7/8/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/10/2017, By: ekimmel Info: AWD road is dry. Drove up and camped by radio towers. Some parking there, too. Started at 6 am and was up in 3.5 hours. Walked up the rest of the road to 11,200 mark and hopped on the trail. Small alpine meadow, then scree all the way up. Two small snow fields to cross. Maneuverable without equipment. One false summit. Difficult stuff to get up - rocky and sandy. One step forward, 3 steps sliding backward. Poles helped. Not my favorite 14er, but short and enjoyable. Short hike compared to others. Some loose larger rocks so just watch footing. Dog made it up fine, but wouldn't take her on it again. Exposed once off the road so an early start is a must to beat the storms! Got caught in hail about 20 yards from the car. Brown Dog coffee and muffin was a nice way to end the trip. |
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7/7/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/7/2017, By: AcornMan Info: If you hike any part of the road, don't worry because it's dry all the way up. After the trail leaves the road, it is almost entirely dry, but there are a few patches of snow that can easily be crossed without traction or just avoided altogether. Wayfinding is pretty easy, though I did lose the trail a couple times while ascending. It was easier to stay on the trail while descending. The summit is bone dry. |
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7/4/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/6/2017, By: Skyline Info: A couple snowfields to cross on the route, but overall conditions are good, we used no special equipment. 4WD road is clear all the way to the end. Don't let the description make you complacent, this road is pretty rough, especially once you pass the towers. Was able to clear it in a Frontier 4x4, no mods. |
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7/2/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/3/2017, By: Joelorado Info: Started at the radio towers. Route is mostly snow free. There were maybe 2 or 3 crossings that had snow but they were short and you don't need any traction. There was a section were the route finding was a pain but the rocks are very sturdy so not that big of a deal. |
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7/1/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/17/2017, By: andrewdbarr Info: Three small snowfields to cross otherwise enjoy the endless boulder field! Full summer conditions no need for spikes etc. Camping at the radio tower facilitated a quick up and down before the heat got to be too much. Pretty exposed route in terms of sun damage. |
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6/30/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/3/2017, By: Rex_Grant Info: Ended up parking around 11,200 feet but could have made it up to around 11,600 feet. There are a few dispersed campsites above the radio tower. A few small snow fields to cross but no post-holing. Left around 4:30pm in order to catch a sunset summit but was on top by around 6:30pm well before the sun went down. Beautiful conditions the whole way and had the entire mountain to myself. Definitely the quickest 14er I've done. If you're not a fan of spiders I suggest not losing the trail on the way down. Had to traverse through some boulder and talus fields that was like wandering through Shelob's lair... |
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6/25/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/26/2017, By: mrvwbug Info: Route is mostly snow free. There are 4 smallish snowfields to cross on the route, poles and/or spikes would be helpful but it is doable without them, no issues with postholing even in the afternoon on the descent. The road to the TH is blocked by snow about 1/2 mi from the point where the trail starts, it is possible to turn around at the switchback where the road is blocked. |
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6/20/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/24/2017, By: bryanonfilm Info: Near summer conditions. Traction and axe would be overkill for three quick snow slopes, even if starting early. Pole helps! Started at 1 PM and had the mountain to myself! |
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6/17/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/19/2017, By: MonGoose Info: The road is free of snow up to ~11,200', well past the radio towers but short of the trail turnoff. There are 3 large snow crossings on the standard trail. Microspikes are recommended, trekking poles are very helpful and ice axes are optional. The alternate route up and over Tigger Peak is completely dry. |
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6/10/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/11/2017, By: mountainmaestro Info: Just a few other details in addition to Saturday's other report: (1) Since the turnoff was covered by snow, my climbing partner and I decided to ascend "Tigger Peak" and follow the ridge over to Princeton. We really enjoyed the route and it requires no snow travel. (2) Prior to the turn off, the trail is covered by a snowfield that blocks a switchback. At 5:30 AM the snow was quite hard, just shy of bulletproof, which I found surprising. We made it across with microspikes and poles but I wasn't terribly comfortable. A slip would have been bad. For the near term, early starts mean you will likely prefer to have an axe and crampons IMO. The snow conditions early on were a prime reason we opted for Tigger on the ascent. (3) We descended the "standard" route but note that the switchbacks up to the ridge are entirely under snow so climbers had to improvise on talus down to where the switchbacks begin. This is the first and longest of the snowfields on the route currently. The beaten paths through these five or six gullies worked fine for us at 11:00 to noon, snow quality was reasonably supportive. We did not use spikes, just poles. Not sure how the snow performed later in the day, nor how it will do as it continues to get used by climbers and melts over the next several days. For sure you will not want to slip--you will go far and there are rocks at the bottom. Not to mention you will bottom out in the wrong drainage. |
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6/10/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/16/2017, By: sanders403 Info: There were lots of very loose rocks in the boulder fields, so it was important to test every rock before making a step in order to avoid creating a rockslide. It seemed dangerous to hike above or below anybody else for the same reason. My group finished very late in the afternoon, and the snow held up with minimal postholing in spite of it being a warm day. We used microspikes in the morning when the snow was hard but didn't need them later in the day. Poles were helpful to navigate the snow and rocks. |
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6/10/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/10/2017, By: AlexeyD Info: Turnoff for summer trail is still obscured by snow - but melting out quickly. 5-6 snowfields to cross along the standard trail. At the moment, all have a decent boot track across them, but I'd still recommend an ice axe as a slip on one of those could result in a long ride! Snow quality was surprisingly good despite the warm weather, transitioning to a more summer-like state of reasonable cohesion even in late morning. Fun early summer conditions all in all. |
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6/3/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/4/2017, By: AliStahlwood Info: Started at the camp sites at the radio towers and walked the rest of the way of the road, which was mostly clear, although they'd too much snow to drive ask the way up to the start of the trail. Parts of the trail are still covered in snow but it's melting pretty quickly, esp along the gullies on the way up to the ridge. Some people had snowshoes, spikes, or an ice ax, but we did it with no gear and we're fine. It would have been nice to have hiking poles with snow baskets though. Everyone who attempted yesterday was able to summit. |
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5/20/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 5/20/2017, By: jjwright Info: Started from the 2wd TH and hiked up the road. Broke trail up to Tigger and down to the saddle before stopping. Lots of snow on the ridge some almost waist deep in spots. Getting up Tigger took forever since the rocks are covered in fresh powder. |
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4/28/2017 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 4/28/2017, By: jladderud Info: Parked at down tree at approx. 9900'. Ascended the ridge up over Tigger and descended via the standard summer route. No snowshoes were required but microspikes, poles, and, at some points, an ice ax were used. Please DO NOT follow our boot pack on the standard summer route above the road (on the slopes of Tigger) UNLESS you have evaluated the snow stability conditions and ascertained that you can traverse the avalanche slide zones without triggering an avalanche. Our evaluation was that snow was stable today; but new snowfall tonight may increase avalanche risk on the standard route. |
