Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

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wooly bear
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Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

Post by wooly bear »

For the Mt. Hope veterans on here. I am planning on taking the souteast ridge route up Mt. Hope and would love to hear some suggestions and see photos of the best spot to ascend the slope heading to the ridge. The available information is surprisingly sparse but maybe there is a good reason for that. I've seen a couple of reports on folks descending the slope and it sounds rather unpleasant. Maybe it would be better going up?

I am also planning to descend the east ridge route and was wondering if it is obvious where to start the descent - maybe a cairn - or if I am on my own with route-finding? Thanks for any pics, tips, and suggestions you can provide.
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rocky
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Re: Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

Post by rocky »

Here's are 2 links which may be helpful:

http://www.13ers.com/peaks/peak.php?pea ... Mt.+Hope+A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.summitpost.org/mount-hope/150908" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
rocky
south fork, colorado
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jlarocco
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Re: Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

Post by jlarocco »

I ascended and descended the East Ridge. I think there may be cairns and a faint trail in places, but I think most of the ridge looked like the lower left in this photo:

Image

If you stay along the ridge you can't really go wrong. This was probably the worst of it, towards the summit:

Image


If it helps, Roach's 13er book has the following two paragraphs for the Southeast Ridge Route:
This route provides an interesting alternative to Hope's East Ridge Route. In early summer you can avoid the barrier snow slope near the top of the east ridge, but you must leave the trail earlier and climb a steep, rough slope to gain this advantage. Also, the Southeast Ridge Route is shorter than the East Ridge Route. These may or may not be equitable trades, depending on your disposition.

Start at the Sheep Gulch Trailhead and follow the East Ridge Route 1.8 miles to treeline at 11,600 feet. Leave the trail here and hike 0.3 mile west up the aforementioned steep, rough slope to 12,200 feet, where the slope angle moderates. Hike 1.0 mile northwest up the ever gentling ridge to the summit. Ascending the Southeast Ridge Route and descending the East Ridge Route makes a southern Tour de Hope.
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smoove
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Re: Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

Post by smoove »

I also went up and down the East Ridge, so can't really help with where to start up the Southeast Ridge. But I think figuring out where to start the descent down the East Ridge should be pretty obvious. Here's a pic looking down some of it
Down the East Ridge.JPG
Down the East Ridge.JPG (292.8 KiB) Viewed 302 times
and a topo with gps coordinates around where it begins (if that's any help).
Hope topo w gps.JPG
Hope topo w gps.JPG (321.32 KiB) Viewed 302 times
And here's another shot of the East Ridge terrain not far below the summit.
East Ridge terrain.JPG
East Ridge terrain.JPG (293.35 KiB) Viewed 302 times
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kaiman
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Re: Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

Post by kaiman »

wooly bear wrote:For the Mt. Hope veterans on here. I am planning on taking the souteast ridge route up Mt. Hope and would love to hear some suggestions and see photos of the best spot to ascend the slope heading to the ridge. The available information is surprisingly sparse but maybe there is a good reason for that. I've seen a couple of reports on folks descending the slope and it sounds rather unpleasant. Maybe it would be better going up?

I am also planning to descend the east ridge route and was wondering if it is obvious where to start the descent - maybe a cairn - or if I am on my own with route-finding? Thanks for any pics, tips, and suggestions you can provide.
After having ascended/descended both ways I would personally just avoid it and continue on the good trail all the way to Hope Pass before beginning to climb to the summit. Although the East Ridge route is steeper/looser for a small section near the top and requires some (easy) scrambling, the main advantage of it over the Southeast slope is it will keep you from having to slog through steep loos talus up the slope to the summit plateau.

BTW - The best and easiest route on Mount Hope IMHO is from the Willis Gulch side, but it is quite a bit longer...

Just my 2 cents,

kaiman
"I want to keep the mountains clean of racism, religion and politics. In the mountains this should play no role."

- Joe Stettner

"I haven't climbed Everest, skied to the poles, or sailed single-handed around the world. The goals I set out to accomplish aren't easily measured or quantified by world records or "firsts." The reasons I climb, and the climbs I do, are about more than distance or altitude, they are about breaking barriers within myself."

- Andy Kirkpatrick
wooly bear
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Re: Mount Hope Southeast Ridge Route

Post by wooly bear »

Thanks for the great responses so far. The SE ridge / East ridge will be a gameday decision depending on how I feel once I'm above treeline. Rest-stepping on good trail to the pass and adding Quail to my agenda may be a better choice for my bi-annual trip to the mountains. And having Missouri (my next target) to gaze at will make it all good in the end.
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