Sunlight Peak

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/9/2017, By: kayleenann8
Info: Dry and clear to the summit! Wear a helmet. Worst part to me was the loose steep trail to the summit ridge. Try to stay on the cairns trail there to minimize trail spread. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/5/2017, By: STIBungy
Info: No snow to worry about on the way. The rocks are solid and trail well defined. Did the traverse over to Windom by staying near the green band of rocks. The snowfields along the way are easily avoidable. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 8/21/2017, By: Marmot96
Info: The remaining snowfields are so small that they are of no concern and no extra gear is needed. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/19/2017, By: metalmountain
Info: Besides a couple of small flat snowfields around the Twin lakes and in the basin between Sunlight and Windom there is no snow to speak of on the route. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/7/2017, By: glenmiz
Info: Still a lot of snow. Once out of the basin, dry up the gully and climbing on the boulders except for a few patches of snow that are easy to bypass. Coming down to the lakes is a slog through soft, sun-cupped, snow-filled basin and down the headwall was a little tricky as it got steeper and slipperier. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 6/29/2017, By: pmeadco
Info: The bottom of the official route is still covered with snow but it is easy to go up the red line on the east side of the face. There is a small patch of snow below the class 3 crux near the summit, but it is fairly flat so not a problem, otherwise the high part of the route is dry. Still lots of snow in the bowl from Twin Lakes up to the south face. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 10/3/2016, By: restlesslegs8
Info: Southern aspects dry in Chicago Basin. Snow holding on North Faces. West ridge up Windom had managable snow. No snow on standard route up Sunlight (frozen dirt and scree which was nice!). Eolus route looks dry from across the basin. A little more precip today maybe, but conditions will return quickly unless significant snowfall occurs. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/4/2016, By: Beekman
Info: No snow on the entire route. Frost has hit the basin killing most of the skunk cabbage. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/21/2016, By: MountainMo
Info: Summer conditions for Sunlight/Windom and Eolus/N. Eolus. Minor/short snowfields in upper basin of Sunlight/Windom, both for going up towards Sunlight and crossing basin from Sunlight over to Windom. All flat to low angle snowfields, no axe or traction needed. Eolus/N. Eolus, dry entire way (ramp has no snow or ice, typical wet areas from snow runoff and rain). First time in the Basin for me and it was magical: wildflowers, waterfalls, views, and the trail construction is art work. Great time with a couple different climbing groups as well, thanks to all. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 7/3/2016, By: thebeave7
Info: Climbed the South face after descending the NW face of Windom. See that condition report for the approach in the basin. The bottom of the South face was solid snow, but about half way up to the saddle I encountered a fair bit of postholing so veered right onto gravel (8-9a). The upper slope/scramble was mostly snow free and I didn't use any of the snow gear to get to the summit from the saddle. I descended the slabs to the climbers left of the normal South face line and was able to zigzag down the slope on class 2-3 avoiding almost all the snow. I then descended the snow in the basin back to Twin Lakes, with minimal postholing if I stayed toward the south side of the basin. The North side of the basin (sees earlier sun) had a fair amount of soft knee to waist deep postholing through the 1-2" ice layer, causing a fair bit of pain and scratching. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/25/2016, By: Gueza
Info: Skied Eolus, N Eolus, Sunlight, and Windom Peak yesterday in excellent spring conditions. The approach is mostly dry until about 2 miles from the main Chicago Basin camping area where it becomes patchy - bring snowshoes or other floatation. Continous snow from above the headwall. Skiers: Eolus is in from the top, so is N Eolus, the Sunlight Ramp is the fattest i've ever seen it, and Windom has great snow from the summit. The snow is great for climbing too; bring crampons and an ice axe for sure. TR will be up soon ~Gueza 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/10/2016, By: abreibart
Info: Chicago Basin: We hiked/skied in Saturday after taking the 845 train from Durango to Needletown, which reached the destination by 1215 or so. There's no snow at the stop. Our group of 3 and another group of 2 hiked the first 4 miles of trail and skinned the last 3 from approximately 10K to 11.2K at the campsite at the outlet of Chicago Basin on Saturday May 8. About 2 inches of wet new snow was on top of a melt/freeze layer. On Sunday, reached 13.5K at saddle below ridge to Sunlight. Turned back to high winds, snow, and poor visibility. Skied 4 inches of new snow at 1030 back to camp. Other party returned at 4PM and said there was a foot of new snow above 13K. Overnight, we had 1 foot of snow at camp and likely 2 feet above 13K. We all left a day early on Monday May 9, due to increased avalanche hazard. With new snow, all 5 of us skied 4 miles. Fun adventure and forecasts were a bit off. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/23/2015, By: WillRobnett
Info: Climbed N. Eolus, Eolus, Windom, and Sunlight. Fall colors are mostly holding back in the basin. Starting to show pretty well on the Silverton-Durango train. Fall colors are near peak coming into Silverton from both Durango and Ouray. Hwy 550 south from Ouray has construction road closures. Hwy 550 is closed Monday-Friday 8:30AM to noon and 1PM to 5:30PM. Last night (9/22) it snowed in the Silverton/Chicago Basin area. Climbed Sneffels today 9/23. Sneffels was clear of snow on the standard route. From Sneffles we could see Chicago Basin, Pigeon, Turret, anything near Chicago basin had snow down to at least 13,000 on north aspects in the morning. Sneffels had snow on the north face as well. Thin layer most likely melting fast. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/21/2015, By: jonandmalia
Info: Perfect conditions! No snow to contend with. Went high at top of gully, recommend that. Mountain is dry. Weather was great and leaves are changing. Chilly nights/mornings, so go quickly! 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/7/2015, By: Sunshineof1985
Info: I climbed all three peaks in one day. Below are details on the trail for Sunlight below. Sunlight was my 36th fourteener this summer. My goal is to climb them all, but it looks like I will be a week late. You can read more on this hike and others at Sunshineof1985.com! Enjoy! Windom Peak Route: West Ridge Sunshine Peak Route: South Face Mount Eolus Route: Northeast Ridge Distance: 12.17 mi. Elevation Gain (from Needleton Stop): 12,000 ft. elevation gain overall, and 9,000 ft. in one day. Time started: 3:00am End time: 2:30pm Time to Summit Windom Peak from Chicago Basin: 4 hours and 15 minutes Time to Summit Sunlight Peak from summit of Windom Peak: 1 hour Time to Summit Mount Eolus from Sunlight Peak: 3 hours Time to Descend Mount Eolus to Chicago Basin: 3 hours Overall Pace: 1.1 miles per hour *GEAR (to bring): Bear spray, helmet, water purifier, first aid kit, sleeping pad, sleeping bag, headlamp, flashlight, toilet paper, GPS, extra batteries, extra socks, phone, SPOT Satellite Tracker, Map, Topo Map from 14ers.com, hiking boots with 2 pairs of socks on, extra change of clothes, wear a tank top, long-sleeve, wind-guard/raincoat, light weight puffy coat, lightweight gloves, overnight pack with water sack and extra water (160oz), food for two full days (large bag of jerky, large bag of trailsmix, 4 protein bars, and 4 granola bars). *Road Condition: You need to park in the town of Durango. If you are tight on a budget like myself, park in the residential area not far from the train station for free- just be sure to look for parking signs. Train costs $100!! You can also take the train from Silverton- which I recommend. If you call them, you can get a discount- tell them you‘re being dropped off at Needleton either way. *Trail Condition: Needleton Stop to Chicago Basin (6 mi.): Trail is very well marked and an easy incliine. The best part of the hike is about 3 miles in (lots of waterfalls). Sunlight: I took the very steep gully from Windom‘s notch. Be very careful if you do so also. Crossing the boulders to get to Sunlight can be tricky as they can be surprisingly loose despite their size. I got thrown off one- ouch. The gully sucks. Follow the cairns to the top, and do not do the final hops if you have never bouldered, are alone, or don‘t have ropes. I didn‘t do it, and my pride is still in tact.