Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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Slabmonger
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Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by Slabmonger »

Climbed Pacific's North Face couloir this AM.
The basin approach was a little sloppy but I didn't need flotation to get to base of couloir.
One decent slide with debris has come down and left a runnel in the lower portion. The upper part was in but probably doesn't have too much longer to be a continuous snow line. It was all firm snow this AM and no ice.

-Dan
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Aug_Dog
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by Aug_Dog »

Do you have any pics or BETA you could post about the routes on Pacific? I'm wanting to get a Centennial in tomorrow and trying to decide which one. I don't mind some snow on the route, but I don't want to make this a snow climb, as my buddy and I are going for the Harvard/Columbia duo on Sunday and I need to preserve my legs. I want to go up tomorrow and do one of these: Silverheels, Fletcher or Pacific/Atlantic. I would prefer Pacific, but I was hoping to keep it a relatively calm day, meaning, a hike with maybe a tad of scrambling. Silverheels is the last of my choices. I'd be fine with Fletcher, but Pacific or Fletcher from an Eastern approach would be ideal. I would really like to keep this as snow free as possible given the plans for the weekend, so your BETA would be greatly welcomed!
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by davebobk47 »

The ridge up Atlantic is mostly dry from Mayflower. I'd be interested to hear about conditions in the gulch if you head that direction.
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Slabmonger
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by Slabmonger »

Sorry I didn't see this in time Aug Dog, I was still in the mountains.

There's not a ton of snow up there but enough still to not plan on avoiding it.
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by Aug_Dog »

Slabmonger wrote:Sorry I didn't see this in time Aug Dog, I was still in the mountains.

There's not a ton of snow up there but enough still to not plan on avoiding it.
Hey no worries! I went up there Friday with the intentions of Pacific, but ended up settling on Crystal, then missed the TH after hiking a ways and decided to then try Fletcher, but that didn't go far. Crappy day. I went up very ill-prepared, so I can only blame myself. LOL! No biggie, I ended up getting Columbia today.

Man, that rotting mountain is damned near evil! We made it, though! I might give the Pacific/Atlantic combo another try this week. Thanks for checking in!
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by druid2112 »

Hey Aug if you do Atl/Pac post something about it - I have had my eye on that for a while, just trying to find the right time. Thanks
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by rainydayrenee »

Do any of you know of conditions just to climb Pacific Peak on a normal Class 2-ish hike? I saw on Summit Post there are a few different trailhead options, wondering which is best.

Also - I know a couple say snow climb - is there a lot of snow left this time of year or is it pretty clear? Thanks!

Any info on Pacific would be great - or even Atlantic if that is easier/closer?
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by bergsteigen »

rainydayrenee wrote:Do any of you know of conditions just to climb Pacific Peak on a normal Class 2-ish hike? I saw on Summit Post there are a few different trailhead options, wondering which is best.

Also - I know a couple say snow climb - is there a lot of snow left this time of year or is it pretty clear? Thanks!

Any info on Pacific would be great - or even Atlantic if that is easier/closer?
From Mayflower Gulch on the west side, there are options to both peaks. Check out the Trip Report section (just choose Pacific Peak in the drop down menu).

The snow has all melted.
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by BillMiddlebrook »

From the west (Mayflower Gulch), Pacific's west ridge is Class 3 but you could climb Atlantic's west ridge, hike over to Pacific and return via Atlantic's west ridge.

From the east, the standard route is from Mohawk Lakes, via the Spruce Creek road.

Check out the Pacific routes on 13ers.com
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by rainydayrenee »

Thanks for the additional info! I'll check out the links :-D
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by CORed »

BillMiddlebrook wrote:From the west (Mayflower Gulch), Pacific's west ridge is Class 3 but you could climb Atlantic's west ridge, hike over to Pacific and return via Atlantic's west ridge.

From the east, the standard route is from Mohawk Lakes, via the Spruce Creek road.

Check out the Pacific routes on 13ers.com
If you go via Atlantic, you might want to avoid descending the drainage below the Atlantic-Pacific saddle on the west side. I did this 25-30 years ago, and encountered some very unstable talus. At one point while descending, the whole slope started moving, including a number of 2-3 foot boulders above me. I managed to scamper into more stable rock in the side of the gully, but it was definitely an attention-getting experience.
Last edited by CORed on Wed Aug 07, 2013 11:48 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Pacific Peak (North Face) Conditions

Post by colokeith »

We did pacific east ridge a few weeks ago. I found it to be a fun an beautiful route. We descended into MCcullough gulch (where I stashed a mountain bike to ride back to my truck)

Here are some pics and more info on the trip http://coloradokeith.com/2013/07/15/pac ... ast-ridge/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Even a month ago the snow descent was quite short.
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