6/29/2022 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/30/2022, By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Approach trail to Chicago Basin is clear of deadfall, but there Sunday's monsoon surge created a washout that has potential to become a full-blown gully for about 1000' ~2 miles below the basin (edit: attached example photo taken by daway8). Trail from basin to start of the ascent to Twin Lakes has running water and mud for a significant portion. There is a brief snow crossing above the headwall, but traction isn't a necessity there. Approach to the saddle consists largely of either frozen mud or liquid mud depending on whether the sun has risen high enough yet. The remaining bit of scrambling is dry. Summit block is just as intimidating as pictures and video make it look, but if you're with professionals who have ropes and know how to use them, it's doable even for the faint hearted. |
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6/27/2022 Route: Chicago Basin Approach Posted On: 6/29/2022, By: Beekman Info: Good news - most of the dead fall has been cleared by the forest service. Bad news - there was a down poor for 12 hours straight today, completely washed out the trail, places have gullies three foot deep. A forest service volunteer said it's beyond repair. Plan on a extra time to navigate. |
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6/25/2022 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/28/2022, By: richardwh Info: There were one or two snow fields just after Twin Lakes, depending on route taken. I crossed two on the way up, but only one on the return. FWIW, I did not summit or attempt Windom, since the weather was turning. Both snow fields were fairly short (probably 30-40 yards or so), and both were on relatively flat ground. From CB, the mountains all looked fairly snow-free, so I left my axe at camp and only carried my crampons up, being that they were my only traction. Microspikes would be fine, if anything, but I did not even bother with my crampons, since they were short, flat snow fields, and therefore “low stakes.” It's not very snowy, but monsoon season is definitely here early, as advertised! One of the waterfall crossings on the return to Needleton was gushing with muddy runoff water, and there was no obvious way to cross without getting feet soaked. Hopefully you'll have better luck! |
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2/19/2022 Route: South Face Posted On: 2/21/2022, By: rosey33 Info: Left purgatory at 5:30am and booted past needleton before putting on snowshoes. Very warm day making the snow soft. Arrived at lower Chicago basin at 2pm. Set camp and pushed for sunlight and windom. Twin lakes is frozen and there is no water. You can get water from streams near the head wall before twin lakes. We left our snow shoes below twin lakes and booted. Crampons and traction are not required with the current snow pack. Choose your own adventure to get these peaks after accessing snow pack. Rob Barlow and I had bomber snow on sunlight. Summit of Sunlight at 8pm. Winds picked up and temps dropped. Pushed onward to windom descending near the standard route of sunlight. Took standard route up windom and summited at 10:30pm. Did not take the standard route down. We made quick work of a North West facing gully that had some loose dry risk but very manageable. Back to camp in lower Chicago basin at 1:30 am.. This shit is no joke. Kudos to everyone who made it this year so far. |
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1/10/2022 Route: South Face Posted On: 1/12/2022, By: bmcqueen Info: I'm not sure Team CB put in a superhighway trench as Amy described it. There were two of us to her one, so twice as much of a highway I suppose. Amy's solo effort is amazing and we appreciated the tracks in down the hill from Purgatory. Trench to CB is in to Twin Lakes, up Sunlight and Windom. Didn't have gas in the tank to try Eolus group after summiting Windom in the dark and returning to camp after 10. More unconsolidated snow in the basin than I was expecting as dry as it has been. South slopes of Sunlight had some rollerballs and wet slide remnants. Switched from snowshoes to crampons most of the way up the gully. No real surprises rest of the route. |
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11/22/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 11/22/2021, By: calhack7 Info: Summited Sunlight Peak today. Perfect weather, not a cloud in the sky and no wind at all. Hiked in to Chicago Basin yesterday afternoon, summited this morning, then hiked out. Purgatory flats to the junction with Needle Creek is bone dry. From there to Twin Lakes there are occasional patches of snow/ice, never more than a few inches deep or a few feet long. The Twin lakes and Needle Creek drainage had a mix of firm snow I could walk on and soft snow that I post holed past my knees in. Once across the drainage the snow was patchy until about ~13,500. From there to the summit it was almost completely dry. Skipped Windom b/c that side of the valley had a lot more snow, and it was getting too late in the day to attempt Eolus/N Eolus. Brought spikes/axe but didn't use either. |
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11/6/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 11/9/2021, By: nicoinco Info: I hiked into Chicago Basin over the weekend via the Purgatory Flats approach. Ended up summiting Sunlight, Windom, and North Eolus, but decided to turn around at the “catwalk” of Eolus due to what appeared to be unconsolidated and sloping snow on the ledges of Eolus. Sunlight was mostly dry and grippy above the gulley. Ended up with just under 45 miles and 13,000ft round trip for the weekend. I brought crampons, microspikes, poles, and an ice axe into the basin with me, but didn't end up using any traction. The poles were helpful for some post-holing at and above Twin Lakes, and I used my axe on Windom for added comfort traversing some short snow slopes towards the top. There was evidence of some sliding on the north face of Windom, so I'd be wary of any further attempts at the crossover from Sunlight with any new snow. Overall, less snow than expected and an excellent weekend alone in the mountains. |
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10/5/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 10/5/2021, By: arete66 Info: Snow Thurs (9/30/21?) left it's mark on the high pks above Chicago Basin. Just returned & tracks combined with personal interviews prompt this update. Many have climbed North Eolus and 4 or more made it up Windom (the snowiest of the 4) Sunlight has melted out more and is actually reasonable but the cairns play an outsized role. Eolus seen from N. Eolus looks forbidding but I made it by stitching short sections together. Despite being called aridge route, the route is almost entirely on the left (SE) side of the ridge thus it's less snowy; airy but doable. Thanks to NC Heather and her companions who did the hard work of pounding out a boot pack on Windom. I completed all four wearing low top guide boots with dang good gaitors. |
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8/20/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 8/21/2021, By: coopereitel Info: Started at 4:00am after the crazy rain the day prior. Up at Twin Lakes we realized it was snowy up on the peaks but decided to go take a look. It was pretty icy and snowy past the saddle and my partners and I weren't feeling it so decided to just bail and come back when it would be more fun of a climb (it looked super cool). Looked like some more parties may have summited, and I bet that the snow won't last very much longer with the nice weather (it may have already melted). I will be back! |
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7/7/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 7/10/2021, By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: No snow from Chicago Basin ~11k' to summit. Early morning was helpful in loose gulley for damper conditions in the gravel/rocks to make it less slippery. Beware on the way down as rocks went rolling if people were above you. No snow in class 3 section. |
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7/3/2021 Route: Chicago Basin Approach Posted On: 7/9/2021, By: swesleyc7 Info: Confirming: Summer conditions at peak of Sunlight. No snow on trail to Chicago Basin. Minor snow fields located at Twin Lakes. Otherwise, ascent from Twin Lakes to Sunlight summit is entirely free of snow as the summit is getting copious sun. Geographic changes to trail (i.e. rock-fall, etc.) unremarkable. Weather excellent at this time of year with rain likely after noon, as expected. Attached photo shows Twin Lakes, taken from the summit. Climb on! |
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6/20/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/25/2021, By: Will_Quillman Info: Summer Conditions on the standard south face route. Did not use traction or gaiters. Class 4 seems a bit overrated on this route, but that is just my opinion. We started from higher up in the basin around 5 am Sunday morning, took us 3 hours to reach the summit and then we headed over to Windom. Submitted a trip report for Windom too. |
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10/5/2020 Route: Purgatory Flats Posted On: 10/8/2020, By: mickknu16 Info: Bluebird week in Chicago basin! Incredible conditions for October, no traction needed. The winds of Aeolus cleared the smoke out this week for us, but it rolled in this morning thick as we were packing out. Small fire at Purgatory was a big cause. Fall colors are in full swing. Get it while it's clear! Windom is still holding snow in some spots, but all are easily passable. |
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9/15/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 9/15/2020, By: shsdawg58 Info: The Chicago Basin 14ers are open for business. I summited all peaks without traction or ice tools. Go get it! |
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9/15/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 9/15/2020, By: shsdawg58 Info: The Chicago Basin 14ers are open for business. I summited all peaks without traction or ice tools. Go get it! |
