7/11/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/13/2023, By: PeakMiller Info: This route was clear of snow other than a few spots that were easy to get by using other peoples' tracks. We hiked the road up to the TH and used Crocs for the first creek crossing. The second creek could be avoided by walking a log on the left side of the road. |
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7/8/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: Split_the_FR Info: Sumitted Wetterhorn, Uncompahgre, and Matterhorn on 7/8. Parked at Matterhorn Creek 2WD trailhead, left my car at 4:05am. There are very few snow crossings throughout the route and the those that exist are very short. Caught the sunrise on Wetterhorn which was fantastic. Trecked over to Uncompahgre after a few minutes on the summit. The basin in between the peaks is a bit wet/muddy but very easy to nagivate. I suspect it will be completely dry after another couple of weeks. Back at the car at about 12:15pm after sumitting Matterhorn on the way back. Easy going all the way through - the 2WD road on the way in is in great shape and there is no traction needed while completing the route. |
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7/2/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/3/2023, By: BRadleyC Info: Trail is 95% summer condition. Remaining 5% is relatively short snow crossings (manageable without micro-spikes) and wet/muddy trail from snow melt/runoff. |
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6/30/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/30/2023, By: ssowalskie Info: The route is almost entirely in summer condition, with only a few snowfields remaining, all above 12,300. The route is very pleasant up until the last mile, even if you have to hike from below the 4WD trailhead (though the road is a bit tedious). Obviously the last mile or so is a bit of a workout, but well worth it. The two major creek crossings on the road are definitely in full force, so just be aware. No traction or flotation needed at all. I started about .25 miles above the 2WD trailhead and finished at 15.13 miles in about 6.5 hours car to car. |
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6/25/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/27/2023, By: backcountrybrodes Info: Road is clear of snow all the way to 4WD trailhead. The SSB (super big boulder) is still there - we made it by with about 6 in of room on both sides in a Jeep Rubicon, but we also saw a Tundra-like car that made it all the way up, so do with that information what you wish. Creek crossings are running about 1ft deep right now. Zero traction or ice axe needed, we made it up and down in less than 5 hours. |
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6/24/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: samfarmer789 Info: 90% summer conditions. A couple snow fields to cross but no post holing (we were down to the upper TH by 930am) and no need for spikes or ax. Great weather & trail!! Made it up about a mile on Nellie creek road w my ford escape. |
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6/19/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/21/2023, By: scott_s Info: Wetterhorn - Uncompahgre combo from Matterhorn creek TH via ridge stock driveway trail. Alpine start is worth it! Tons of snowfields to cross on both mountains and snow was still rock solid in the early am, getting pretty soft and messy by mid morning. On Wetterhorn the first gully around 13.6k is mostly snow filled, there were a few unavoidable segments requiring 5-10 steps of steep snow climbing, wouldve been uncomfy without an ice ax. Class 3 section is dry. Uncompahgre has a few moderate snow fields to traverse on the upper slopes, the class 2 section near the top (with 2 options in the route description) is snow filled on the easy side, dry on the steep side which makes it almost class 3. Microspikes and ice ax highly useful on both peaks right now but conditions are changing fast with the warm temps. |
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6/16/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/16/2023, By: Flatlander618 Info: Lower trails were pretty wet this morning and even more so this afternoon with all the snowmelt. There were still some large swaths of snow. Some postholing, but no need for anything but some gaiters. Peak conditions were fine. Snow was no obstacle on the scramble. |
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5/30/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: runningbuff Info: Pretty much same as the last reports. Was going to also do Wetterhorn today but woke up too late. Parked just before the first stream crossing, which was 2.3 miles from the trailhead. I probably could have made it across in my Honda crv, another group did in some sort of Nissan Land Rover, but I didnt want to risk it. The road is quite rough. I honestly thought driving up was harder than actually summitting. With some guts and a good car you could probably make it to 0.5 miles from the trailhead before hitting deadfall. On the trail itself, theres a portion on the descent around maybe 12k where its getting harder to stay on continuous snow. Other than that its continuous from about 11.2k to the ridge line. Dropped my skis there and summitted fine without traction, only a couple of snow patches on the last mile up. |
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5/27/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 5/28/2023, By: Thevirtualsherpa Info: See road status for info there but peak itself is still great for those wanting to ski and board it. Snow free from upper TH to about 3/4 mile in and from there continuous to 13,500 (just below shoulder). Passing to backside is basically snow free and a few spots from there to summit that have snow but nothing major. Didnt use anything but poles, skins and split but traction could be helpful for some. Continuous board from 13,5 to 11,2 or where snow on trail is melted out. A+ corn harvest |
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5/24/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 5/25/2023, By: ballardwf04 Info: Great day on the Un, beautiful conditions without too much wind (and we didn't see a soul). We were able to drive to just below the second stream crossing in a stock Honda Pilot, and didn't have too much trouble. There's a patch of snow before the second crossing that isn't drivable but should be melted out in the next two weeks or so. Beyond that exists some fallen trees and rockfall that will probably require maintenance come summertime. We made camp at the 4x4 trailhead and hiked up in the morning. Started about 2am and summited by 7 without too much effort, managing to break camp and be back at the car by 11. Expect 95% snow coverage above the summer trailhead. We used snowshoes pretty much the whole way up and down and they were a lifesaver. Perhaps with the right freeze conditions you could manage with only spikes, but floatation makes for smooth sailing. Still very skiable right now. |
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5/17/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 5/17/2023, By: Logan5280 Info: Climbed with AlessiaAscent on 5/16. We drove in on 5/15 and camped near the first river crossing. The road up to Nellie Creek trailhead is open and dry for approximately 2 miles. We stopped at the first creek crossing (2ish miles below summer trailhead) because water levels were pretty high and we didn't want to risk driving through. The road is drivable for 0.5-1 mile after the creek crossing, but quickly becomes covered in deep snow and a couple of fallen trees. The creek crossings were a little tricky on foot due to icy logs in the morning. We also missed a switchback in the road in the dark, which led to some issues getting back on the route. Flotation is necessary starting a short distance below the summer trailhead. Once out of the woods, it's mostly choose your own adventure to the SE face. We opted to follow the drainage at the start, which was a little sketchy in the afternoon because the creek seemed barely frozen. SE face might be doable with good step-kicking, but it's made way easier with crampons. From there, the west couloir is mostly dry. Summit plateau is mostly dry except for a couple low-angle snowfields. The snow warmed up significantly on the way down, with a few weird wet whoomfs once we got out of avalanche terrain. There was some post-holing with snowshoes at the bottom of the snowfield, but nothing terrible. However, we were glad to get out of steep terrain early because wet slide potential seemed high. Currently skiable from the top of the SE face to just below the summer trailhead. We got a nice pinch flat on a rocky section of the road on the way out, and hobbled into Gunnison on a donut. Excellent trip to the SJ's overall though! |
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4/30/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 4/30/2023, By: 14ercooper Info: The road is blocked by snowdrifts probably no more than half a mile above the 2WD parking, so expect a long day. Continuous snow began about a mile and a half or two miles before the upper trailhead (which is still buried in snow). A lot of snow coverage along most of the upper route - I definitely appreciated having a mountain axe and some traction. Snow was pretty solid before sunrise, and started to get soft around 10am (near the 2WD parking at the base of the 4WD road). Didn't need snowshoes, but would have been nice if I had gotten a later start. |
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10/30/2022 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/31/2022, By: Will_E Info: Uncompahgre was great yesterday, sunny, warm and not much wind. I started at the bottom of Nellie Creek Rd, there are tracks a few miles up, but nobody ventured past the first creek crossing by vehicle. Continuous snow started after the 2nd creek crossing, it only got deep in a few places above treeline, I didn't use snowshoes. I mostly followed the summer route, it wasn't hard to make out the path. I take a shortcut just after flipping to the back side of the mountain rather than follow the standard, helped to avoid at least 1 snow slope on the back side. |
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10/16/2022 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/17/2022, By: winter_wisher Info: Not much snow on the trail until the around the 13,400 mark, after which crusted snow is packed into roughly 50% of the trail's length leading up to the ridge. It was easy to avoid, and traction wasn't necessary. No snow at all in the scramble / crux, and only a little bit after that on the final ascent. Snow drifts remain in the shelters at the summit, but the summit itself wasn't snowy. |
