6/22/2017 Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 6/24/2017, By: jes75 Info: I did the loop minus Lincoln (got discouraged after hearing thunder). I didn't see anyone wearing spikes. I briefly put traction on going up Democrat, but it wasn't really needed (and I think I was a little off the main trail in the section where I put on spikes). There's also snow going up Cameron from the Lincoln saddle, but I just stepped in the footprints and got up just fine. This isn't a very long section. I'd estimate the wind on the Cameron summit was around 30-40MPH. By the way, you cross a creek almost immediately after leaving the trailhead. I started out wearing running shoes, and being about the least graceful person I know, I naturally immediately soaked my right foot trying to cross the creek. Luckily, I had an extra pair of socks and boots with me. Anyway, if your creek crossing skills are about as bad as mine, you can walk a little to the right and jump across the creek on mostly firm snow. And you might be able to tell from the photos that visibility wasn't good due to the Brian Head fire. |
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6/19/2017 Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 6/20/2017, By: whiskeyzulu Info: Did the loop. Started at 6AM. There are a few spots where waterproof shoes or boots help keeping your feet dry. Very windy. I carried spikes and used them on Cameron's ridge. |
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6/18/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 6/19/2017, By: BillMiddlebrook Info: A few remaining snow patches on the standard route but we walked right through them in summer hiking shoes. Summer is approaching! We hiked up from Kite Lake, skied the north face and hiked back out to our car shuttle near Montgomery Reservoir. |
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6/13/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 6/14/2017, By: mlstjay Info: Planned to ski from summit. Got to TH at 945pm and crossed snow bridge to the right of main trail. Mostly dirt after that for 100 yards or so, then patches of snow. We put on our skis/skins shortly after. Was tough to gauge in the dark, but seemed like snow closer to the lake went almost back to TH. Bulletproof snow (to be expected since it was so late), but tons of tracks of poor souls postholing :-P. Had to take skis/skins off a few more times but otherwise quite a bit of snow! Turned around at midnight just before the ridge due to having to be at work in Denver at 7am :-( |
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6/3/2017 Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 6/4/2017, By: Seanrodg Info: Hike started at 5:30 AM at Kite Lake where we camped overnight. Solitude! I'm 225 (musk ox) and started post holing 20 minutes in. My son at 135 skittered across the crust like a slinking coyote. The ascent proved a bit better as my son left the trail and ascended up the slope. I kept to the trail for the most part and again started to sink mid calf below the false summit of Democrat. We glacaited down for the better part of a mile and had a blast. 50 and still young at heart. The weather was perfect and the views endless and beautiful. Our first 14er! |
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6/2/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 6/2/2017, By: Nelson Info: My luck ran out on me today. It rained last night and there were very strong winds all night long. The net result was a raincrust on top of unfrozen snow (temperature at 11:500 at 5 am was 41) People were postholing starting at the lake at 6am. The crust was strong enough for me to skin to 13,000 and ski down but I am afraid that with daytime warming it would have become a death crust as far as skiing is concerned. For that reason And because of brutal winds (I estimate well in excess of 30 mph) I bailed at 13k. |
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5/28/2017 Route: South Slope Posted On: 5/28/2017, By: hunterh Info: Climbed the East Slope and skied the South Slope. All of the chutes are filled in, and the ski is continuous all the way to where you park (currently about 3/4 of a mile before kite lake trailhead) with just a small amount of pushing to get across Lake Emma, which is still frozen and snow covered. By the time we dropped in from the summit around 11:45 the snow was soft and heavy but a ton of fun. A few signs of small recent slides in the area but none on the South or East Slope. First time skiing this route and we took one of the middle chutes. Fantastic day! |
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5/14/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 5/15/2017, By: jwgrosser Info: Went back up to Democrat Sunday to repeat the great ski run from last week. Still a continuous line of snow from summit to car but it is getting thinner on the east face in certain places. I noticed some new snow on Cameron and Bross but probably not enough to bother hikers and it likely won't be around for long. If you are looking to hike, you will have to cross a few snow fields the last 1,000 feet or so up to the saddle. The ridge is mostly wind blown snow or rock and microspikes would likely be helpful. The snow was supportive early but by the time we skied down around 11:30 I image post holing would have been a major issue. If you don't plan on doing all of your hiking early, I would bring snowshoes. Driving out we noticed a large slide on the east-southeast side of what I believe was Loveland Mountain (or a sub peak right next to it). Only a few minor wet slides in the chutes of Democrat but the Loveland Mountain slide demonstrated that you still need to be alert and aware of avalanche activity in the area. |
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5/6/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 5/7/2017, By: jwgrosser Info: For those looking to ski- I was able to skin/ski the entire route. The snow is getting thin on the face under the dem-cam saddle but the east face off the false summit and the gully on skiers left heading back to kite lake are still holding snow. For those looking to hike - I don't think snow shoes are necessary. I saw plenty of hikers without them and they were managing. You can avoid a lot of the snow by sticking to the rocks left (on the way up) of the traditional route. If you get an early start the snow should hold enough in the few areas where you need to cross the snow fields. I skinned the east face so I didn't hit much of the East ridge but when I did join it the snow seemed packed down and firm. Looked like a mix of rock and packed snow the whole way up the ridge. Microspikes recommended in the morning when the snow is still frozen. Ridge to Cameron looked like you could avoid most of the remaining snow if you pick the right line and Bross looked almost snow free up top from my angle. |
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4/23/2017 Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 4/25/2017, By: tcphoto87 Info: Road was clear to a little over a mile or so from the summer trailhead where the snow blocked it. There was an SUV that was stuck right where the snow starts when we got there. It was pretty packed and we didn't need to put on spikes until we got right up to the base of Democrat and started to climb. Didn't need snowshoes at all and didn't posthole the entire trip either. The climb from the Democrat-Cameron saddle up the summit ridge was a bit of a pain but wasn't too terrible. Once we reached the summit ridge the snow was less packed but still not enough to need snowshoes. On the way up people were sitting/sliding down so we slid down their paths back towards the saddle on the way down to help save our knees since I always manage to mess them up on descents. That was a lot of fun as long as you have a way to stop yourself when you gain too much speed. I'll add photos once I finish going through the hundreds I took this trip :) |
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4/18/2017 Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross Posted On: 4/20/2017, By: JasonCrane Info: I completed the Decalibron Loop, starting at Democrat > Cameron > Lincoln > Bross. Parked on the road to Kite Lk where the snow plow left a medium snow bank & slept overnight in the back of the SUV. Hiked up to the Kite Lake CG. Democrat has a lot of snow on the east face. Ice axe & traction is recommended. I wore spikes & had both an ice axe for the steeper portion & a trekking pole for the saddles. Cameron is mixed snow & rock with a bunch of snow accumulation on the summit. The Lincoln, Cameron, & Bross portion is mostly brown, but very high winds. The winds were so powerful on the summit of Bross that it was a little tricky keeping balance. Descending the West Slope of Bross had a lot of rock & talus, then deep snow in the chute. The more direct & steeper S-Gully route may have been a better choice. There were 7 climbers on the mountains that day representing UT, FL & CO. |
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4/15/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 4/15/2017, By: bgbg001 Info: Parked just below sweet home mine( road is dry till then). Began at 5am and climbed Democrat via east slopes with firm snow and defined skin path. Traction needed from the base of kite late especially earlier in the day. Then went over to Bross which was almost completely snow free from Cameron. Overall, great day on both peaks! |
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3/25/2017 Route: South Slope Posted On: 3/25/2017, By: spoony Info: Climbed and skied the Lake Emma chutes on Democrat from the Paris Mill closure. The road to Kite Lake is a bit annoying at the moment; it varies between packed snow and dirt, with 100 or 200 yard stretches of either at a time. Makes it tough skin up and snow got mushy by the time I was headed down (12:00-ish) which made walking tough. The snow surface from Kite Lake up to Lake Emma was early spring, i.e., very firm and slick in the morning but it softened when I was in my way down. The chutes above Lake Emma held varying amounts of soft snow from the recent storm but underneath was crunchy and firm where the wind had stripped the new snow. Overall coverage was on the thin side, especially on upper stretches above the Lake Emma chutes. I skied from the summit but had to meander my way down to avoid bare spots. The eastern most chute described on this site is not skiable from the summit right now. |
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3/18/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 3/19/2017, By: goingup Info: The snow begins at Paris Mill. We carried snowshoes in to the summer trailhead and dropped them to do the loop. In the morning the snow was a hard supportive easy walk. By the time we were coming out it was a mushy slop fest and we were happy to have flotation. There is steady snow from the summer trailhead up to to the summit of Democrat. Spikes and an axe are necessary depending on comfort. The snow is steep"ish" and hard packed in the morning. By 8:30 a.m. it had softened up and looked like it would be a super fun ski. There are a few lines back down to the summer trailhead. The rest of the loop is dry and boring, just the way I remembered Decalibron my first time around. Democrat is actually a pretty fun mountain with snow on it. The rest are boring. Glad to have snagged these four in winter so I never have to go back. Cameron and Bross are so ugly. |
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3/11/2017 Route: East Slope Posted On: 3/12/2017, By: AnnaG22 Info: Democrat is still holding on to some hard pack snow from Kite Lake. Traction and flotation from Paris Mill to the lake should be unnecessary, but an ice axe and spikes or crampons would still be useful from ~12.5 upward for a little while (the road and terrain around the lake, being flat, is obviously fine without). There are still some thin skiable lines from the summit. The rest of the Kite Lake 14ers are extremely dry and shouldn't require any traction or flotation, unless you choose to boot up the Bross gully. |
