Chicago Basin Advice

[alpinenut]

If you could choose would you opt for a Monday or Tuesday train/approach day?

If you had a good weather day and a questionable weather day which twosome would you do on the questionable day? Early start of course.

If you have time to kill or an extra day what’s a moderately paced time to get up and down Jupiter from camp?

Anyone who’s done all 14ers in day from is there an another combo that compares in terms of effort? Maybe like the Missouri threesome?

[hellmanm]

Hmm, all interesting questions. I'm curious what others think. For each:

1. Either one should be fine. Midweek=fewer crowds, so I'd give a slight preference to Tuesday, but it won't matter (both are good options).
2. I'd do Sunlight and Windom on the questionable day, with Sunlight first. Eolus takes the longest of the four, and it'll require a better window. Both Sunlight and N Eolus would turn dangerous and scary in rain (grippy slabs aren't so grippy when wet), so there isn't a great option, but Sunlight isn't too far from camp and you can get to the scrambly bits at sunrise if need be. The main factor is Windom, though -- I got hailed on heading up Windom and it's the only one of the four that wouldn't instantly become a death trap when wet (it's still sketchy, though).
3. Re: Jupiter -- I'm about to find out this year. I'll defer to others for guidance here.
4. Similar story -- deferring to others. It's not that many miles, but don't underestimate the amount of scrambling+off-trail hiking. Weminuche miles always hit different, and you'll need some mental stamina as well.

[CaptainSuburbia]

1. Either is good. I would walk in from Purgatory though. It gives you more flexibility.
2. Sunlight and Windom on questionable day. It's Chicago Basin though so chances are both days will be questionable. If you have nice weather on your camp day I would do Windom for sunset that evening to give you more flexibility if you get bad weather the rest of your stay.
3. Not sure
4. I've only done 3 in a day but would guess doing all 4 is easier than the Belford group. The approach from camp is much shorter and North Eolus barely counts.

[terribletigzy]

Also curious as to what people recommend for adding Jupiter in with the four 14ers. It's been a little bit since I looked at the options, but I was leaning towards doing Jupiter on its own and heading down to catch the train out on the final day. If anyone has any recommendations for possibly combining Jupiter with Sunlight and Windom I would love to hear them!

[alpinenut]

Jupiter seems like about 5 mi. and 3-3.3K of vert from camp. Seems possible to do it on a nice afternoon or on your morning before heading for the train. There's some trip reports that have GPX routes that show the route going up the W Face/SW Ridge?

Thanks!!
Mason

[Logan5280]

I did all 4 in a day last summer. The physical difficulty is probably more comparable to just Belford/Oxford without Missouri. Windom first seemed to work well since navigation is easy enough to do the whole thing in the dark, arriving by dawn, then Sunlight, Eolus, and N. Eolus. With an early start, this isn't ridiculous; it's approximately 5k vert and 10ish miles from camp in Chicago Basin.

[Jorts]

If you could choose would you opt for a Monday or Tuesday train/approach day?

Not sure it would make a difference.

If you had a good weather day and a questionable weather day which twosome would you do on the questionable day? Early start of course.

I'd probably choose Eolus and N Eolus for the questionable day. Even with Sunlight having the hard summit move, that's really the only difficulty of Windom and Sunlight. I'd be somewhat leery of being on Eolus's grassy ledges, the catwalk or N Eolus in wet conditions.

If you have time to kill or an extra day what’s a moderately paced time to get up and down Jupiter from camp?

Did Jupiter from Missionary Ridge/Aztec so a little different. Looks like it took us 1.5 hrs to descend Jupiter and setup camp. That was a couple hundred feet above and south of the main drainage to access the 14ers. I'd guess you could do it in 4-6 hours if you were consistently moving from camp.
https://www.strava.com/activities/9914139529

Anyone who’s done all 14ers in day from is there an another combo that compares in terms of effort? Maybe like the Missouri threesome?

In a day from the train or from a camp?

In terms of from the train it's a long day. I don't think much compares. Maybe comparable to linking Capitol & Snowmass. Or Pyramid & the Bells. Or Humboldt with the Crestones. It'd be pretty long.
From a high camp, seems comparable to the Crestones or the Blanca group. I think it can be done reasonably in 4-6 hours.
https://www.strava.com/activities/5586956123

[Marmot72]

The group I was with was conservative and we hit Eolus/N Eolus and Sunlight/Windom as separate days. Windom is by far the easiest of the group, and also has the best views, so for a single day push on a fair weather day, I’d go from Eolus over to Sunlight and Windom. In the San Juans, I like moving from west to east, as that’s generally the way the clouds move. And if it’s a good weather day, then, having extra time on Windom to relax and take the views of the lakes to the east is a great way to finish.

The NW route up Windom saved me time vs going to the standard route after Sunlight.

The approach to Jupiter along the trail goes pretty quickly up to the mine; I would think a moderate pace might be 2 hours to summit and 70 min down.

[greenonion]

If I may tag onto this, but with a bit different question. Great post/questions btw, as I’m headed in there this year as well.

What’s the hike in from the train like? In terms of steepness with a backpack? I know it’s 6-7 miles one way. Can it be compared to Willow creek/lake, south colony, something else… with a backpack?

[sfreytag]

I'd take the Eolus side on the questionable day, since they are closer together. I would be easier to run over and tag North Eolus in 10 minutes then to go all the way from Sunlight to Windom. Also I wouldn't want to deal with the exposure on Sunlight if rock is wet.

I did all 4 from camp in a single day last year. It was 10.29 miles/5,609', though that could be reduced if you pick a higher campsite. Honestly not as bad as I expected. I'd compare the effort to Holy Cross or Crestone Peak from the 4x4 parking lot. About the same vert with less mileage than either of those. Obviously more scrambling than Holy Cross or Crestone. Plus I think it makes it easier since you have built in downhill breaks to recover compared to a long uphill slog like HC or CP. Plus HC and CP have those climbs on the way out which are just demoralizing.

[Briere]

If I may tag onto this, but with a bit different question. Great post/questions btw, as I’m headed in there this year as well.

What’s the hike in from the train like? In terms of steepness with a backpack? I know it’s 6-7 miles one way. Can it be compared to Willow creek/lake, south colony, something else… with a backpack?

My watch said 6.7 miles to where we camped and 2,900ft gain. It reminded me of Willow Creek more so than South Colony since South Colony was much wider trail since it was partly road.

[Jim Davies]

What’s the hike in from the train like? In terms of steepness with a backpack? I know it’s 6-7 miles one way. Can it be compared to Willow creek/lake, south colony, something else… with a backpack?

6 miles, 2800', all class 1. Maybe about like hiking to Barr Camp. Longer but easier than Willow Lake. Easier than South Colony from the 2WD trailhead in the valley, but harder than from the upper 4WD trailhead, although that road is kind of rough walking.