5/25/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 5/25/2012, By: bjkent76 Info: Summer conditions on Princeton today. Previous report on condition of Mt Princeton Rd is 100% accurate. Still need high clearance 4WD to get to radio towers (I drove a Durango and was just fine). The two sections of snow referenced earlier this week are nearly gone. Only one 50 foot strip of snow which was easily crossed. No need for spikes or gaiters. |
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5/20/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 5/21/2012, By: RossZahuranec Info: The conditions were clear! Drove up in 4-wheel drive, higher clearance vehicle, and stopped near the radio towers at 10,800‘. Barely any snow. We could have kept driving up to the last parking area before the road ends, near the forest service building, but walked that instead from the 10,800 route. The peak we reached in about 3 hours and only had to walk through one or two patches of snow. Maybe about 45 degrees F at the peak, and 60 near the base. Great hike! Note about the drive up: I‘d recommend a higher clearance vehicle. We saw a Subaru Outback parked near where we parked, so they were able to make it, but I‘m guessing they probably scraped bottom a few times. |
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4/29/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 4/29/2012, By: big_red_pride Info: Just did Princeton today. You can make it all the way to the radio towers with no issues at all in a 4WD. Most of the snow fields on the road are avoidable. There are some small snow fields to cross on the standard route but snowshoes and spikes are not needed. It is about as close to summer conditions on the trail as one could ask for minus a small amount of snow. Happy hiking! |
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4/29/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 4/29/2012, By: RJansen77 Info: Successfully made it up Princeton today with dillonsarnelli. The route above the road is mostly snow-free, though it crosses 5 gullies that still have some snow while traversing below Tigger Peak. There are nice steps crossing all of the gullies, but I would recommend taking along micro-spikes and an axe if you are uncomfortable crossing snow, as an un-arrested fall could send you down a long ways into rocks. They were not a big deal to cross while the snow was melting in the afternoon, but early in the morning when frozen I can see being nervous about these. Other than that it's a straightforward, (depressingly) snow-free climb to the summit. Feel free to PM me with any questions! The final photo I've attached shoes Dillon standing at the edge of the road, below where the trail branches off. The steps and cairn are buried in snow. |
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3/30/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 3/30/2012, By: dehrlich101 Info: The turn off for the princeton trail from the road is covered with snow. About halfway up the ridge there is no snow on the trail, and you can easily follow this to the north side of the ridge. The gullies on the north side have snow in them, micro spikes and an axe would be recommended. Later on in the day the snow softened up and gators would be a good idea. Once you gain the ridge there is not much snow to the summit. There is gully that looks like it has enough snow in it to ski "See third picture" |
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3/10/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 3/10/2012, By: big_red_pride Info: Went for Tigger and Princeton today. Only got in Tigger but went to the saddle and followed the standart Princeton route back out. The standard route does have snow on the trail and spikes were useful. Spikes were also useful on the road as the angle of the snow would have been tough to use snowshoes on. If the peak doesn‘t get any more snow, personally I would leave the shoes at home and follow the standard route all the way up the peak. Be safe out there! |
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3/10/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 3/11/2012, By: Iman86 Info: The Return of Fake Winter (in a big way) After reading TR‘s about trail breaking struggles up Princeton recently, we prepared for a long day. You can probably drive to radio towers with food 4wd. Snowshoes not needed anywhere on route. Ridge to Tigger almost 100% free of snow. Small (and I do mean small) sections of snow on route to Princeton. Microspikes may be wanted for some, but this whole peak could have been done in trail runners yesterday without an axe. We decided to return via the standard route as there was barely enough snow on the North slopes of Tigger to cause tremendous concern. |
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2/4/2012 Route: Winter Route over Tigger Posted On: 2/5/2012, By: Mickeys Grenade Info: I climbed Mt. Princeton on Saturday. I left the Mt. Princeton Road at about 11,000 feet just before the road turns to the right. I put in a trench along the ridge to 11,800. This helps to avoid the avalanche section that the road above 11,ooo takes you into. It took 13 hours to summit and 7 hours to get back to the car. I broke trail the whole way with no help. Snowshoes and microspikes were very useful. Don‘t be tempted to leave the saddle between Tigger and Princeton on the return trip. It is best to follow your tracks back to the summit of Tigger. There are some steep snow covered talus sections on the descent of Tigger. Going up with microspikes was not a problem. However, on the descent it was dangerous. I had two falls. |
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1/22/2012 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 1/22/2012, By: shearmodulus Info: Winter advisory called for very windy conditions, and man they weren‘t kidding. I took the standard route from the lower trailhead. The road to the communications station is not passable for cars or any 4-wheel vehicles. I didn‘t need snowshoes until the communications station, where the snowpack got considerably deeper. Higher up I switched to crampons and ice axe because there has been some snow accumulation on some of the slopes that has covered the trail and created a mega snow-slide. It‘s pretty solid in most places, and could probably be climbed if one were so inclined. The trail tuenoff is very hard to find with all the snow. Right after the turnoff from the road, the snow gets deeper and hard to negotiate, but if you pick your route well you can get up over 12,200 with no problems. The wind was no joke. The blowing snow and 70+ mph winds make it very difficult to negotiate. I weigh 185 pounds plus 45 pounds of pack, and I got blown clear over twice by gusts that had to be in excess of 100 mph. Otherwise it was a clear day, but the wind was too much and I had to turn around. |
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12/29/2011 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 12/30/2011, By: ColoDreamin Info: -4WD is not sufficient to get beyond 8,900 trailhead. Need really good snow chains at a minimum; snowmobile would be best. -Alpine snowshoes used for most of the route. Road to towers is covered in snow but packed down by vehicle use. Road beyond towers is unpacked and is knee-high at places. -Trail above treeline is a mix of snow and rock; making it very slow going. If you don‘t use snowshoes, you are constantly loosing balance and post-holing in snow between the rocks (twisted ankle waiting to happen). If you use snowshoes you are awkwardly balancing of large, loose rocks. -A few of the snow gullies/chutes are steep enough that you might slide if you lost your footing, therefore an ice-axe might be good to have. On the other hand, if you are careful with your footing, you should be able to do the entire route without one. -Would highly recommend trekking poles with attachments for snow. |
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10/22/2011 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/22/2011, By: zdero1 Info: Mt. Princeton road is snow free all the way up to 4wd TH. Observed a Toyota truck getting stuck at about 11,500‘. Snow and ice are present on the majority of the East Slopes route before the ridge. Snow was usually 2-3" deep on the dirt trail. I did not have microspikes on and did slip a few times. Wind gusts up to 40mph on the ridge, but these were few and far between. A beautiful day given the season. |
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10/19/2011 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/20/2011, By: desertdog Info: Climbed 10/19. Some sections of minor snow and ice. No traction gear required. Road clear to radio towers. Beautiful day! |
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10/19/2011 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/20/2011, By: oldschool Info: Minimal snow up high, none lower down. The parking spots by the antennae are snow-free. Microspikes would be helpful as the trail gets icy later in the Am as the sun hits it and melts it a bit. Very good conditions. |
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10/13/2011 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/13/2011, By: lackerstef Info: Climbed solo on Mt. Princeton today for a third try. Last week, storms were rolling in. Yesterday, ‘Alpinegoat‘ (Arvind) and I tried and were blown off the mountain after passing the "ridge crest" described in the Bill‘s route. Today, totally different story. I was not only the only person on the mountain, but conditions were amazing. A couple of gusts at the ridge crest, and that was IT. The snow covers some of the route but actually makes the talus slopes easier in my opinion. Here is a video from the summit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udhK91xvDo8 |
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9/9/2011 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 9/9/2011, By: GreenHorn Info: View from the valley - light dusting of snow on the peak down to about 13,000. |
