Ice Mountain

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 6/9/2025, By: jfm3
Info: I attempted the Ice/North combo on June 8 but only got North Apostle. The snow conditions in the upper basin, above the treeline, are dangerous for those traveling only by foot. The snow is mostly bottomless slush, occasionally covered by a thin layer of breakable crust. It is also DEEP- easily 4-5 feet in some places. I intended to climb the Fridge to the top of Ice, but I elected not to because I wasn't sure about the snow conditions in the upper couloir. Even with a freeze overnight above the treeline the snow was already soft and unsupportive by 7 AM. I used crampons and 2 ice axes to climb/wallow my way to the saddle. The descent was hideous. I sank in on almost every step. There were some small crevasses in the middle of the lower snowfield and at one point I was in snow up to my chest as I was face-in downclimbing. The snow wasn't as deep on the downhill side, but it was still not a good situation. I saw 2 people skiing down the couloir. The snow needs a significant freeze/thaw cycle to consolidate all the way down to the ground. Skiing is the only safe/enjoyable mode of travel right now. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 6/5/2025, By: truekyle
Info: Taken from Huron 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 9/29/2024, By: andrew85
Info: Full summer conditions up to about 13,500. Lots of lingering snow on the final ascent from any access point from the north, bring traction. Recommend doing North Apostle first to avoid the gully and access from the ridge as this will minimize the amount of snow you have to contend with though some will be inevitable if it doesnt melt out. South side of the ridge and summit is completely melted out. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 9/15/2024, By: hanada
Info: Crux gully has snow in it that we thought is likely to not melt out again this season. We were still able to climb up it with spikes. We did not feel it was safe to go down this way, so we down climbed to the right (looking down) of standard route which was class 4, but mostly dry. One of our group who did not bring spikes also went up that way. I highly recommend what others have said about going one at a time on this section. It is LOOSE with potential to knock some big boulders down. 

Route: Refrigerator couloir plus traverse to N apostle
Posted On: 6/24/2024, By: Trotter
Info: Didn't bring snowshoes, didn't need them. There's about 30 feet of snow you have to cross before hitting the upper basin, was firm in morning and postholy in afternoon. Upper basin completely full of snow, but firm enough for crampons. The couloir is still in good shape, a few rocks sticking through in upper part which probably complicates skiing, but no problem for booting. Traverse to N Apostle is slightly complicated by snow along ridge, had to do a couple class 4 moves to bypass it, but most of route is clear, and N apostle itself is in summer conditions. The traverse is pretty tedious, lots of loose stuff. Skier guys, PM me if you want those couple pics 

Route: The Refrigerator
Posted On: 6/15/2024, By: Veory
Info: Still skiing really well. Climb was a bit soft in spots, and the approach has a lot of small snowfields. Tagged North Apostle too, not skiable. Super fun line, beautiful day! 

Route: Refrigerator
Posted On: 5/30/2024, By: Jcinco
Info: I would absolutely not describe the conditions as spring powder as in the 5/27 update below. More like stiff skiable coldish snow that does not rely on solar warming for softness (not tele-able). Dead on about snow conditions below 13k. Given the number of tracks today, Im guessing the last condition update was not skied yesterday on 5/27, but was closer to one of the recent storms between 5/24-26. Crux of the day was the alpine jungle between 11-11.4K. In retrospect, I recommend following the creek bed. 

Route: Refrigerator Couloir
Posted On: 5/27/2024, By: Hjelmstadlt
Info: The fridge couloir is still in winter condition. Skied off the summit of Ice Mountain and down the couloir in pristine spring powder. Melt freeze crusts make it up as high has about 12,600ft and everything below that is rock solid before the sun gets to it. Snow line is around 11,000ft with patchy melted out drifts below. A brave (or dumb) jeep drove about an extra mile past Winfield today on the road. IMO not worth it yet to go much past Winfield. 

Route: Three Apostles Traverse (N -> Ice -> W)
Posted On: 9/2/2023, By: backcountrybrodes
Info: Sensational day out in one of Colorado's most beautiful valleys. While all of Denver, CO was on Huron for the first Saturday of Labor Day weekend, me and EthanBeltramo took on "Ice Cubed" - also known as the Three Apostles Traverse. Summer conditions, saw maybe 3 different groups the whole day. Views were completely unique on each mountain. We stayed ridge direct going down Ice (for the most part) to avoid the crumbly gullies below and it worked out well for us with no cliff outs! Also summitted the "Ice Cube" along the way for fun and got some great shots. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 8/24/2023, By: PikaSteve
Info: Tedious rock-hopping to 13,500 foot saddle; fun scrambling to summit; trail to Apostle Basin in great condition. Very little remaining snow in the basin, none of which affects the standard route positively or negatively. Willow bashing areas dried out; all creek crossings low; still some flowers. Beautiful hike, but due to bushwhacking and rockhopping, a much bigger effort than an average 3500 foot elevation gain 14er climb. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 8/21/2023, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Climbed Ice today with North Apostle - I will report conditions separately for N Apostle. There is an abundance of loose rock throughout this entire route. The gullies are so dangerously loose, and the climbing portions of the route over to Ice is also very loose. My climbing partner and I went one at a time in a lot of these sections, including the crux. We took a class 4 line to the summit that was fun and spicy, and not as loose. We had the summit to ourselves and only saw one person along this route all day. The summit register is also wet and disintegrating. Fantastic day, although long! We parked at the bottom of the 2WD road due to recent reports - but honestly the road is in decent condition and both myself and my friend felt like it was hyped up more than it should have been. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 8/20/2023, By: climbingyogi
Info: My partner and I ascended a gully climber's left of the standard gully and felt like it was closer to class 4, but shorter. We descended the standard gully and felt like it was class 3, but longer. Be aware of loose rock on Ice as others have mentioned, especially in the gullies. We took our time in the gullies and went one at a time. Great day out and lucked out with good weather all day! Didn't see a single other person on the mountains, but met some nice guys camping out in the basin who ended up giving us a ride down the 4wd road to our cars at the 2wd lot. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 8/11/2023, By: truekyle
Info: I personally think ice mountain is under rated. It' ABSOLUTELY has a solid class 4 move. Route finding was actually pretty easy. One spot coming out of tree line can throw you off. Started at the lower th and was on the summit of ice at 1030 and NP at 1115 ish after a 6 am start. I'm a pretty fast hiker so be sure to set aside some good time for weather. 

Route: Ice Northeast Ridge + North Apostle
Posted On: 7/30/2023, By: Ssgustafson
Info: Gorgeous day in Apostle Basin! We were kind of surprised to find a good use trail through the forest "bushwhack" section making that section very straightforward and enjoyable. One or two small patches of avoidable snow persist in the basin (and were a short-lived, but nice relief from the endless moraine!). Route is otherwise full summer conditions. We saw two guys climb the Refrig as we traversed from NA to Ice, and after joining them on the summit, jealously watched them ski down to the lake. Couloir is shown in the attached pic of Ice from NA. 

Route: The Refrigerator
Posted On: 7/31/2023, By: vertical_volume
Info: Climbed and skied Ice via the Refrigerator. The fridge was softer than expected when we got to the base of it around 8:40 am, we were not sinking in the snow at all on the bootpack up though, so it had a reasonable freeze underneath. Relatively quick climb up it, about an hour. Scrambled up to the summit and hung out and chatted with a nice group up top. Dropped in at 11:15 am with good corn, we both side stepped the choke given the amount of rocks that were lying on top of the snow below it and I'm not that confident (or skilled?) of a skier yet. I was able to side step it with a few cm of wiggle room with 176 cm skis. Still in skiable condition, not sure for how long though, we skied almost all the way down to the lake. Overall, this is a fantastic line.