Mt. of the Holy Cross

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2014, By: bbass11
Info: Summited Holy Cross via Halo Ridge. No ice axes were necessary. There is some snow from the very beginning of the Fall Creek Trail, which was soft even at 6 am yesterday, but the route finding is still relatively easy. Once above treeline, most snowfields were easily circumvented, or easy to cross. We descended the standard route. There is still a fair amount of snow left just below half moon pass, and in the region between 11,200 and 12,200, but in both cases, someone who knows where they‘re going has already been there and the footprints through the snow stay with the trail pretty well. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2014, By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: - Some small snow patches on the west side of Half Moon Pass - No snow on the steep descent from the northwest side of Notch Mtn and down into East Cross Creek - No snow near the creek or in the camp sites - From the creek to tree line on the north ridge, there are a bunch of deep snow patches on the last few hundred feet before reaching tree line - Above the trees, there are a few snow patches along the trail on the way up to 13k. Some made it hard to follow the trail but in daylight the higher cairns should be visible - Not much snow along the upper ridge - No snow above the 13,400-foot corner or on the remaining talus to the summit Sorry, only the one photo because I went up the standard route in the dark and came down the Cross Couloir route. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 6/16/2014, By: happymtnclimber
Info: This might not be worth much, but in case anyone is planning on heading up this week before the road opens, Tigiwon is clear to the TH. Then, on the East Cross Creek Trail, the trail is mostly clear to the top of Half Moon Pass (maybe 10 snow patches to walk around or step in someone else‘s tracks. From the top of the pass, things get more tricky. On the descent to Half Moon camp, there is a large mix of rock and snow. The trail is hard to follow, and while snowshoes would seemingly be helpful, the snow patches are intermittent and the classic spring problem of "do i just keep putting them on then taking them off?" is very present. My partner and I didn‘t get past the camp, it was a long day by itself (11 miles, 3500 vert. with packs of mtneering gear and skis for the Cross. We were toast and route finding to the base of the Cross in the dark through snow drifts at 2 am after going to bed only 2 hours earlier seemed like too much for us. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 10/21/2013, By: saksail
Info: Light snow over pretty defined/packed trail increasing from a dusting at the Fall Creek trailhead to 3-5" fresh at the Notch Creek trail cutoff. Nothing remarkable from Notch Creek cutoff to the two streams near the base of the meadow, apparently because Tony1 had done the hard work of breaking the trail. Still, new snow and fresh unpacked snow over lightly broken trail increased to the base of the meadow, then things got entertaining and tuckering as snow depth increased to about knee length near the top of the meadow and the base of the talus switchbacks up to the Notch Mtn. shelter. Microspikes provided adequate traction on the semi-broken trail, but snowshoes would have been more appropriate/less effort, esp. with packs. Feeling a bit under-geared footwear wise and leg-weary, we abandoned our initial plan to camp near the Notch Mtn. shelter and attempt a morning summit and just camped near the top of the meadow/talus switchback base and hiked out the morning of 10/21. Wind-blown drifts across the meadow below the talus switchbacks meant occasionally breaking through the trail about crotch-deep in some places. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 10/20/2013, By: Tony1
Info: Prepare for more than just having to deal with some snow. Bring lots of energy and determination with a great weather day if you plan on doing Halo Ridge. Snow is about an average of 1 foot deep past the turnoff for the Notch Mountain trail. Lots of soft snow filling the spaces in between the talus on the ridge, so there will be no moving quickly if you care about your ankles. My buddy and I turned around at PT 13248 so I'm not sure of the details of route conditions past that point, but from afar it looked the same as what is already stated. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 10/10/2013, By: mrschaible
Info: Snow and ice on the trail from the creek to the summit ridge, then clear to the summit. Micro spikes were helpful as the trail was quite slick. Trail is very muddy. Colors around Vail are at their peak! Semi-truck (yes that‘s right a semi-truck) got stuck on the road to the trail head causing a 2.5 hour delay getting home. He got lost and took a wrong turn then jack knifed blocking the whole road! 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 10/9/2013, By: waynebp
Info: Calm, sunny day on the mountain. Snow on most of ridge. Slick in spots, but did not use the packed micro-spikes. May be helpful for some. Snow was soft on the descent and quite a few muddy spots on the latter three miles of trail. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 10/8/2013, By: speach
Info: Healthy coat of snow from ~11,000‘ up. Trail is easy to follow from the trailhead to treeline. From there, I‘m sorry to say, our tracks wandered a bit. Made it to ~13,000‘ before heading back down. Snow is loosely packed, generally mid-calf or less, with plenty of talus sticking out. Not sure how much good crampons or snowshoes would be until it‘s denser. Aspens were glorious! 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 8/17/2013, By: mtn_nut
Info: There hasn‘t been a conditions report for august so i figured i‘d add one. The trail is completely clear up halo ridge and the north ridge, no ice from any of the recent monsoon storms. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/8/2013, By: Lindyhapa
Info: Mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes! Bring your bug repellent. If you stop for 10 seconds anywhere in the first 4 miles of the hike, you will have anywhere between 1 and 10 of the buggers hovering around you and looking for a place to land. Aside from that, it was a pleasant climb. It was my first time out there and with this climb, I completed the Sawatch range. In my opinion, Mt. of the Holy Cross is the best looking peak in the Sawatch range. The trail is 100% free of snow. Clouds started appearing around 10:30am and got kind of dark by 1pm, but the weather held well. No rain, no lightning and by the time we got back to the car about 4:30pm, it was hot and sunny. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2013, By: Ceastar
Info: North Ridge and Halo Ridge route clear and beautiful. Bring bug spray or keep walking briskly below tree line--Mosquitos are thick. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 6/24/2013, By: Alan Arnette
Info: Climbed Halo and descended North. A bit of snow on the Halo but no traction or tools needed. 

Route: Cross Couloir
Posted On: 6/25/2013, By: summitridge
Info: Climbed the cross on 6/24. The snow was in great condition for crampons. Get it while you can! 

Route: Cross Couloir
Posted On: 6/24/2013, By: taylorzs
Info: Tigiwon rd is open. We hiked the north ridge and snowboarded/skied down the Cross couloir. The north ridge trail is free of snow for the most part. The Cross couloir is full of snow. The snow in the cross is dense, mature snow, is beginning to become sun-cupped, and has a smallish runnel through the middle of the upper part. Great snow conditions for cramponing. Not so great conditions for skiing/snowboarding. There is no snow outside of the couloir proper. I will try to post a trip report soon. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 6/24/2013, By: MountainSlayer
Info: As Taylorzs stated, the North Ridge Route is mostly void of snow. That which is present is easily avoidable, thus rendering items such as an ice axe, crampons, etc. unnecessary.