10/30/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/30/2016, By: Phill the Thrill Info: Fantastic "spring like" conditions at the end of October. We did not see a marmot or human all day - both firsts for me on a Colorado 14er. Very little snow on the route below 12,000 ft. We put on gaiters and microspikes at 12,500 and I would recommend the same for everyone - especially on the descent. Trekking poles are also helpful. From 12,500 to the summit there were a couple of inches of snow/ice, and a few times shin deep. The afternoon was warm and the snow softened considerably, but no postholing because there's not enough snow for that. Also, the road to the TH is completely dry. |
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10/20/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/20/2016, By: bmcqueen Info: Climbed Halo Ridge route to Holy Cross from Tigiwon. Ankle deep snow most of the way with a few drifts at knee deep. Gaiters highly recommended. Spikes were nice for north ridge standard descent route. |
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10/20/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/21/2016, By: danzellner Info: Climbed North Ridge Route starting from Halfmoon campground. Light snow on most of route over halfmoon pass into East Cross Creek. Once on the north ridge of Mt. Holy Cross it is ankle deep with knee high drifts, there was ice coming back from the summit later in the day. Had crampons but did not use them, there is a lot of rock hopping involved, and holes between rocks to catch your foot. Recommend micro spikes and trekking poles. |
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10/15/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/16/2016, By: dritse Info: I went up the Halo Ridge route and down the North Ridge. The trail up to the Notch Mountain shelter was almost completely dry. There is a very small amount snow along Halo Ridge, which was all avoidable by staying on top of rocks. I had to do a little more rock hopping around the summit. The North Ridge route from the switchbacks just below treeline and up was mostly a thin layer of packed snow. I brought traction but didn't use it. |
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10/15/2016 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 10/18/2016, By: rivrrapids Info: Route mostly clear. Some snow present but only shin deep in spots. North facing slopes starting to hold snow. Didn't need traction yet. |
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10/10/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/11/2016, By: bbk_08 Info: Snow and ice starting from about 2.5 miles going up to the summit. Descending would be excessively difficult without micro spikes / cramp-ons While I did not attempt Fall Creek trail / Notch Mountain, I spoke with the Holy Cross forest service who told me that the trails that had been closed due to fire were now open again to hikers. |
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9/7/2016 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 9/8/2016, By: scottda Info: Fall Creek Trail closed from Half Moon Campground to Lake Constantine. Notch Mountain trail closed. |
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9/6/2016 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 9/6/2016, By: swetnesss Info: Was going for Halo Ridge route but Fall Creek Trail as well as Notch Mountain Trail are closed as of today 9/6/16 due to wildfire caused by lightning. Only way to get to halo ridge on ascent would be to ascend Notch mountain first. |
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9/6/2016 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 9/8/2016, By: Chicago Transplant Info: Fall Creek trail and Notch Mountain Trail are CLOSED until further notice to let a small wildfire burn out. This means the Halo Route is not accessible (up or down) from the the normal Notch Mountain Shelter route. If you wanted to do the Halo, you would have to descend by traversing the notch (class 3 or higher depending on route findg) and back to Halfmoon Pass. Do not descend the Notch Mountian trail from the shelter! More info in this thread: Sorry for the copy/paste, it won't let me link it in a conditions report... http://14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=50591&p=616729#p616729 |
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8/13/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 8/18/2016, By: Sticky Info: No snow at all on the standard (north ridge) route. |
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7/29/2016 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 8/2/2016, By: Flyingfish Info: No snow to speak of along the whole ridge with only a little snow still at the tops of the couloirs. Super loose rock in the saddle between Holy Cross Ridge and Mt. of the Holy Cross |
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7/14/2016 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 7/15/2016, By: SolarAlex Info: Summer conditions on the ridge, start to finish. One or 2 small snow crossings (less than 40 feet) that are avoidable if you don't want to get your feet wet. One of my favorite 14er routes to date, highly recommend it! The north ridge descent route is completely dry also. |
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7/9/2016 Route: Cross Couloir Posted On: 7/9/2016, By: jladderud Info: The couloir is still continuous. Great snow. I'm not so sure I'd ski it though. We entered the couloir at 7:15 and topped out at 8:45 with no post holing. I saw people on the couloir as late as 10 and they said that they post holed the last 200 feet or so. Tons of cars parked at the trailhead. |
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7/8/2016 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 7/9/2016, By: jwgrosser Info: Went up the North Ridge and Down Halo Ridge. No snow to speak of on either route (that can't be avoided with one or two steps). No traction or flotation needed. A few Pictures from various points along the loop. |
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6/28/2016 Route: Cross Couloir Posted On: 6/29/2016, By: lodgling Info: Cross couloir is still in for a summit ski descent. I hope to post a video later to give an idea of ski conditions. |
