow. Great opportunities to glissade down. Saw lots of marmots. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: sabviv
Info: The trail is pretty dry and well maintained, only a few small snow crossings left higher up the ridge and at the summit. With a 4:30am start and 8:45am summit we didn't posthole either way. Grabbed the last primary parking spot (that was not down the adjacent dirt road leading to the trailhead) and cars continued to pour in after us so the area filled up quickly!