Homestake Peak

Route: East ridge via 10th Mountain Hut
Posted On: 12/26/2022, By: bmcqueen
Info: I was on snowshoes start to finish today. There is now a good trench all the way to the Hut. I refreshed an old one this morning, then several skiers made it quite nice. Above the Hut, it was tougher going trying to stay on top of old tracks. Those finally ended in the basin below the shoulder, so I did some work to get up to the ridge. The ridge was fairly snowy actually - mix of snow and rocks. 

Route: Lollipop route
Posted On: 7/26/2022, By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Taco made it up the road just fine until I was nauseous and wanted to stop roughly a half mile from the Slide Lake trailhead so ignore the ominous warning on summitpost but there are lots of puddles and it was pretty rough as a passenger. A tundra and somehow a forester were at the trailhead for Slide Lake. Had varying route info so decided to head up towards the ridge once we ascended after the lake then traverse over to avoid anything that resembled scree. Headed down the descent route recommended on climb13ers and this was more pleasant. Wildflowers were abundant! 

Route: Slide Lake Road
Posted On: 6/25/2022, By: mtngoatwithstyle
Info: Summer conditions. All snow is avoidable all the way to the summit. Some creeks to cross and some willows to contend with but nothing major.My approach was from Slide Lake not from 10th Mtn Hut, which was better as I did not have to content in the forest with fallen trees and reaching ridge line. A beautiful day, saw 5 people. 

Route: Winter route up ridge
Posted On: 4/10/2022, By: jbealer
Info: We did fine following the tracks up the winter route for the hut, never saw the hut. Used snowshoes through the trees. Had 40+mph winds near summit but we made it. Once back into the trees we missed our tracks (wind blew them away) and we ended up postholing with SS on up to mid thigh for like 3hrs till we found the winter trail again. Took forever, but happy to have a new peak for the yr! Will post pics tomorrow 

Route: Via Crane Park
Posted On: 3/12/2022, By: daway8
Info: Beautiful day on Homestake Peak with a wide spread of 14ers members all zeroing in separately on this generally avy safe route (joined up with HikesInGeologicTime for this hike but then bumped into Climbingcue, Tiffany and Cereal at the trailhead and later bumped into Angry and yaktoleft13 on the trail; it was a spontaneous, unplanned 14ers gathering - on a 13er). Most of us started with snowshoes (or splitboards) straight from the trailhead (got all the way to the start of Wurtz Ditch road off 19) and generally left them on the whole day. Plenty of snow to go through but having so many people around made it easier. Gaining the ridge was cumbersome but yaktoleft13 spearheaded the charge up. There are a few decent trenches in now (due to slightly different approaches). The main group came up the summer trail to the 10th Mountain Division Hut then zigzagged SW, NW, SW to gain the ridge through dense trees (the slopes closer to the summit are heavily loaded with evidence of some instability, but if you gain the ridge down low in the trees it's fine). We did see some very small cracks propagate a few feet on the ridge but given the low angle we keep our eyes open and proceeded without issue. Various people did either a ski descent (it's in), a plunge step descent (only one faceplant), or whatever suited their fancy. Some rolling terrain on the way back is a bit fatiguing but not terrible. Beautiful forests/views. 

Route: East ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2021, By: SionaRW35
Info: Summer conditions, never touched snow today. The last .5 miles of the 4x4 road is a bit rutted at the end. I touched bottom on my stock Jeep Cherokee twice. Also, I found what looked to be forgotten trekking poles on the side of the 4x4 road. If they are yours, comment on this condition update with the description and how I can contact you to get them back to you. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 3/20/2021, By: mk12
Info: I am not convinced the current skin track is the safest route to the top. The route currently gains the ridge around 12000' crossing right under a moderately sized avalanche slope. You can gain the ridge at its base around 11800'. I got a decent look at this route as it was the way I descended and offers some protection from the nearby avy terrain. Don't get too low on this route as I nearly did. Both routes would originate from near the hut. Further evaluation need. Conditions were windy but was able to ski from summit. 

Route: From Crane Trailhead
Posted On: 3/9/2021, By: ScottLovesRMNP
Info: With the incoming storm, this information will likely soon be outdated. Great conditions on Homestake today. Followed snowmobile/ski tracks along the FS roads to the trailhead. Eventually veered off the road directly towards Homestake on a good ski track through the woods to treeline. From there, it's a straightforward climb up the ridge to the summit. With the warm weather, I used snowshoes most of the day to stay afloat. Super peak to climb in winter -- safe and straightforward, with tremendous views of the Sawatch and Mosquito Ranges and the Arkansas River Valley. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 2/28/2021, By: Sbenfield
Info: A great route in winter with low avalanche risk. We went all the way to the 10th mountain hut, very well packed down by the skiers. From there we gained the East ridge, and that had a track too from skiers. The ridge was straightforward, quick, & gentle. We saw a few snowboarders ride down the ridge from summit. Made me wish I brought my skiis!! 

Route: East ridge
Posted On: 1/24/2021, By: Agstrohmeier
Info: A party of 3 went to the summit - they may have better details if they post. We skinned up the valley to the hut, and then to the lower slopes of Homestake Peak today. We turned around about 1/3 of the way up the ridge and did a couple laps where it was holding softer snow than we expected. Above that, we felt more wind-affected snow and saw a lot more exposed rock, and that paired with decreasing visibility we decided not to continue to the summit. Good coverage to the hut, although we skied down the skin track to avoid putting skins on as much as possible in the lower angle meadows. I haven't skied this area to know how it looks normally this time of year, but there is definitely still a lot of rock and stumps barely covered in the area. Ski with caution. 

Route: Modified east ridge
Posted On: 1/18/2021, By: geg86
Info: Unsupportive snow, postholed to knee + with flotation. Stayed south since it was a more direct approach to the ridge and avoided avy terrain but regretted not following a packed trail to the hut before cutting south. Trenched to 11,300' 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 11/30/2020, By: Jon Frohlich
Info: We only made it a bit past Lily Lake because no one had been up the road beyond and the postholing was deep. You could also try and use the packed trail to the 10th Mountain Hut and then try to get to the ridge from there but we hiked that track towards the hut and never saw any sign of travel towards Homestake that way either. Regardless it's going to take a new trench to get to the upper ridge and the summit and some extra effort. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 4/5/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: The trail from Crane Park is easy to follow. I cut off of it a few miles in and made my own more direct path, then followed a skin track up ledges above some cliffs marking the toe of the east ridge. Once on the ridge it's clear sailing. Snow was in great shape the entire way up and down. Flotation is necessary but leave the traction and ice axe at home. 

Route: 10th Mountain Hut
Posted On: 3/1/2020, By: 13erRetriever
Info: We came in from the 10th Mountain Hut via Crane Park and the trail to the hut is well traveled, clearly marked, packed down, and obvious. Snowshoes were needed from the road to the hut. Spikes would not cut it (we tried). From the hut to the summit, snowshoes were again necessary the entire way. This is not a bare windswept ridge and again, spikes will not take you to the top without significant post holing (I triiiied!). We put in a trench to the base of the ridge that might stay until the next snow this week. The wind blew away our path fast once on the ridge but it's obvious where you need to go once there. No cornice danger from what we could see from below. We followed SnowAlien's GPX track and it worked great so I won't upload another report of the same here. 

Route: East ridge
Posted On: 6/17/2019, By: Alrightmax
Info: Consistent snowpack after 2-3 miles up the jeep road. The gate to the road is open, but no vehicle would be able to get up it yet. Some tricky stream crossings that will likely get worse in the near future, and a lot of mud. Flotation will be needed at and above treeline. Might be good for skiing if the snow isn't too wet; we were postholing a bit with snowshoes though.