Mt. Princeton

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/20/2013, By: sakthidasang
Info: I summited Mt.Princeton today(10/20), I was owning the mountain completely by myself ;). I was the only person in the mountain. Trail and peak is covered with 5-6 inches of snow. 2-3 inches of snow in Ridge. While heading down, it started snowing and almost 2 inches of new snow accumulation in the trail.
Microspikes is a must. I was carrying my gaiters too, but I didn't use it. Also please make sure you always stay in the ridge, because I see multiple treads to the peak (Old trail and other connecting treads). The last portion was little tough, because of wind (almost 20-30+ mph)
I have attached some of the pics both from trails and peak. Please let me know, if you need to more about the peak/trail conditions.

If you wish to camp, there are 2-3 camping spots in 322A road (near upper TH). I also advise to drive to radio tower station in daytime, because the 322 road is very narrow. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/17/2013, By: fahixson
Info: Note that this conditions report may be out of date already, but wanted to share as an example of how quickly snow can melt. Stayed in BV 10/9-10/14. Princeton looked pretty clear of snow on 10/9, but a fair amount fell on 10/10. Hiked East Slopes route on 10/13 after a couple days of sunshine and virtually all of the snow from 10/10 had melted. However, more snow came on the morning we left, 10/14. I would guess TH road and trail up to about 12,000' melt pretty quickly, but rocky trail along the north face of 13,273 is more likely to have snow.
Pics show trail leading up to north face of 13,273, remaining route along the face (where snow may be likely at this point), closer shot of rocky trail traversing 13,273 with a little snow remaining on 10/13, and ridge trail from 13,200' up to the summit.
Highly recommend sticking to the ridge from 13,200' to the summit as much as possible. Although it may be more windy along the ridge, rock is much more solid. On the way up, I meandered on to social trails that lead me further from the ridge and more towards the east face of Princeton. Although it felt nice to get out of the wind, the rocks were much less stable and trail came and went. Stuck to the ridge on the way down and it was much better. 

Route: Peak Pic
Posted On: 10/7/2013, By: Waggs
Info: Princenton from Johnson Village 10/06/2013 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/5/2013, By: gbell58
Info: This is prior to the storm event of 10/4, so; The road up to the communication site is fine for any 4x4, except for the tight spot by the root wad/stump about 10,400 (thanks to somebody for cutting it out) - a full size truck will not make it past while this is still there. 3 good camping spots above the comm site, all of which can accommodate multiple vehicles if parked right. Some patches of snow on the NE aspect in the morning shadows, but no real problems. Turn uphill at the small wall blocking the old trail into the bowl. Once you hit the ridge, just a matter of picking a route through the rocks. A beautiful, bluebird day on top; no wind, nobody else there. Met one woman coming up when I was descending. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/16/2013, By: bigredmachine
Info: Snow free except for one gulley crossing that is roughly 15 ft wide. The crossing is boot packed and could be avoided if so desired. Starting to get a little crowded but not bad for a Saturday in June. Actually had the summit to ourselves for a couple of minutes. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/8/2013, By: MissH
Info: Put away your snowshoes and spikes - not needed on this peak (don't believe, me check out the photos)! Traversed just a handful of snowdrifts in the gulleys, just follow the foot prints. Some of the steep part of the trail is starting to get muddy due to melting snow, but it was still completely avoidable today. Summer hikers are getting active, so be aware of crowded summits and trailheads. This one wasn't too bad, only saw about 18 people or so total today - only 5 of us at the summit when I was up there. Great 360deg views! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/10/2013, By: Patrick88
Info: Mt. Princeton is open for business! Had to cross three snowfields 10-30 meters wide but other than that it's smooth sailing. We also made it to the "4WD Trailhead" by the radio towers in a little four door Acura without too much difficulty. Any car with decent clearance and a gutsy driver should be able to make it.

Two trail notes - It is easy to miss the turnoff from the mining road onto the trail so look at the route photos and keep your eyes open. It is also easy to miss the beginning of the switchbacks that lead to the ridge between Unnamed Peak and Mt. Princeton. There is a prospecting trail that leads to no where so don't miss the beginning of the switchbacks. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/2/2013, By: dcvessey
Info: Still a few snow fields left. The turnoff from the road to the trail at timberline was covered with snow and easy to miss. Snow fields on trail above that were, of course, on the steepest slopes. Snow is the consistency of a Slurpee by mid morning. Yak Trax or Micro Spikes would have helped a great deal. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/5/2013, By: Coyote_Run
Info: Last week I saw a picture (in a conditions report) that gave the confidence to try Mt. Princeton, so I will do the same for the next guy. (I saw a dozen or so people on the mountain last Saturday.) I hope it helps... 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/28/2013, By: Wookie Horn
Info: Road clear of snow up to about 0.5 miles past the radio towers, which is sufficient to get to several camping spots above the towers.

Climb to the start of the East slope traverse was a mix of snow and road/trail, but mostly clear and what was still snow was melting fast. The traverse along the East slope was almost entirely covered with snow. In the early AM the snow was frozen enough to merit microspikes to avoid your feet sliding downhill. Hiking solo I elected to pull my ice axe for a little more security particularly as the traverse crossed steeper sections where wet slide activity was obvious. In the afternoon the snow had soften up to justify bare-booting and sticking to trekking poles. The last summit push was a mix of snow and bare rock. There was/is a clear boot track across the traverse.

Overall the postholing was minimal throughout the day - the snow pack just is not that deep. The drainages off the East Slopes were still holding adequate snow for some ski runs but the melt is changing snow coverage quickly.

Photo 1: Broad view of traverse
Photo 2: Closer view of snow conditions in AM about 3/4 way through traverse 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/30/2013, By: zephyr_pelicante
Info: We put in a trench up to the summit, it will likely be gone in a couple days from wind though.

We faced below knee post-holing from the radio towers to the summit.

You don't need crampons but microspikes and poles and an ice axe are a must.

Don't even think about going up the road unless you're a serious driver with a serious vehicle - then you could probably get to the switchback BEFORE the radio towers and save a bit of time.

Good luck! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/16/2013, By: Waggs
Info: Sharing a pic of Mt. Princeton I took today. Didn't make it to the radio towers due to snow (hiking), but the road isn't quite passable yet for mere mortals. If you have a high clearance 4x4 , chains, and large huevos, you could probably brute your way to the radio towers.

Pic of peak is from HWY 24 just east of Johnsonville. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/14/2013, By: mrschaible
Info: Mt Princeton received about 2-3" of new snow at the lower elevations. The road to the radio towers is snowmobile packed and dirt. It is in great shape and I saw older 4wd tracks to the radio towers. If you can make it to the radio towers in summer conditions, you could make it as of yesterday. Parking at the radio towers may be problematic. There is at most 5" of snow on the road. Above the radio towers, there are very large drifts that keep you on the downhill side of the road. There was faint remaining of a trench that I was able to use. The turn off the road marker is buried in snow (as is that whole section of road) so don't bother looking for it. You will need to be familiar with the location or use GPS (like I did). You will have to go straight up hill for a short period to make the ridge. This was the only place I did any post holing so I would not bother with snowshoes. Once on the ridge it is windblown with 5-6" of crusty snow on the trail. The trail is still easy to find, but due to the wind, you will have to break trail. Once you approach the saddle leading to the summit, the trail becomes much harder to find. I lost it several times with the strong winds and blowing snow. Microspikes and poles are a must. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/11/2013, By: LizWeiss
Info: The peak is 100% hike-able. We used Microspikes which helped alot, but overall, not much snow and the route is easy to follow. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/3/2013, By: wattsup
Info: Must park at lower TH. There are huge drifts all the way to the upper Th, that didn't stop some from trying but the farthest any tire tracks made it was about 1/4 mile up. There is a decent trench and post holes from yesterday's first accent by Mitch Todd and Romen. But the last 3 miles are very slow and exhausting. Enough snow to make the visible trail tricky to follow. The last 1/2 mile I just grabbed rocks and went strait up. I think the lower trail to the summit, the one that stays off the ridge, may be the lesser of the evils. Very windy, but like any 14er early Feb, very wet and rewarding.