Mt. Bross

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 11/2/2020, By: Blachut
Info: Decent amount of snow but never had to use my ice spikes. Very little wind today which means shorts/t-shirt! Yey! The gate to kite lake is closing today; you'll have to now start admit a mile early. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/17/2020, By: lauradaughtry
Info: *NOTE: I did not climb/summit Democrat, so I can't entirely say what the condition of it was beyond the saddle connecting it to Cameron* Got to the trailhead at 7am (on a Thursday) and the lot was mostly full. Other than a few patches of packed down snow near the summits, the trail was completely melted of snow. Microspikes aren't needed at all; but trekking poles, snow or no snow, are invaluable for the descent down Bross. Clear day with light wind, but low visibility due to the wildfires. Sadly, I saw a lot of people not keeping to the trail. (This shouldn't be an excuse as the trail was in great condition and is very well marked/visible.) People contributed it to not using a map/AllTrails, etc. or the trail appearing "less easy" than the eroded pathways nearby. I even saw some people descend down the iron/ore section up to the summit, which is NO WHERE near the trail. Please, PLEASE stick to the marked trail! The fragile environment thanks you for it! 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/6/2020, By: kgkcomt
Info: Hiked the full DeCaLiBron loop, started with Democrat. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. Air conditions were clear. Everyone in my group was a beginning-intermediate hiker, and the loop was the perfect level of challenge for us. The descent down Bross is not for the feint of heart- definitely a few scary points, but it is doable. Take your time and use 3 points of contact when necessary, and you'll be fine. Took us well over an hour to descend. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/5/2020, By: kingshimmers
Info: Smoke is gone - had a beautiful day with no wind. Route is dry. Starting to get some fall color up in there. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 8/22/2020, By: Eli Watson
Info: Posting for smoke conditions on DeCaLiBro > "S Bross": The air was pretty bad this morning. My eyes were watering upon arriving at Kite Lake after pedalling/hike-a-biking from Paris Mill. Other hikers had to stop to cough consistently. By the time I reached the Democrat-Cameron saddle my throat was raw. The air quality improved considerably after noon, especially on the Bross side of the loop and the haze in front of Democrat had noticeably lessened. By the time I was back down to Kite Lake, the air was much better than it had been that morning. Less than 10 min spent on all 3-5 summits combined (depending on how you count), since I didn't feel inclined to spend much time up there. Splits for reference: Paris Mill 8:48 AM Kite Lake TH 9:30 AM Democrat-Cameron saddle 10:10 AM Democrat summit 10:30 AM Democrat-Cameron saddle 10:50 AM Cameron summit 11:19 AM Lincoln summit 11:32 AM Bross summit 12:02 PM "S Bross" summit 12:15 PM Bross trail junction 12:36 PM Kite Lake TH 1:16 PM Paris Mill 1:30 PM To avoid clutter with a bunch of the same photos, see my Democrat report for pics. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 7/27/2020, By: Outcropping
Info: Regarding the Bross descent: it is a well worn single track trail 95% of the way. It is not steep. It is mostly dirt/gravel, except for a short section that follows a solid rocky ridge with a drainage on the left. The trail eventually leaves the ridge, crosses the drainage and continues on the opposite bank, back on dirt/gravel. The turn across this drainage is what is in question. You can see the trail on the opposite bank and everyone is just heading straight for it, leaving the rocky ridge early and creating a steep path full of loose debris. Don't do it! Don't cut the corner. Follow the ridge another 50-100 yards, then go left. It is a much gentler grade, and obviously the route when you look back up at it from below. This was our first time on the route and our party cut the corner like everyone else. It looked bad from the get go and I knew we had made a mistake. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/13/2020, By: bryanthomaslamb
Info: ***!!!Mt. Bross Alert!!!*** If you are descending, at half way down the spine / ridge, people have taken an abrupt left turn down a 60* slope of skree with little ground. This is incorrect. the correct route continues down the spine and then cuts back left to connect to the other side. There is visible wear on the correct trail, on stable ground. Completed the loop in excellent fashion Sunday 07/13/2020. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 6/12/2020, By: madmattd
Info: One minor, not-long-to-live, snowfield on the traverse below Cameron's summit when going between Bross and Lincoln. Otherwise dry to the summit and 98% of the descent. The lower sections around the fields near the trailhead are still under snow. Snow is collapsing near the stream, so beware. The scree-filled descent of Bross is as miserable as advertised. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 6/10/2020, By: runupatree
Info: Gate is open and road passable with 4WD/AWD. Snow and ice on trail going up Democrat from TH: mix of ground cover, shin deep, and holy-snow-patch deep. It's doable without extra traction, but take extra care; deep patches to and above the saddle were sketchy/impassable without someone else creating a path/steps beforehand. Some snow/ice ascending Cameron and Lincoln, easily passable or avoided other than the first pitch from Dem/Cam saddle. Bross is almost clear of snow until halfway down the descent, whereupon it's shin deep or more in large patches. Parts of trail are hidden under snow. Last pitch to the creek is primo for glissading! Deep snow over creek is collapsing in places, so be warned. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/29/2020, By: djj2504
Info: Gate still closed ~1.5 miles from the trailhead but saw an excavator headed up later in the day presumably to finish up clearing the road the rest of the way. Headed up Bross from the trailhead to do the loop counterclockwise. Trail up Bross is clear of snow/ice all the way to the top. Partner started to feel pretty crappy on the way to Lincoln so we decided to just head straight over Cameron and back down. Snow on the descent from Cameron but could be partially avoided and probably won't continue to hang around too long. Still seems like a good bit of snow on the trail back down to Kite Lake from the Democrat/Cameron saddle. Managed to catch a few glissades but then ended up post holing back to the trailhead. 

Route: "S Gully"
Posted On: 5/17/2020, By: Trotter
Info: S Gully is still in, barely. Bottom and top are good, middle has pinched out, but only need to climb the melted out scree for about 20 yards to get back onto snow. Sunlight doesn't hit the gully until 2 hours after sunrise, so no hurry to get on it. Snow goes almost to 14,000. Summit area of bross is snow free. Snow in basin below decalibron got super postholey by 11 am. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/7/2020, By: jsnbabcock
Info: The gate to kite lake is still closed for the season. The road leading up to it was snowed in about a quarter mile ahead. On my way out, I noticed the mining company had blocked any access past their premises, so parking further up the road may be necessary. Flotation was helpful between kite lake and the car once the snow had softened. Beyond this point though, regular traction should sufficed as almost all of the snow had melted away by the time I was done. 

Route: "Dolly Varden Gully"
Posted On: 4/5/2020, By: JephgonnaSteph
Info: Parked at Paris Mill. The road is well packed all the way to Mineral Park TH. The gully holds snow till approximately 13600 ft. Snow was mostly windblown. From 13600ft to summit we chose to hike on rocks. Overall good condition for hiking. 

Route: "S Gully"
Posted On: 3/19/2020, By: dummycode
Info: No snow coverage 600 feet from the summit. Variable conditions in S Gully. Kite Lake also variable and wind blasted. Road closed at Paris Mill - but skiable .2 miles from mill to lake. 

Route: "Dolly Varden Gully"
Posted On: 3/17/2020, By: ClimberSkierDave64
Info: Started skinning at 7:30 from just below the Paris Mill. We did the 3.5 miles to the Mineral Park Trailhead in around 1:30. There were snowmobile tracks up the road but once we got to the gully, there were no tracks since at least the last storm. Snow conditions in the gully varied from having a wind crust on top to having soft recycled powder. Underneath the top 3 inches of soft snow from the last storm, there is a solid consolidated base. Going up the gully, avalanche danger was almost non-existent except for 1 or 2 small steeper slopes that funnel into the gully shown in the upper part of photo #1. Snow conditions above 13,200 were sastrugi with chalky snow in between.The snow extends to about 13,600 and the upper portion from there doesn't quite have enough snow to make a descent from the summit. The ski down was fairly creamy except for places with the wind crust and the lower portion even started to change to corn snow. The road out is slow and takes a lot of skating. All in all a great day!