1/3/2026 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 1/4/2026, By: Pilgrim1958 Info: The tree’s gone—someone drove up to the radio towers. Thought it’d be a calm day without wind, but hit a wall of it and turned around. |
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1/3/2026 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 1/4/2026, By: Jake6350 Info: As the other report mentioned, tree has been cleared. Summited but definitely windy once you leave the road and turn onto the trail. Main thing to call out is how little snow Princeton has, especially on North side of Tigger. No avy danger at all with current conditions until we get more snow. Ridge has some snow mixed in but largely possible to stay on rocks pretty much the whole way to the summit. Didn’t use any traction although spikes may be helpful for some small stretches, especially on the road sections. |
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12/21/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 12/22/2025, By: AlejandraOutside Info: Primarily posting to update on this large tree that fell across the trail, maybe a mile and a half up. Posted a picture of its exact coordinates... who's got the chainsaw? Trail conditions remain very similar to my last trip report with minor differences. A few additional feet (let's say less than thirty feet total over the entirety of the route) where windblown and frozen snow has covered the trail, requiring caution to traverse. Otherwise, more snow has melted, potentially allowing greater vehicle access on the lower road (YMMV!) and allowing me to skip microspikes completely until well into the rocky upper portion of the trail. No trail breaking or snow shoes necessary for me on this trip. (Also: summited this time, yahooo!) |
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12/13/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 12/14/2025, By: AlejandraOutside Info: Though much of the road beyond the lower section of the trail was dry, I did not take my AWD with good snow tires beyond the lower trailhead (after testing the road up out briefly in my Subie and turning around shortly in without incident hehehe...). The snow is several inches deep, making the already tricky road impassable for me, personally. We also saw a kitted out 4 Runner maybe .75 miles in parked at a turn around, and they reported that that was where they had begun slipping. 6:00 AM start. As far as the trail up, though, there is some consistent snow coverage, but also long stretches of snowless road. At no point was trail breaking required, though in some very brief spots it did require following previous post hole tracks to avoid it. One in our party used their snow shoes for a time and found it helpful, but I wouldn't say they were ever necessary, and the length of their possible use does not warrant the extra weight to bring them, in my unprofessional opinion. Wind was moderate for short periods, but surprisingly little/ weak given the weather prediction of gusts up to 40. The "crux" today, so to speak, was a stretch maybe a few yards wide where snow covered the trail and froze over, requiring one to intentionally flat-foot with spikes to traverse. But this peak is definitely doable until more snow hits. Turned around at the ridgeline just before the final ascent with 800 feet or so (that's a very rough guess) to honor our 1:00 PM hard stop time set in advance of the hike. Can't confirm definitely, but I'd say the entire trail would be doable with just spikes. For me. If I'd made it that far. Next time I'll start earlier (the one party we encountered who summited started at 2:00 AM) and ditch the extra weight. Oh, and not get waaaaayyyy off trail above treeline, but that one's on me for missing the left turn leading up to the ridgeline just before the final ascent. A day with lessons learned safely is a win in my book, summit or no. |
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11/15/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 11/15/2025, By: mhessler35 Info: Hard-packed snow in spots while coming around the north side of Tigger. Not enough to warrant traction in my opinion. Scrambled up to the ridge between Tigger and Princeton next to the switchbacks instead of on the actual trail to avoid the snow that is still on the trail. Once you gain the ridge, it’s essentially summer conditions the rest of the way to the summit. |
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11/9/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 11/10/2025, By: scfauth Info: Hiked from the 2WD parking. Road is bone dry except for one puddle about a mile before the towers and then some minimal snow/ice on the very inside edge about a half mile after. Some of the ruts are getting quite deep so high clearance is a must. No snow on the trail until you get about .25 miles onto the north side after departing the road. After that, snow is spotty for the next .5 mile or so however the hard packed stuff may have a layer of ice on top. Snow is fairly consistent once you approach the switchbacks heading up toward the saddle between Princeton and Tigger- mostly hard packed but with plenty of soft spots that you can post hole up to your knee in. Even the hard packed stuff will collapse in many aeras under weight. Highly recommend both spikes and poles. |
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10/20/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/21/2025, By: Trustybob Info: Great weather on the mountain! A little windy, even though the wind was blocked by Princeton. I did not summit, plan for a lot of time if you start at the lower trailhead. Snowy and icy on the North face of Tigger. Slow going. I brought microspikes but never had to use them. I stopped and turned around at around 12600. With Microspikes, the accent and decent would likely be a lot quicker. You can hike this trail without them for sure, just make sure you have good traction and be careful. No snow until about 12000. You can scramble from rock to rock to avoid snow, for the most part. |
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10/18/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/18/2025, By: B0bby Info: Winds were strong 60 mph gusts. About 6 inches of snow on the north face. A clear path but slippery with the wind. Doable with micro spikes |
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9/25/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 9/26/2025, By: Guabell Info: Perfect Princeton summit day on 9/25. Bone dry two days after the 9/23 snow. Some decent ruts on the road to the upper trailhead parking area - probably nothing new. |
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9/14/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 9/14/2025, By: paigemoney Info: Snow today but looked like it was melting fast! Aspens on the road are stunning! |
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7/14/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/16/2025, By: LSchmidt75 Info: Parked just about the radio towers at approximately 10,900 ft. at 5:15 a.m. - 4WD road is manageable but its own adventure, particularly in the dark. Parking spots are limited at/above the radio towers so recommend arriving early. 1-2 tricky spots that require a good 4WD with high clearance. Turn around options are limited if you get stuck. Good hike with clear trails, but be prepared for slow going - Class 2 most of the way above the 4WD road. Once you reach the saddle, try to stay left and on the ridge line for the easiest route, which can be difficult to see on the way up. I climbed to the right of the ridge line, which was fine but required more scrambling and route finding. |
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7/12/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/12/2025, By: bschiff Info: Great conditions, no snow on trail at all. Road is in pretty solid condition, was able to get my Subaru outback up with getting stuck at one point (put some rocks under and hit the gas). Get there really early it filled up fast and people were parking where they shouldn’t potentially scratching cars. |
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6/26/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/26/2025, By: econner Info: I parked at the radio towers as I was unsure how much further up the road it might be possible to drive / park. I have 4x4 with AT tires, and while my feeling was that the road would have been a bit sketchy in 2 spots for AWD (1 switchback and 1 rutted section) there were a couple of AWD, lower clearance vehicles parked at the radio towers when I was leaving. Road and trail are dry to the summit, full summer conditions. There is a pretty loose area ~500-800ft below the summit, poles would have been helpful. |
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6/19/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/20/2025, By: TechBison Info: Originally planned to drive the road in a 2018 4WD Honda CRV, but was forced to turn back after encountering some dusty ruts along a switchback ~1 Mile up the road. Ended up walking/hitchhiking my way up with the help of some very kind drivers, and started hiking at the towers around 11,000 feet. I noticed several vehicles with 9 or more inches of clearance parked at the towers. The road is snow-free up to the trailhead (and in visible sections past the trailhead), but still has very few places to pull off or turn around, so time your drive up very early in the morning or very late in the evening so as not to encounter oncoming traffic. The trail itself is in full summer condition by now. Zero snow along the entire trail, with a handful of snowbanks lining the ridge that do not need to be walked over. Some loose boulders have obstructed the trail, so be prepared to scramble over talus fields until you find the path again. This is especially noticeable after gaining the ridge and climbing along the final ascent, where most, if not all, of the climb is class 2 scrambling on medium-large boulders. The route is still loosely marked by a series of cairns, but a cell phone GPS (Gaia) helped me stay on trail. Summited around 11:30, and was back at the 2WD lot at 16:00! |
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6/16/2025 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/16/2025, By: notidealbutfine Info: Started at 11,000' just above the towers. Made it with no problems on the road in a stock AWD Honda CRV (6.8'' clearance). Started at 5:15AM. Summer conditions: didn't touch snow once! Bring your running shoes! Amazing bluebird day today, no wind whatsoever. 6.85 miles / 3,035' gain / 3 hours, 46 minutes |
