Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
Mt. Sherman Ski Descent (Southeast Face) - Fourmile Creek TH
Mt. Sherman Spring Summit Ski Descent
Date: Sunday, April 27, 2008 Group: Triple M, J.D., comin2getcha, and USAKeller Route: Southwest Ridge from Fourmile Creek TH ascent, Southeast Face(ish) ski descent Total mileage: ~9.2 miles Total elevation gain: 3,100ft.; 3,100ft. vertical skied Total time out (including stop time): 6hrs. 40min.
I don't usually write trip reports on the frequently-traveled peaks, but some may find it useful for current snow/ski conditions. We met Triple M and J.D. (her boyfriend) at the regular winter plow turn at 11,000ft. on Park County Road 18, got ready, and started up the road at a fine alpine start of 7:50am, with all of us not particularly stoked about climbing this peak...Lance needed it though. Flotation wasn't necessary up the road, but we had skis on anyway (Triple M on snowshoes).
J.D. and comin2getcha skinning up the road, Horseshoe Mountain behind:
We headed up a small gully towards Hill Top Mine (red), north of the gate on the standard route (in blue) near 12,000ft.:
J.D. wasn't feeling it and decided to ski back to the car at the top of the gully. The three of us continued up to hit the southwest ridge on Sherman. comin2getcha and I took off our skis at 13,100ft. and boot-packed it up the rest of the slope to the ridge. Once there, Triple M found out her water spilled all over her pack and back, which froze and she turned around here.
Triple M and comin2getcha heading up the slope just below Sherman's Southwest Ridge:
Looking back down into the basin (taken from ~13,400ft.):
Winds significantly picked up, and comin2getcha and I just followed the mellow standard trail (about half of which is melted off along the ridge) at quite a leisurely pace. We summited in 4hrs. 30min. (moving time only) at 1:10pm (temperature: 25deg.).
Hanging out on the summit, with Mt. Sheridan to my left, and the central Sawatch Range across the horizon:
Leaving the summit at 1:30pm, we talked to a couple of splitboarders on their way up and asked them which route they were going to take down. They were planning on skiing some chutes just below the summit. We didn't see those conditions on the way up, however, we knew that if we stayed all the way on skiers' left on that route, we would find a calm ski. We wanted something a little steeper, and opted to ski the face of which we could see the entire way up. To make this work, dropping in off the summit wasn't anything spectacular! Being our second ski descent, we were slightly worried about the rocks below in case we fell, so after a descending traverse below the long summit ridge, we found a better line for us to ski.
A view of our ski route (taken from ~13,200ft.):
The snow was awful, hard-packed sastrugi. We made it work though...
I ski the face:
Lance skis it:
We made it back to the small gully we cut up on the ascent, still with skis on, and the snow still hadn't warmed up...
Our ski line down the southeast face: descending traverse below the summit ridge to a line just above Hill Top Mine (Lance skiing down to the road):
We were able to keep the skis on the entire descent and arrived back at the car 1 hour later (at 2:30pm), happy to have that peak skied!
Not the most exciting, but hopefully can provide some of you with current conditions...
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
As far as the winds go...they were predicted to be 20-23mph, decreasing to 9-12mph yesterday. When did you climb it before? In the basin, we only had a slight breeze. Above Hill Top Mine was when they started to pick up (near the 20mph range). Once we hit the SW ridge, they were gustier (maybe up to 25mph?). They didn‘t let up along the ridge. Once on the summit, it seemed as though we were in a wind pocket (this happened last winter for me too) - you can hear the wind gusts all around, but they didn‘t really hit us directly. It‘s hard to avoid them though because the standard route takes you along the west side of the ridge; you can‘t really drop on the east to help avoid them.
In the next 2-3 weeks, I‘d say the winds shouldn‘t be as high as we found. If the temps are warmer, they may not be as bad, though
it felt better having the gusts come through to cool us off!
Great hike yesturday! Love hanging out with you two like old times. It‘s time to start on some 13ers; I‘ve had it with mountains like Sherman. I‘m super glad sir lance has a new peak. Happy Early Birthday.
Good job on another 14er ski Caroline, AT makes life a lot easier in the backcountry, wish I could afford it. Saturday was a great day to be in the mountains to say the least.
I climbed Sherman in Nov 07. Slow Moving Fun Seeker was kind enough to warn me about the wind as he had been up two weeks prior.
A couple people were up there on Saturday who said the wind was much stronger, but we know how fickle Colorado weather can be. Your pictures didn‘t indicate wind too bad nor match what I heard from Saturday‘s report.
should flip flop some plans we have and go from there. Have fun at Snowmass if you go.
p.s. Hauling alpine isn‘t as bad as one would think actually, I climbed the entire length from the 4wd parking lot to the summit in 20 pound Salomon ski boots and never thought twice about it. Made me feel better about saving thousands on AT gear.
Dear USAKeller,
I wish to thank you for the well-constructed trip report. I know you only have a couple under your belt but I‘m sure there will be many more to come.
Nice Report. I did this yesterday for my first ski decent, and probably my last for a few years, moving to San Diego in a week . We went up the way Bill did on 4/4. The winds were non-existent for the most part and less than 10 mph when they were, sounds like we got lucky. We skied down skiers left (more straight down) and were able to ski to the car as well minus about 10 feet of rocks that we had to walk over a little ways off the summit. We left the summit at about 1:15 pm and I wish it had been around noon because the snow was very soft and more like water skiing, but I guess that beats ice any day. What a difference a few days and a few degrees makes!
Nice job on your first ski descent! Sorry to hear you‘re moving away from CO. Sherman is notorious for bad winds and I‘m glad you had less of it than us!
Brian - I can't wait to see your trip report! It sounded like you all had a blast. Wish I could have skied it with you guys - Sherman wasn't exciting at all. How was it hauling up that alpine gear? We need to ski something soon - you keep declining my invitations!
Sis - Yes, just like old times. I can't wait for the summer. Wish we could have had the Sub afterwards like old times too - veggie delight! So nice seeing you, Josh, and JB. JB is always so excited! Woof woof!
dcbates80911 - Glad it could help a little. I really do think you should have better winds to deal with in the next few weeks. The photos didn't show much wind because the snow was so hard that it didn't even blow! I'd like to hear how your trip goes.
Brian - 20lb. Salomon boots?! Yikes - I thought my 12lb. skis on my back was hell!
BeefCake - You must be new to this site?! Are you in any way related to South Park? BEEFCAKE!!!!! Anyways, I'm hoping there are many more ski descents to come. By the looks of your Lincoln report, you seem like you know what's up in the bc. Maybe you can join us sometime...?
Looked like a good day....any wind? 2/5/2011 12:22am
Nice report and it looked like a good day. Beautiful picture towards the west.
I am looking a doing Sherman again (possibly in the next two to three weeks). Wondering how bad the winds were that you encountered (noticed you said the picked up at one point)?
On my first climb the wind through the basin was probably 20 - 30, but once on the ridge it had to have been sustained 50+ with much higher gusts. I know this mountain is notorious for its winds but heard they tend to die down as summer approaches. Not sure when to expect this.
Thanks in advance.
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
. We went up the way Bill did on 4/4. The winds were non-existent for the most part and less than 10 mph when they were, sounds like we got lucky. We skied down skiers left (more straight down) and were able to ski to the car as well minus about 10 feet of rocks that we had to walk over a little ways off the summit. We left the summit at about 1:15 pm and I wish it had been around noon because the snow was very soft and more like water skiing, but I guess that beats ice any day. What a difference a few days and a few degrees makes!