Mt. Lindsey

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/23/2025, By: Istoodupthere
Info: Combined with Iron Nipple. Summer conditions. The ridge is the way to go. Wouldn’t want to deal with that loose rock in the gully. Class 3 crux route isn’t a big deal but I did struggle at first to find the correct route. I got off route there and back near the 1st river crossing. The lily lake sign is hidden behind 2 trees so it was near impossible to see in the dark. Route through the woods was fairly easy to follow, even in dark as long as you’re concentrating. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/21/2025, By: Kbrown321
Info: Summer conditions, any snow was fully avoidable. NW gully was still holding snow. Very very windy on the ridge in line with today’s forecast 

Route: Northwest Gully
Posted On: 6/21/2025, By: Ariella6
Info: My lost pack was retrieved! Thank you trail angel! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/18/2025, By: Ariella6
Info: Will start with road in. It is not that bad if you know how to pick your lines. Its rough but not as bad as many we have done. I have a 2014 honda pilot with 8 inches of clearance. We stopped .4 miles before the trailhead but walking it i realized we could have easily gone to the parking lot. There was multiple pulls offs along the route. The last 2 miles are the roughest. If you dont have some clearance you will likely need to park at the spot 2 miles before the trailhead. The river crossing, was very iced over this morning. Be sure to have poles just in case. It took a little manuevering on it. It was dry on the way out so we opted to go over the logs again but if it hadn't been we were going to just cross in the water and take off our shoes. The trail in the trees be sure to have not only the 14ers pictures downloaded but would also download the map from all trails. This kept us on route. There were lots of goat trails. Lots of down trees where people have rerouted around them. It seemed like it could honestly be easy to get lost. The all trails was accurate through the trees. you will need a paid subscription to have it downloaded before you go. If you dont have it predownloaded it generally wont work when there is no service. The trail was predominantly dry. There was a few patches of snow but they were avoidable. Be sure to sign the waiver. My friend had a hard copy of hers and I had mine screenshotted on my phone just in case someone asked to see it. The routes are not really marked. All trails takes you via the gully route. Which the ridge and gully overlap for quite aways. The crux - the middle route was the most solid. Be sure to study the pictures beforehand so you have an idea of where you need and want to go. We looked at the route on the left and it looked pretty sketch. not great handholds and drop offs. Beyond the crux to the false summit there is not really a trail..... you are just climbing boulders. This was my 37th 14er and my friends 27th. We both hike a lot and I am also a trail runner and do a fair amount of indoor climbing. From the bottom of the crux up to the top and back to the bottom of the crux took us 3 hours. You will need to be able to utilize some route finding skills. From the false summit to the summit, there is a trail. ALSO I lost my bright green backpack along the route today. It was as we were downclimbing from the ridge to where you go the top of the crux, it went rolling down. possibly all the way down to the gully trail. If anyone happens to find it and could just save and hike out the hat, gloves, neck gaiter, phone bank charger and cloth on front it would be greatly appreciated...... ariellanetanya@gmail.com Dont do any dangerous moves though to retrieve it, its not worth it but if you happen to find it along your route would sure appreciate it. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2025, By: Ethan
Info: Road in wasn’t as bad as I expected. Would still recommend 4WD and a solid amount of clearance. I camped at the trailhead and the views were spectacular. Trail to the ridge line was in good condition and quite steep through the trees. Patches of snow in the trees but easily passable without gators or spikes. On the ridge, the gully was still too snowed in to justify taking it over the ridge. The ridge was fun and technical. The leftward route through the crux (green) is definitely the easiest way to go. Had a friend go right and it quickly turned to class 4 moves (red). That being said the rock was great. Very solid with plenty of hand and foot holds. Overall great day and one of my favorite climbs so far! 

Route: Gully on ascent; Ridge on descent
Posted On: 6/9/2025, By: dakotasmama
Info: There were numerous large snow drifts below treeline that made staying on the trail difficult at times. Creek crossings were fairly easy to navigate but very slippery. A couple of snow fields in the upper basin, the snow was relatively firm. We took the gully on ascent and the ridge on descent. Personally I thought the gully, though a little steep and icy in a few spots, was far more straightforward and uncomplicated than the ridge. Most of the large rocks on the ridge were stable but there was lots of scattered scree and no real definitive “trail” to follow. We didn’t spend much time on the summit due to incoming cloud cover. The geographical survey marker is either missing or still buried under a large snow drift. Lots of budding plants and flowers and even a baby marmot ♥️ Aspens are fully leafed and gorgeous. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/8/2025, By: MidsizeAl
Info: Intermittent snow after 10.8k makes for some trickier route finding, but things seem to be melting pretty quickly. Beyond tree-line, snow is completely avoidable for the most part. Couple of weeks and things should be in summer conditions. We carried spikes but never used them. We ascended the climbers right C4 variation of the ridge, and descended the climbers left side. The chimney in the center is still holding some snow which blocked some of the easier moves on that variation, but we still found it to be pretty simple. Quite a bit of rockfall from climbers on the headwall, so use some caution, but the ridge itself was very solid. Thanks to the ranch for the waiver system! We were very happy to legally ascend this one finally. Edit: N Couloir and Gully are both still filled with snow. Pics included. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/11/2025, By: rsherman
Info: Hiked this last Saturday, June 7. Weather was gorgeous, very few clouds an no rain. Which was a good thing because this was slow going. Trail starts out pretty flat and mellow, but once you start gaining elevation the trail is a bit hard to find due to snow drifts. As long as you keep close to the river and the GPS trail on 14ers.com, you'll be fine. We went in thinking we'd do the gully but we didn't have an ice ax and it looked steep/icy, so opted for the ridge. Despite there being some tough exposed moves, the rock was at least solid so I think it was the right call. Summit was gorgeous with minimal wind. Overall, hard but well worth it. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2025, By: KevinHadley
Info: Conditions are at ~90% of Summer. Decent number of snowdrifts in the trees above 11k ft that pushed us off the formal trail/ around the drifts - making route finding challenging at times. In short order these drifts will continue to be stepped-in, making for less post-holing and easier hiking conditions. Brought spikes but didn't need them. Gully route is still completely impacted with a continuous ice sheet. Crampons / Ice Axe / Helmet and you can take the gully all the way up to the shoulder. Ridge route entirely clear of snow / ice. Rockfall hazard remains high. 

Route: Northwest Gully and Other
Posted On: 5/29/2025, By: Jcinco
Info: Started at the “puddle” about 1/3 of the way up the 4wd section. This is the only impediment on the road for low-clearance vehicles at the moment. Nearly 13 miles RT from here. With the postholing, tree-snags on my skis, and talus detours, I was pretty beat-up by the end of the day. It’s definitely going to be a while before I can recommend trying to follow the summer path. The previous conditions reports still hold. Good snow conditions on the peak… Lindsey seems to be a snow magnet given the lack of coverage on the surrounding peaks. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/27/2025, By: evanm137
Info: Still a lot of snow on this route, but doable if you either start really early, or you're in great shape, comfortable with sketchy detours, and have a lots of patience. I hate starting any 14er before like 6AM, so I dealt with all of the mushy snow on the way down. The way up though was a lot of fun, and I didn't run into any major issues. I used the past info about taking the boulder field to the left of the route after the first mile or so. The brief time that I was in the forest in the second chunk of the hike after crossing the river, was REALLY bad. There are LOTS of downed trees, there are intermittent piles of snow, and route finding is incredibly difficult. The boulder field does pose its own challenges though, as some sections of it are pretty loose. But for the most part, it was fine. Once you can cross back over towards the river (which is quickly melting), you have intermittent manageable snow fields up through the valley. The valley is GORGEOUS right now. And once you're on the path up towards the saddle, the snow is either completely shallow and manageable, or non-existent and dry. I love climbing, so I chose the Northwest Ridge. The ridge is like 70% dry, and the crux wall is definitely dry enough now to where it's completely safe to climb. There was snow on the ridge, a good 30% or so as stated already, but it was absolutely never a problem. It was in spots where having it actually made things easier. Summit is about half dry and half snow. Was a beautiful day up there! The wind came in waves, but when I was on the summit the wind was luckily super mild. The way down the ridge was fine for me. Again, I love climbing, and exposure and heights do not scare me, so I never had issues, but with the small bit of snow still left on the crux, I could see the downclimb of the crux being a bit scary for those less confident than myself. Once I was down from the saddle, that's where the Type 3 fun section of the day began. Definitely postholed a lot from 12,500 back down to the boulder field. I ended up sliding down the snow on my butt a good amount, which was much easier and luckily worked well enough to save me some energy. My biggest advice is to remember the exact route you came up, as snow was more avoidable when I was coming up compared to going down. I had forgotten my exact route going up after I hiked past the river, so I opted for following for the exact route as much as I could on the way down, which led to much more postholing. Found the boulder field again, and made my way back towards the first creek/river crossing, which was right before where I detoured to the boulder field on the way up. Again, the brief time I was back in the forest before crossing back across the river, TONS of downed trees (it was actually insane) and confusing route finding. I'd say wait a good 3 more weeks, and then this route should be like 98% summer. It's still a fun, long, day, and manageable right now, but I would've done things a bit differently if I could do it over again. The main thing being mapping out the exact route I took up, for the descent. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: Lubellski
Info: Driving to Lily Lake TH no problem except for the RVs you have to deal with who have ZERO etiquette. I left the trail pretty soon as it had deep snow that would not hold my weight, so I chose the scree and tails fields to my left. Once I got higher up it was possible to find a route with minimal snow, but the snow was firm enough to hold my weight so I went with it. Once at the saddle, I layered up again the winds and headed up the ridge. Snow filled in a lot of spaces, but I was able to find a good route on the rocks, until above the crux which was all snow, but had a bootlick and was firm. Came down and went over Iron Nipple, Huerfano, and UN 13557, coming down the scree slope just north of 13557 and reconnecting to the trail after crossing the idyllic Huerfano River. An excellent day, but it took 9 hours at an average of only around 1mph. Saw zero people, one car at the TH when I departed. 

Route: Northwest Gully
Posted On: 5/22/2025, By: Jimmy Jay
Info: Good hard snow in the morning, mashed potatoes if you tarry too long. Even with snowshoes from 12,500 down we kept punching through most of the way down. Trailhead is clear with only one uphill snow patch that should melt out by the weekend. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/18/2025, By: daway8
Info: Crossed stream on large pile of logs at 10,730ft about 1.5mi in. Trail intermittently dry or snow covered over the first mile or so which made finding the trail through the woods tricky - lots of socials trails all over the place. Poor, punchy snow in woods made for very annoying travel. I cut left as soon as I saw dry rocks off to the left and managed to climb above the snow then stay on a more or less parallel path to the main route that kept me largely on dry ground the first half or so of the hike. But from the time you head up to gain the ridge there's still plenty of snow to the summit. Crux had lots of snow in the middle but only spots of snow on the side. Summer gully filled in with snow. Seeing lots of old avalanche activity in the valley and some rollers in the gully, I stuck with the ridge proper approach going up. The class 3 section was dry where it needed to be but on top of the ridge it was often a knife edge of pure snow which was slightly unnerving to walk on but everything stayed stable. Someone else kicked steps up the gully but exited early, coming up before NW Lindsey, the 14er sub-summit. Me and a guy I met on the summit followed his tracks down the gully since wind was getting wicked on the ridge. Gully was very steep, especially the shortcut from before the sub-summit. I managed in spikes with an ice axe, the other guy followed with no axe and microspikes on one foot only. Crampons would have been preferable in spots but we got down ok. On descent I followed the tracks others had made on the standard route out of hopes of getting shade from the blistering sun. At once point an 8 foot wide slab of snow collapsed under me into the stream and only rapid reflexes kept me dry. Snow in the woods was horribly annoying so I cut back over to the dry rocks as soon as I was able. Would advise others to minimize time in the woods and travel on the rocks above. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/21/2025, By: aolsen356
Info: Was able to drive the the landslide Friday night. Snowed around 8 inches overnight (a guess), and 5 to 8 more inches Saturday while I hiked. Used my skins the entire hike. The new snow made the going slow, and I ran out of time, turned around 4 miles in. If you follow my tracks, be aware that I got off trail for a while, and then got turned around finding a place to cross the stream, so maybe don't follow my tracks after mile 3ish.