Page 1 of 1
Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 11:21 am
by Ethanber
Anyone know the conditions to ski Holy Cross as of today? I saw a topic a week ago about it, but wondering if anyone knows or has seen the cross couloir conditions? Looking to ski it next week
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:29 pm
by rmcpherson
What's your planned route? I'm sure you've probably seen
this conditions update. I was on this trip and there was no way to access the Bowl of Tears due to deep, soft snow above East Cross Creek on the approach despite starting at 4:30 AM from the campsites. Without solidly below-freezing overnight temperatures down to that elevation, I doubt the situation has improved since then. If you are considering it, you might want to approach via Halo Ridge (see the TR by gusbatcho) as you may have an easier time simply getting to the Cross Couloir that way.
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 2:18 pm
by cottonmountaineering
rmcpherson wrote: ↑Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:29 pm
What's your planned route? I'm sure you've probably seen
this conditions update. I was on this trip and there was no way to access the Bowl of Tears due to deep, soft snow above East Cross Creek on the approach despite starting at 4:30 AM from the campsites. Without solidly below-freezing overnight temperatures down to that elevation, I doubt the situation has improved since then. If you are considering it, you might want to approach via Halo Ridge (see the TR by gusbatcho) as you may have an easier time simply getting to the Cross Couloir that way.
skis are much better than snowshoes at floating on top of snow, you can skin up the entire normal route
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:39 pm
by Ethanber
rmcpherson wrote: ↑Thu Jun 05, 2025 1:29 pm
What's your planned route? I'm sure you've probably seen
this conditions update. I was on this trip and there was no way to access the Bowl of Tears due to deep, soft snow above East Cross Creek on the approach despite starting at 4:30 AM from the campsites. Without solidly below-freezing overnight temperatures down to that elevation, I doubt the situation has improved since then. If you are considering it, you might want to approach via Halo Ridge (see the TR by gusbatcho) as you may have an easier time simply getting to the Cross Couloir that way.
I was planning on biking to the halfmoon campground, then skinning/hiking up and down half moon pass, and then camping down in the East Cross Creek. Then skinning up the North Ridge to the summit, ski the cross couloir and then back to the campsite.
I also saw gusbatchos youtube video, so maybe considering his route
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:12 pm
by rmcpherson
Ethanber wrote: ↑Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:39 pm
I was planning on biking to the halfmoon campground, then skinning/hiking up and down half moon pass, and then camping down in the East Cross Creek. Then skinning up the North Ridge to the summit, ski the cross couloir and then back to the campsite.
I also saw gusbatchos youtube video, so maybe considering his route
I haven't evaluated the standard route and that may be a viable way to go. We were attempting to climb the Cross Couloir via the route on this site that departs from the standard route at East Cross Creek. That said, the snow is extremely patchy on the approach over Half Moon Pass and by now the coverage will be worse. It's too sparse to skin most of it unless you are ok with taking your skis on and off many times or have a pair of rock skis that you don't mind walking on. What I could see of the standard route from below Half Moon Pass looked intermittently bare too and that will have been two weeks ago by the time you are planning to attempt it, but again we never went that way past the campsites.
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:52 pm
by lodgling
Standard route up is the way to go. The terrain going up to Bowl of Tears from the campsites is complex. I wouldn't want to do it uphill with partial snow cover. Going down is bad enough.
I studied gusbatchos route out of the Bowl of Tears for a long time (glad to see it goes), but then ultimately went for the bushwack back to the campsite area. If you make the same decisions, my advice there is to trend high and skier's left as you work your way down from the Bowl of Tears. Your best bet for a refreeze is going to be a very clear night as opposed to overnight temps below freezing.
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2025 8:15 am
by Ethanber
rmcpherson wrote: ↑Thu Jun 05, 2025 4:12 pm
Ethanber wrote: ↑Thu Jun 05, 2025 3:39 pm
I was planning on biking to the halfmoon campground, then skinning/hiking up and down half moon pass, and then camping down in the East Cross Creek. Then skinning up the North Ridge to the summit, ski the cross couloir and then back to the campsite.
I also saw gusbatchos youtube video, so maybe considering his route
I haven't evaluated the standard route and that may be a viable way to go. We were attempting to climb the Cross Couloir via the route on this site that departs from the standard route at East Cross Creek. That said, the snow is extremely patchy on the approach over Half Moon Pass and by now the coverage will be worse. It's too sparse to skin most of it unless you are ok with taking your skis on and off many times or have a pair of rock skis that you don't mind walking on. What I could see of the standard route from below Half Moon Pass looked intermittently bare too and that will have been two weeks ago by the time you are planning to attempt it, but again we never went that way past the campsites.
When are you planning to ski it?
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2025 9:50 am
by rmcpherson
Ethanber wrote: ↑Fri Jun 06, 2025 8:15 am
When are you planning to ski it?
I ended my ski season on Hagar Mountain a couple weeks ago so I'm not planning to ski the Cross Couloir this year. To clarify, the trip I referenced over Memorial Day weekend wasn't a ski trip either. We were planning to bootpack the Cross Couloir and descend via the North Ridge route. I'm hoping to ski the Cross Couloir next year, but probably a little earlier in May (depending on snowpack of course) when the long approach will be more skinnable.
Re: Holy Cross skiing conditions
Posted: Fri Jun 06, 2025 8:49 pm
by Jorts
Able to save it for next season? Seems best in April/May when you can skin/ski everything. I did it on May 16 years back and we still had to hike the first/last couple miles but it was nice being able to skin up the standard route and then down and out along East Cross Ck to the standard route from the bottom of bowl of tears with minimal faffing. If coverage is thin in there it would be a heinous egress.