Square Top Conditions

[outdoordad]

Heading up to square top this Sunday. Anyone have any information on conditions? what is the snow like? I am assuming I can only access the trailhead from the 285 side and not I-70 due to closures. I'm taking my girlfriend on her first 13er so any words of wisdom and equipment recomendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[EricB]

I did Square Top Mountain as a loop hike heading up the SE shoulder past the lakes and down the NE shoulder (clockwise). Once past the lakes, it's an unrelenting steep climb up to the summit ridge. If you go the other way (counter-clockwise) you will break up the vertical ascent, but the NE shoulder has more scrambly bits up high. So what kind of vertical gain you like to deal with will help you decide which direction to take. It's a beautiful mountain that you'll most likely have to yourself because the hoards will be across the street on Bierstadt. Have fun!

[Neil]

Outdoordad,

I hiked up Square Top last weekend. From trailhead to summit, I only HAD to cross 50 yards of snow and that was between the TH the lower lake. During that segment of the hike, 90% of the trail was totally clear of snow and if you want to avoid postholing on the way down, it is easy to avoid what snow is left -- except for those simple 50 yards. Just prepare your lady for some mud below the lake!

Above the lake, several large snowfields remained, although the snowmelt is going quickly this year and those fields are likely reduced now. If you want to avoid the snow, simply attack the moderately steep but easy-to-hike Class 2 SE shoulder directly. You can see this route move from extreme left to center and onto the ridge in the first photo below. Although the last few hundred feet to the summit look snowbound from this angle, the second photo shows the very snow-free route from about 13,300 to the summit. Otherwise, with the rapid snowmelt, it may now be possible to remain on the trail that goes further south out and around the SE shoulder, which provides an even easier hike. Either way, to your point, this hike is, for all equipment and expertise purposes, snow free and the SE shoulder route from Guanella Pass will provide your girlfriend with a fun intro to both Class 1 (TH to above the lake) and Class 2 hiking (SE shoulder to summit). Let me know if you have other questions or want more route pics.

And yes, unfortunately for us Northern Front Rangers, the only access to Guanella Pass is from the south.

Neil

PS -- I agree with EricB. This hike is much nicer than Bierstadt thanks to the solitude you and your special lady friend will have. Enjoy!

Square Top Mountain from Lower Square Top Lake as of 5/31 -- SE Shoulder on the left



Last 500 feet of SE shoulder route as of 5/31

[Mark A Steiner]

Keep the camera handy at the summit. You will have better photo ops from Squaretop than Bierstadt, Evans or Grays-Torreys IMHO. If the air is clear you should be able to see Mt. Holy Cross. Neil's photos detail the hiking conditions perfectly.

[KevinK]

Does anyone have any recent info or pics of the route from Squaretop on to Agentine and Wilcox? I'm looking for some avy safe and relatively dry 13ers to do in the next week or two and have been eyeing this combo for a while.

[Neil]

Moonnugs -- here are some photos. The first shows much of the Square Top-Argentine traverse and the downhill portion of the Argentine-Wilcox traverse from the summit of Square Top. The second shows the uphill portion of the Argentine-Wilcox traverse, the south/southeast slopes of Wilcox, and Murray Lake (which is above Silver Dollar Lake). For what it's worth, the Naylor Lake/Silver Dollar Lake basin seemed mostly dry and the east ridge of Wilcox was nearly bone dry. The only real snow coverage (as you can see in the first photo) is on the southeast slopes of Argentine -- easily avoidable and melting quickly. This has been on my list for a while too and we may do an Argentine-Wilcox loop tomorrow from Silver Dollar Lake Trailhead ascending Wilcox's east ridge, heading to Argentine, and descending from the Argentine into the basin. Hope this helps!

Square Top to Argentine from Square Top -- May 31, 2010



Wilcox from Square Top -- May 31, 2010

[madbuck]

I had to come clean: I was lurking around, and then poached this beta for yesterday's hike. Did I break any rules?

Seriously, great hike, and thanks for the info. I was looking for a good non-technical hike to do with the wife, and this worked out well. Hiking conditions were great, some mud but manageable. Ski conditions were marginal and disappearing fast in the longest couloir that runs out to the upper lake. Saw 4 friendly people and 4 friendly dogs, so less than 1 person per hour for us, and did a x-country loop probably similar to what EricB mentioned above. (Not sure if we saw outdoordad -- the one couple we saw, with a shaggy bear-looking dog?)

I'd never been to Guanella Pass, nor up Bierstadt, but after seeing 1 car in the west parking lot, we opted for alpine lakes, relative solitude, and sublime views (all the way out to MotHC) vs. the bulbous lump that happened to be 200 feet higher to the East.

holy_cross_sq2.JPG (214.29 KiB) Viewed 1307 times

Thanks for the OP's question and information!