La Plata Peak

Route: Ellingwood Ridge ascent w/ standard descent
Posted On: 7/1/2026, By: sethjameslittle
Info: Air quality was poor due to the fires in the San Juans and near Leadville. The air cleared some after the approach hike. Our route was clear of snow besides a few short, relatively flat patches near the summit. Trail conditions above tree-line on the northwest ridge were loose, and sometimes, there isn't a trail at all, or there are multiple footpaths through the steep gravel. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2026, By: Bobak Radbin
Info: Summer conditions. A few small snow patches remain above 13,000 ft but are easy to avoid on rock and microspikes are not needed. Trail is dry and easy to follow through treeline. Some route finding is required on the upper ridge, but cairns and social trails make navigation manageable. Started at 4:40 AM on 6/18 and had excellent weather with light to moderate wind. Wildflowers are blooming and the trail is in great shape overall. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2026, By: kelseyd
Info: 2 small, low-angle snowfields remain that you'd have to drop realllly far down to avoid. We stayed mostly ridge proper, so you might hit more if following the "trail" to the east/left. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/13/2026, By: YankFrankTank
Info: Saturday parking at 6 AM is “summer conditions”; TH lot full and 20 cars pulled off on both sides of road. Trail was moderately busy but not bad. Friendly folks. Small Snow fields still up top as previously stated but you can go west of them; talus hopping. Dry trail on switchbacks can be slippery on descent. Beautiful day and amazing views. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/8/2026, By: robbcaz
Info: Quick pointer for those very early in the morning it's hard to see the right trail to access the bridge. I talked to another couple as well that accidentally went the wrong route to what looks like a rock wall and huge stream flow. The bridge is just downstream from here. I tried to mark the way with rock.

Snow pack was limited only places you had to go through were melted to the ground from previous foot traffic. Up top you have option of snow or rock. I was on the upper snow at 6 am / still frozen (freeze thaw cycle). It was hard to dig my microspikes into. Eventually didn't trust my spikes with too much exposure and too little kick in so I traversed into rock. Watch for thin ice in the morning on the dirt. Hit an unexpected patch and yes ouch....elbow bruise. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 6/8/2026, By: Been_Jammin
Info: Fact: Route is ALMOST in full summer conditions.
Opinion: This route is a proper sufferfest and a benchmark for hard (endurance wise) CO ridge scrambling. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/4/2026, By: Alpine_Exchange_36
Info: Trail is in good condition up to the saddle after the buttress. After that theres still some snow and up the final ridge. If you get there later, postholing is definitely a possibility. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/30/2026, By: ChananBallz
Info: Very dry until about 13000ft, then there’s a few quick patches of snow that are very easy to manage. Then after I reached the flat part at 13,500, the super steep part ahead was covered in snow. Definitely should’ve started earlier because on the way down the snow was starting to melt and made it a bit slippery, but I managed with poles and micro spikes. After this stretch it’s pretty dry beside a more patches including a bit at the summit. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/26/2026, By: jacob_hockey06
Info: Peak conditions- https://youtu.be/0Zpyy517o5g?si=_A1VBkwYRSYPn67i

Basically no snow up to 13,000 ft. After that, decent snowpack but there's enough boulders to walk on instead of the snow all the way to the top. My friend and I took about 5 hours to reach the summit. We used ice spikes on the way down because we had fun sliding on the snow. Amazing views at the top. First 14er! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/25/2026, By: ColoNativeGal
Info: Pretty much the same as previous reports. Summer conditions below 13K (with one snow patch in the flat area). Snow above where spikes are helpful especially if it's frozen, but with good tread and softer conditions you could probably get away without them. There are some good boot tracks to follow, but that will continue to change as things continue to warm up and melt. Once back in the rocks, small patches of snow here and there, and a little snow on the last jaunt to the summit block. 13er Sayres Benchmark is looking awesome right now with snow on it. Wildflowers are popping too! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/23/2026, By: Sando
Info: Hiked standard route. Almost completely summer conditions to past the switchbacks. Crisp snow fields on about 50% of terrain about 13k. Overall good conditions, microspikes were a huge help but not strictly necessary. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/22/2026, By: Jamela33
Info: Summited La Plata today 5/22, trail is in great condition with couple small patches of snow to cross and the summit ridge is still snowy, making for great efficient hiking conditions for us. I used micro spikes and my husband did not (he was in mountaineering boots though)! Overall beautiful day, get out there and have fun!! ☀️⛰️ 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/21/2026, By: GrantC
Info: Summer conditions until 12k, a few easily avoidable snow spots to 13k. Then the trail is completely covered 13k+ but it was icy so we didn’t really posthole, and there were rocks on the side to go up instead. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/16/2026, By: Connor1
Info: La plata is almost at summer conditions. There was only a few small snow crossings that were on the route. Almost all of the snow could be avoided. I did it in trail runners and never put on my spikes. Although I realized on the way down it would have been easier to stay ridge proper because there was a decent sized snow field on the east side of the ridge that makes for much easier hiking compared to the class 2 section of the trail. On the way down I was able to glissade down that snowfield which made going down faster and more fun. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 4/20/2026, By: BrendoRuns
Info: My first time on Ellingwood and the folks weren’t kidding! It is full on! Started late at 11:00, not my best call for the snow conditions. The approach is entirely clear and the first third of the ridge was mostly dry. Closer to halfway to the peak there were some steep snowy traverses but ice axe and spikes got the job done. Stuck more to the ridge line and did several class 4/5 down climbs to avoid the very snowy east side. Right before east la plata was the worst bit of deep powder with no rocks to hop on. Basically buried in the snow up to my waste feeling like I wasn’t going anywhere despite struggling hard. Seriously challenging conditions and ridge! Summited in 7 hrs 15 mins, down in 1:45.