Mt. Democrat

Route: West Face
Posted On: 5/17/2024, By: vertical_volume
Info: Climbed and skied the West Face of Democrat from the Fremont Pass S trailhead. Very good freeze overnight and clear skies/sunny/hot all morning. Left the car at 9 am, summited at 12:05 pm, and dropped at 1:06 pm. There's a lot of avy debris in the bottom half but it wasn't a major issue. The top 1600 feet could've used at least another 30 mins of sun but aside from navigating some avalanche debris it was a fantastic ski top to bottom. 

Route: N Face
Posted On: 4/21/2024, By: TeocaliTripper
Info: Lines are filled in, but thin up top. Choke on the main line looked thin as well. Some wind slab on the westerly facing aspects. Skied the NW face, and found an array of pow, small wind slab, and firm. Followed a boot up the lookers left gulley. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 5/25/2024, By: andlours
Info: Still continuous snow from the gate closure to the summit. I started around 6AM and descended sometime near 9AM. With the wind and cooler temps, the chutes hadnt softened up yet. I did the longer chute to lookers right of the one shown in the route description. Corn skiing above Kite lake was absolutely fantastic. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 1/1/2024, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Climbed DeCaLiBron today, along with S Bross. Conditions are pretty great right now, very minimal snow. I used micro spikes all day just for ease but not necessarily needed. The route from Kite Lake up to Democrat has snow, and from the summit of Cameron and Lincoln to Bross (and South Bross), it felt like summer conditions. There are some slicker patches of snow and ice on the descent from Bross, but these patches are intermittent as of now. We had some incoming weather today during the descent - thick, dark clouds which eventually brought light snowfall and dropping temps. Overall, great day and glad to ring in the New Year with some winter snowflakes. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/30/2023, By: alex_herbert
Info: Didn't make it over to Democrat, but Hiked Lincoln from Bross side 12/29/23 and snagged a photo of the upper part of Democrat. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/23/2023, By: headsizeburrito
Info: Did Decalibron to celebrate Mt Democrat becoming public land and to finally get my snowflakes for the peaks. Excellent weather and pretty easy winter conditions at the moment. Gate closed 1mi below Kite Lake TH. No need for flotation. Put on spikes heading up Democrat and kept them on the rest of the day, only sank a few inches here and there. Trail easy to follow, only a couple minor drifts here and there. Only person out there all day, saw two herds of bighorn and a moose cow and calf on the road heading back out. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/22/2023, By: Willhf1011
Info: Road closed at lower gate, ~1-1.5 mi from Kite Lake. Road is pretty clean though, easy hiking. Kite Lake up to Democrat has the most snow of the route, snowshoes would be nice but not necessary. Once up to the saddle the standard routes are pretty good, just snowy. A little bit of snow loaded above the standard route up Democrat but its thin, well consolidated, and SE facing. Saddle between Cameron and Lincoln is bone dry and Bross is also quite dry. Some nice cornices forming in the chutes on Lincolns south face. Spikes were helpful on Democrat thru Lincoln, not really needed for Bross, though there are some steep snowy parts of that descent. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 11/22/2023, By: rachel
Info: Like previously mentioned, parking is about 1 miles below Kite Lake. We paid the $8 at the gate. Snow was ankle deep in most places with drifts up to knee-high. 2 people ahead of us broke trail up Democrat (thank you again). Microspikes were helpful on the descent off Democrat. We also continued to Cameron, Lincoln, and the open trails on Bross. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 11/14/2023, By: Da Legit Master
Info: The road leading to the Kite Lake Trailhead is closed at a locked gate 1.1miles back from the trailhead at around 11,500'. There is enough room to park three vehicles here. There is hardly any snow on the road, but starting at the trailhead there is snow on most of the decalibron loop. There was not a lot of ice, but I would still bring poles and spikes. Crampons are probably a little overkill right now. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 10/20/2023, By: 14er101
Info: Nice quick jaunt, still effectively summer conditions. No mandatory snow. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 10/7/2023, By: jfm3
Info: Dry trail to ~13,500'. From there to the broad shelf east of the summit at 14,000', there is a fair amount of packed snow with some ice on the trail. It could be avoided but the flattest surface is the packed snow. I didn't wear spikes but for those with less nimble feet spikes might be a good idea. The final climb to the summit from the shelf is dry. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/25/2023, By: cvillesweetljane
Info: Met 3 hikers (1 solo and 1 pair) at Democrat/Cameron saddle who had turned back from Cameron about 200 ft below peak due to ice. As I was on my way up Democrat, I figured it might just soften a bit on the icy section by the time I got up Cameron, and I didn't feel it was dangerous by the time I got to the summit of Cameron. Just had to take my time. Spikes not necessary (I summited around 1 pm). Some snow on Lincoln, but again doable. Coming down Bross the entire west face was covered in snow, and the diciest bit of the loop for sure. I was wishing i had spikes for that, but didn't, so took it veeeery slow. Weather was beautiful with little to no wind. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/24/2023, By: GaryBroome6
Info: Went counter clockwise. Snow/ice started around 13,750 on Bross. Cleared while passing Cameron and started again on Lincoln. Consistent light snow/ice down Lincoln and over Cameron. Democrat mostly clear. I put spikes on coming down Lincoln and wore them over Cameron. Didnt NEED them but I had them so might as well. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/23/2023, By: backcountrybrodes
Info: Democrat was nice and then 70+ mph winds at 14k on Cameron, Lincoln, and Bross. OOF. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/16/2023, By: dr_j
Info: Went up Democrat mid-afternoon, and the temps warmed right back up after the recent snows. Winds were calm. Trail is snow covered for the last 3/4 past the saddle. I dont expect all of it to melt, but the path is clear, poles and maybe microspikes are sufficient to navigate the trail safely. Road up to lake is clear, no issues.