10/27/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/29/2018, By: nickle Info: 4WD road was dry/free of snow up to the 11K foot mark just past the road to the comms towers, parked there and hiked the rest of the way. Summited via Tigger peak, south aspects have large amounts of scree melted out of snowpack, north aspects are pretty well covered still. Descended via the standard route as we were comfortable with the stability of the snow, use good judgement as more snow is in the forecast. Did not use traction but many would find it helpful, saw other folks with spikes or crampons. Poles are helpful, we used axes for a few stretches for added security but not strictly required. |
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10/20/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/21/2018, By: yjake7 Info: Started the journey at around 0720 with a buddy, had to put on microspikes at around the 11,500ft mark given the snow buildup. Road up to the radio towers was fine until near the end when some snow was present, but for the most part was an easy drive. Definitely need high clearance, I have a 2002 Land Cruiser and made it up fine. Snow on the trail up was pretty sketch so I would suggest microspikes for sure, and as it snows more will need heavier gear. Weather was perfect with no wind and blue bird day. Took 3 and a half hours to summit with a few snack breaks. Peak was nice so stayed there for probably 30 minutes and took 2 and a half hours to come down back to the car, going pretty fast with limited water breaks. After getting up on the ridge the scree and snow is pretty sketchy so it was slow moving to make sure we didn't fall. Pretty well defined path as of now from my ascent as well as other people's ascent, so is easy to follow. Still safe to summit, just would suggest having the right gear, which means don't attempt in non water proof pants and without hiking boots and spikes. |
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10/7/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/8/2018, By: awpalmer27 Info: As of the morning of 10/7, there was no snow on the road. After the storm that night, there is probably an inch or two now. Made it up to the parking area at around 11,000 feet in a Land Cruiser with no issues. This parking area is a quarter mile to half mile past the radio towers. Started from at 7:15 AM. Summit at 9:50 AM. Back to car by noon. 4 hrs 45 mins car to car. The cold and biting wind certainly slowed my pace down above 13,000 feet. You are on a ridge line that is very exposed to westerly winds for this portion. This portion is frosted but had no real snow accumulation. I carried micro spikes but didn't use them. |
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10/5/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/5/2018, By: brentjmiles1 Info: Everything was frost covered and slippery during the ascent. Very windy and cold. Looked like weather was rolling in as I drove out. |
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9/30/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/6/2018, By: hunterh Info: My girlfriend and I made it up to the Princeton Chalet in my stock Tacoma TRD Off Road. Definitely a little gnarly in a few spots but we made it just fine. We stayed the night at the Chalet, made a fire, and had a nice evening. Until nightfall when the rats came out... If you plan on going up there anytime soon, please bring rat poison, these things are no joke. We also saw deer mice (which are known to carry Hantavirus - a fatal virus from aerosolized mouse feces), so I am a little worried about the safety of this place. We haven't experienced any respiratory symptoms, but PLEASE do everyone a favor and bring something to solve this problem if you go up there. This place is amazing and I don't want it to be unsafe for future hikers and travelers. To be extra safe, maybe bring a spray bottle of bleach to spray the place down. On another note, there is no more firewood at the chalet. We brought our own, and if you are hoping to stay overnight and stay warm, you should do the same. Also, we left a photo there that we found along our travels. The photo is of a boy, Cameron, who had a dream of living in Colorado but died just before his high school graduation. If you find the photo, please take him on your next adventure and facebook message his mother, Terri Fitzwater Palmore, or email mstac004@odu.edu with your photos. Be safe out there and enjoy the winter climbing, tis the season! |
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8/19/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 8/20/2018, By: chris_b Info: Attempted to go up the road in my Subaru Impreza but didn't have enough clearance to make it far. Started hiking up from the lower trailhead and was picked up by some nice folks in a Tundra who made it to the communication towers/upper trailhead. All vehicles past the lower trailhead were high clearance with 4wd or awd. Some of those vehicles gave up and parked at some of the road switchbacks before the towers which made it harder for other vehicles to navigate around those turns with the limited room. A newer model Subaru Outback surprisingly made it beyond the towers halfway up to where the trail splits off the road. |
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8/18/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 8/23/2018, By: chow Info: We made it to radio towers in our Jeep Cherokee just fine. Road is not bad but very narrow, you just need to pick your line carefully. I suggest to drive very slowly while coming down, we met two vehicles in opp direction on our way back, both of them were very generous to back up to give us the way to pass. Thanks to both of you! Also, road gets a little trickier after radio towers and turning around would be difficult IMO but there are a couple of good spots to park/camp even after radio towers. |
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8/3/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 8/13/2018, By: awitkowicz Info: Only thing others haven't mentioned: if you want to drive to the upper TH, you should probably park near the Radio Towers. There aren't any parking spots at the actual TH itself. There are a couple turnarounds about 1 mile up past the TH you could theoretically park at, but then you're likely blocking a turnaround for vehicles on the 4x4 road. Also, the road past the radio towers becomes very rough, and I wouldn't drive it unless you're in a true 4x4 vehicle. Other than that, yes it's true that the trail isn't marked too well, but it also doesn't really matter. The majority of the hike is on scree, so it's a choose-your-own-adventure type of ascent, and the summit is in full view the entire time. |
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7/15/2018 Route: New and old trail Posted On: 7/16/2018, By: Chelseykai Info: This trail was so in marked there was no trail going through gully. Is was boulder field and rocks everywhere and it was extremely difficult to see where the trail was coming down. We almost got stuck because we were the only people up there. It was scary. I recommend they mark this trail better and clean it up. The trail going along the ridge up, was non existent. |
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7/4/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/5/2018, By: Hike-n-brews Info: Beautiful morning. Started at 5:30am and finished a little after 10am. 4WD road was nerve racking being in a Nissan Rogue. I made it to within 0.5 mile of the radio towers before I decided to pull over (not many places to pull over). I later saw another Rogue at the radio towers. New trail easy to spot on the way up, but I left the ridge to early on the way down and ended up on the old trail. It was getting HOT at about 9am, so recommend going early. |
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6/30/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/2/2018, By: Benclimber Info: No snow at all and very hot, majority of climbers were in shorts and T-shirt all the way to the summit. Start early to beat the heat. |
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6/25/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/25/2018, By: summerskye90 Info: Lots of sunshine today- not a cloud in the sky! 4wd road was not a problem with a high clearance truck and I found a spot about .4 miles up from the radio towers. Not a single patch of snow left on the mountain. New trail is very easy to find (even in the dark with just a headlamp). The final ascent has lots of loose rocks and dirt. I finished the hike around 10:30am and it was already hot hot hot! Start early. |
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6/9/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/11/2018, By: macnkeegs Info: Trail was in great shape overall. Per usual, it was very difficult to stay on track up near the final ascent to the summit, and you will almost inevitably end up scrambling through fairly steep talus. One small snow crossing that was fine in the early morning and slushy by around 11:00 during the descent. There were a plethora of cars going both up and down the 4wd trail, but we were in an impreza and had to hike all the way up from the lower parking lot. Unless you're looking to make things significantly more physically difficult, I'd recommend either hitching a ride up and down or taking a 4wd capable vehicle to the upper TH. |
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6/8/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/8/2018, By: JQDivide Info: FROM CFI.... CFI has a crew doing some delineation work on Mount Princeton. They will be working on the area near the saddle this week and next week. The trail is NOT closed, nor has it been rerouted. Our staff have been working to crib in the soil which is eroding fast on the steep, loose slopes. They are also building some cairns which means they've been quarrying and stacking some very large rocks. The piles of rocks may look like they've closed the trail, but it is still open. If you're hiking through their work site just make your presence known and stay on the trail. We prefer hikers pass through our work as opposed to hiking off trail to avoid us! Sorry for any confusion! |
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6/6/2018 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/6/2018, By: ZenZin Info: Everything (road and trail) is totally dry except for one small snow patch on the traverse across the face of Tigger, which was short and bootpacked - no problem at all. Note, CFI is working on the trail. They have closed off much of the standard trail starting at the cutoff for the ridge saddle and including one of the high ridge trails, in favor of a lower traversing trail toward the summit. Not sure where the new trail goes. Maybe an admin can get more info. (Apologies if the info is already available and I just missed it.) |
