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After canceling our summit attempt on Mt. Sherman the previous Sunday due to weather, my friend Eric and I finally saw the small window of opportunity we were hoping for. Eric and I typically stick to climbing 14ers in the summer but decided to try out a winter ascent this year. We chose Mt Sherman due to the ease of the climb in summer conditions.
We left the front range at about 5am and reached Four Mile road at around 6:30am. The sunrise and clear skies made for a spectacular view on the drive in.
This is where we ran into the first snag of the trip. The road was plowed for about ~5 miles (right at the start of the swamp). After 5 miles, a 4x4 vehicle with high clearance is needed to proceed. We continued in my buddies escalade for about another mile blasting through snow drifts until we couldn't proceed any further.
Thankfully, a jeep came up behind us which had chains and he cleared the way for another 1.6 miles. It was a long 1.6 miles as the road consisted of many snow drifts that need to be blasted through. It was a stop and go process and we probably could have walked it just as fast. This is about as far as most vehicles with chains will make it as it only gets deeper from here on out.
About 2miles from the Winter closure, both vehicles couldn't make it any further so we decided to go on foot from there. This starting spot (Horseshoe site) was about 3.5 miles from the Leavick site. We started the hike at 9am which was about 2 hours later than what we had planned. With a weather system due to hit this area in late afternoon, a summit attempt seemed unlikely at this point.
Trail had to broken here on out. Needless to say, it was a long 3.5 miles breaking trail up the road to the Leavick site. The road consisted of wind blown sections that were easily traversed but the majority of the road consisted of shin or knee deep snow.
Apparently the mailmen motto, "Neither rain, nor snow, nor death of the night, can keep us from our duty" doesn't apply to houses on FourMile road. hehe
At about noon, we were just around White Ridge and Mt. Sherman was in view. The route to the summit was still undecided at this point (Standard or Snow). There was Moderate avalanche danger in the area as reported by CAIC, especially on the North and East facing slopes. Just as we were discussing the route, we saw an avalanche break on the southwest ridge which a pretty cool sight to see. Needless to say, we were going to avoid that area.
The road from the Leavick site (11300ft) was packed down/wind blown so traveling became much easier. We diverged from the 4x4 road at about 11900ft; about .5 miles down from the Dauntless Mine and took a more direct route towards the peak (straight north).
At 12500ft, we were directly below the summit with a very steep climb ahead of us. It was about 1pm and the weather was cooperating so I decided to make a push for the summit. My buddy decided to hang back and not summit today. The route taken up to the summit was not a typical route up. There was good rock coverage and no avalanche danger slightly southwest of Mt. Sherman. I took off the snowshoes and decided to scramble my way up to the saddle between Sherman and Sheridan. The ascent to the ridge was quite steep but the exposed rocks provided good footing.
I reached the ridge at about 145pm and was about 1/2 mile from the Summit on the southwest ridge. The wind along the southwest ridge was very intense with gusts high enough to almost blow me over. At this point, I wished I would have taken the less exposed snow route. =) Below is the TOPO of the route I took up the ridge. After being completely demoralized by the false summit, the goal was finally in sight. The trek along the ridge was simple enough as long as you don't get blown over the side!
Route to Southwest Ridge
I reached the summit at 2pm.
I didn't stay very long (15mins or so) because of the wind and the clouds building up. I decided to take the less exposed snow route down and it was well worth it. This route looks to be the ideal route for a winter ascent. I guess that is why it is called the snow route! =)
Top of Sherman
View from the top
The descent down was quite pleasant and I glissaded down some of it to make it interesting. I reached the Leavick site around 4pm and had another 3.5 miles back to the car.
I was exhausted by this time and the 3.5miles to the car seemed like an eternity. I made good time to the car and we were on our way out at around 530pm.
Trek back to Car
Overall, I really enjoyed the hike. The added mileage at the beginning and end made this hike much more difficult but well worth the effort. YAY for winter 14ers!
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Thanks for pointing out the technicality! =) If snow is still accumulating and its cold as hell, I still consider it to be winter! It sure didn‘t feel like spring at the top.
Nice accomplishments by the way. Good luck on the 13ers!
I hear ya! Doesn‘t seem fair that one week it counts as a winter ascent and then the next week its equally as winter-like and it doesn‘t count. I wish there were some other criteria besides a date, but I guess everything else is so subjective that it would be hard to set any standard.
Good job anyway though, I know just because it was the 1st week of spring it didn‘t make it any easier!
Nice trip report, I will attest to the winter conditions. Wish I had caught up with you on the way down, I guess I was about 30 minutes behind you. After I took that break below the ridge I decided I couldn‘t make it that far and not summit.
The hike back was tough, as you mentioned, the extra mileage made for a long hike back.
It was good hiking with ya. Glad we met up by accident. I must say that you put in plenty of trail breaking work, both with your vehicle and your shoes, and we wouldn‘t have made it that far without you. What a beautiful day and beautiful area, though. It was just great being there. I slept well that night!
Jake - good hike buddy, we‘ll have many more to come...
Looks like a winter ascent to me! But I've never been a "calendar" winter list-ticker. Hmm, maybe I should tally them up. Nah. To me, the Rockies just don't fit well into our labeled "seasons." Sure, the seasons work great for most parts of the country, but not the high country. I've had many wintery climbs in April that were just as nasty as February - with more snow!
I'll just stick to my "It only counts if you climb it in January" rule.
Not sure what criteria you use to claim a winter summit, but everyone I know uses calendar winter. That ended on March 20th. Its officially SPRING!
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