6/21/2015 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 6/21/2015, By: KTC88 Info: Ascended the Halo Ridge, descended the North Ridge. Halo Ridge - snow on some of the switchbacks to gain the ridge, but you can avoid most of it by boulder hopping. I used snowshoes for a couple of sections between PT 13373 and PT 13831. Probably wouldn't need them in another week. North Ridge - no need for snowshoes. Some snow on the trail, but never enough to need snowshoes. Trekking poles helpful for stream crossing. Bring insect repellent - skeeters are out in force. Added some photos (Captions provide info). No pics of Notch Mtn from the east. |
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6/21/2015 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 6/22/2015, By: mountain_bound Info: After a nice early drive from Denver, we arrived at the Half Moon TH at 7am. Tigiwon Road is now open and in good condition for 2-WD. The trail up to Half Moon Pass is in great shape with very little snow cover. The mosquito‘s were a bit of a nuisance in the lower wooded parts of the trail so make sure to pack spray. Snow became more prevalent heading down the pass but managed the entire day without using micro-spikes. The creek crossing was fairly easy with trekking poles but it’s definitely flowing heavy with the recent high temps so watch your step. From the tree-line up to summit, the trail became harder to follow due to the occasional deep snow patch but the large cairns made it manageable to stay on track. The last pitch to the summit had little snow and the majority of the trail is visible for the last 500’-700’. Overall the trail is in good condition, give it another week or two and most of the trail will be completely free of snow. Amazing views all around. Enjoy! |
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6/21/2015 Route: Cross Couloir Posted On: 6/22/2015, By: mojah Info: Still in, but not what I‘d call a fun ski. Decent sized runnel through entire length. Discontinuous snow below the exit at 12,800‘ |
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6/9/2015 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 6/11/2015, By: WillRobnett Info: Notch Mountain and Halo Ridge looking pretty snowy. Savage Peak (13er south of Holy Cross) had tons of snow on the approach 6/9. Tigiwon Road is closed until 6/21 for Elk migration. |
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11/9/2014 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 11/13/2014, By: alpinenut Info: This report is probably useless for 2014 since winter really kicked in the day after we were there. However, maybe it can give a general indication of what it can be like at this time of the year. I‘m guessing it had only snowed about 6" in the two weeks prior. However conditions up high were very tough. There was snow filled in between all the boulders and talus, and once you reach the shelter it‘s pretty much all talus hopping along the ridge line for 2.5 mi. to the summit. To make matters worse because the snow was between rocks it was always soft and never wind blown so you could never count on solid steps on the snow. Traction or snowshoes would have been useless. It took us twice as long to cover the 2.5 mi. ridge as it took to climb the 5 mi. to the shelter. Brutal. Went down the North Ridge route because we wanted to get as far away from Halo Ridge as possible. Half Moon Pass (1k vertical climb) was worth not having to retrace that ridge in the semi-winter conditions. It seems to me that Halo Ridge would be easier in Summer or Winter. However it really is a long route!! Be careful descending the North Ridge route in snow (it was pretty much all snow down to about 11k ft). It‘s very easy to lose the trail. Make sure you find your way to the trail leading E over Half Moon Pass. Veer right below tree line across the fall line. If you don‘t you can end up lost in the valley where dozens of people get lost every summer. Not a good thing in the winter. |
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10/24/2014 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/25/2014, By: mjchelbe4549 Info: Minimal snow or other difficulties over notch moutain pass and into East Cross creek camping area. Ran into an inch or two of snow well within the tree line ascending from east cross creek towards the north ridge but it was well-packed and the trail easily established. We lost the trail approx 11,600‘ (which after more in-depth reading I have discovered is a common mistake) and didn‘t find it again until the summit. This made the trip more arduous than it had to be by extending our scrambling time significantly. Be sure to locate the cairns further north and east on the ridge when ascending from the trees rather than advancing too far SW on to the face. TALL BOOTS OR SNOW GAITORS are a necessity unless you are willing to be miserable (I witnessed this in my hiking companion and it nearly drove her to turn around several times). Brought cramp-ons but never used. Not enough snow yet for snow shoes. The snow also makes the trail very difficult to spot in between cairns and hides deep pockets between large rocks that readily swallow your legs. Rock scrambling was preferred in our group and a hiking stick was also a great help in choosing paths. The view from the top was well-worth the arduous trek- beautiful. |
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10/18/2014 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/18/2014, By: jrs1965 Info: No issue with Tigiwon Road or the trailhead. Trail had just a few spots of packed snow in the shade on the TH side of Halfmoon Pass. Same conditions on opposite side of the pass. Snow became more consistent on the opposite side of the creek while in the trees but was still packed on the trail. Above treeline the snow was more windblown and sparse leading up to the ridge. While on the ridge much of the leeward side of the trail was covered with the windblown snow while the windward side was bare (see pics). The final pitch had similar conditions with some deeper snow in the pits between the boulders. Traction/spikes and gaiters are a must now. Wintery weather is rolling in the next few days so these trail condition will change quickly... |
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10/18/2014 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 10/19/2014, By: capetrekker Info: Halo Ridge is snow covered from 11,000 feet up. The snow pack makes for slow going along the ridge. Rockhopping was the name of the game yesterday. Gaiters were a must and traction was brought but not used. We descended the North Ridge and had the same experience as jrs1965‘s report. |
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10/11/2014 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 10/12/2014, By: emgordon Info: Trail was dry to top of Halfmoon Pass. Snow/ice present in a few places on the other side, as well as starting after the last campsite on the other side of creek. In morning, mud was frozen but melted and slippery in afternoon starting near treeline from the ridge. Snow got more consistent near where trail joins the ridge, and the "post holes" were over knee deep. Traction useful, winds strong and blowing snow at times. Summit covered in a couple feet of snow. |
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9/7/2014 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 9/8/2014, By: trinkner Info: Superb hiking conditions throughout the standard route. There were no mosquitoes at the creek (cold weather may have killed them off?), although I didn‘t camp and was just a through-hiker. A rain/graupel storm gathered north of the peak on my ascent, but hearing no thunder and seeing no cloud height build-up, I pressed on, vowing to turn around at the first sound of thunder. On the summit, more graupel fell, but then the skies cleared for a gorgeously clear summit experience. On the descent, rain clouds gathered and rained, but there was no thunder or lightning. I noticed a few aspen leaves changing to yellow (less than 1% of them), and suspect that the next two weekends will have beautiful color. |
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7/8/2014 Route: Cross Couloir Posted On: 7/9/2014, By: MatB Info: Filled with runnels, but still climbable. Mostly writing this to warn anyone camping around East Cross Creek that the mosquitos are awful. They are the worst I‘ve ever seen in Colorado. I did not camp but even as doing this as a day hike, I was happy to have pants and a shell. I wore the shell while ascending East Cross Creek just to keep them off me. |
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7/4/2014 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 7/4/2014, By: ulvetano Info: halo is also perfect. Bits of snow on halo and north ridge, but not much. People - make an effort to cut thru the few remaining snow banks out there and don‘t walk ‘around‘ a little mound of snow. Packed parking lot today, but really not many people on the summit. Great 4th! |
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7/1/2014 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 7/3/2014, By: GoCards79 Info: The road to the trail head is in fine condition. It took me about 40min to drive, but I'm cautious on the dirt roads in the dark. The creek is running high at the crossing. I had to get one boot wet, but if you have hiking poles or excellent balance you should be fine crossing on the log and rocks. Mosquitoes will attack you around the creek so move fast and bring insect repellant. Only a few small snow fields/patches remain just below treeline and then heading up to the ridge that are easily avoided. |
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6/28/2014 Route: Halo Ridge Posted On: 6/30/2014, By: Tony1 Info: Ascended Halo Ridge and descended the standard north ridge. Snow patches are few, small, and are not too much of a hindrance. Spikes not needed at all. The most snow is still just below treeline on the north ridge route but it is easy enough to navigate around and through. Plenty of mosquitoes in the valley around East Cross Creek. |
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6/21/2014 Route: Cross Couloir Posted On: 6/21/2014, By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Skied the Cross Couloir today and it's in pretty bad shape for skiing; Plenty of snow but full of sun cups and runnels. After the exit, I was able to cross to a large snow field and link turns down through smaller ones to reach the lake but, again, full of sun cups. If you're looking to climb the Cross (and not ski), it's certainly in good shape for a crampon climb. However, the slog in/out of East Cross Creek is ugly right now because of many areas of collapsable snow below tree line. Diabolical. |
