Mt. Democrat

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 9/14/2023, By: highpointmike
Info: A few inches of snow. More coming after so prepare accordingly. Put on microspikes halfway up Democrat and then used the rest of the way since it made running easier. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 8/31/2023, By: donovanrice
Info: Summer conditions. Did BroLinCaDem since I wanted to save my knees the trouble of descending Bross's steeper trail relative to Dem's. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 8/2/2023, By: PearsonJohnP
Info: Great conditions yesterday, and not too crowded. Agree with the recommendation to visit the liability waiver webpage before you get out there. There is a physical sign with the QR code but it was outside of our cell phone range. We saw a fox on the drive in, and a gang of marmots on the way out. On trail, there i decently strong runoff up to around 13K, so watch where youre stepping. The path is well-marked and other than a few hail patches, in good shape. We finished in 5:45, with plenty of breaks. Obviously keep an eye out for an early summer storm, otherwise this was a treat. 

Route: East Slope
Posted On: 7/28/2023, By: Monte Meals
Info: It took less than a minute to get a (free) waver from the web site. THANK YOU John Rieber !! Kite Lake parking lot was only 1/2 filled - I expect this to change over the weekend. Small snow field near the top that you can avoid. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 2/26/2023, By: _coloradical
Info: Road is still plowed nicely up to the winter closure. Wore snowshoes at from the closure until the summit of Democrat. Took a slight variation of the summer route up to the saddle, from here we stayed close to the standard trail up to the summit of Democrat. On the way down, around 13,800 we transitioned into spikes/ice axe with the snow not feeling as stable as we'd like. The climb to Cameron was mellow, we navigated some rocks along the ridge to the summit. Dropped down to Lincoln, saddle was dry and had a nice walk-up to the summit. On the way to Bross we did have one section of snow we had to navigate around, it was too hard to kick steps in but was about 30-40 feet. Bross was also dry and the descent route was fairly smooth despite the melting snow. We put snowshoes back on around 12,300 until we got back to the Winter TH. We got all 4, along with one other gentlemen (starting at Bross). The one guy ahead of us got Democrat, and we saw two more people on Bross in the afternoon but not sure if they did the loop or not. Great day. 

Route: East Slope
Posted On: 2/18/2023, By: KState14er
Info: Must have been some new snow between 02/12 and yesterday 02/17. I was hoping for consolidated, hardpacked snow above the road but got post-hole unconsolidated crap until 13,000 when I finally bailed from exhaustion and slow progress after consistently getting stuck in knee/shin high snow. Two people with snowshoes summited ahead of me, two without snowshoes bailed lower than me. Take snowshoes and gain the summit! I cannot reiterate enough that you should not be on the summer route. Although there was no indication of recent slides or obvious risk of avalanche (overall the snow conditions looked great), the route around the lake is in serious avy territory. When you reach the trailhead angle to the right/northeast towards a hill that is between you and the Cameron/Democrat saddle. Then angle west towards Democrat after about 1/2 mile or so when you are past the Kite Lake Basin. There should be tracks and previous reports have documented this route well. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 2/12/2023, By: andy_schlichting
Info: Not much new from the last report, but I want to reiterate the importance of avoiding the standard trail up Democrat to avoid avalanche danger. I highly suggest sticking to the hill/mound (I think this is what the previous report was referring to, but their link didn't work) to the right, rather than hugging the mountain along the summer trail as those slopes are SE facing and, based on the avalanche reports all season, there could very well be a persistent slab problem there that could slide at any given moment. Yesterday, one person ahead of me went up the summer trail and had no issues, but I followed the hill to the right and it appeared everyone behind me did as well. Avalanche 101 reminds you that just because someone hiked or skied it before you, doesn't mean it's safe. There doesn't appear to be any other avalanche danger on any of the mountains right now. A couple other notes for skiers: The S-Gully on Bross has some good snow in the bottom half and some very wind-blown snow in the upper half. There is a section between those that does not look like it connects and you'd have to hike down. Also, I don't know the name of the route, but it looks like there's an awesome line coming down Cameron right now. Also the road is in decent shape to about 1.9 miles from the trailhead. There was one slightly sketchy section coming up, but my Crosstrek made it without trouble. A group of people got their 4Runner up about another 1/3 of a mile past where everyone else parked. The road actually seemed a little sketchier going down at the end of the day than it did coming up in the morning. I'd recommend keeping a shovel in your vehicle if you don't already. Unfortunately, a lot of this info may be obsolete after this week's weather. I'll try to post photos of everything shortly... 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 2/3/2023, By: madmattd
Info: Parked 2mi from the summer TH, walked the road which got snowier after the gate - should probably have put snowshoes on. I did put snowshoes on at the TH, and they are required to the saddle imo. I kept them on up and down from Democrat, but spikes would work OK too, you'll likely just need to take less snowy lines than I did in snowshoes (I only had to deal with a few rocks the whole ascent). Note: I sidehilled up and around the mound just past the TH that Daway8's TR (https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=20028 ) suggest going directly over to avoid the avy slopes labeled as "2a". While sidehilling halfway up and around worked with minimal added effort, I would likely just take his advice next time and go direct over the bump. "2b" wasn't loaded that much, and it was easy to navigate away from the small area that could have issues. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/27/2022, By: bshafs
Info: Very little deep snow, not enough to justify snowshoes. Microspikes or crampons are a must. We summitted Democrat without much difficulty, but on the way to Cameron, the wind was 35-45 mi/h (75 mi/hr gusts), and we had to turn back. Luckily, the route to Democrat was mostly sheltered. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/23/2022, By: Dan_Suitor
Info: Windy and overcast. Mountain-Forecast.com was way off. I managed to stay on, or near the trail. Floatation was not required, but traction was. There were a few steep wind-swept areas of snow where the spikes were very helpful. Only punched through the snow a few times, nothing too deep. Democrat had more snow than Cameron or Lincoln. I was hoping to do Bross as well, but the wind was howling an I could not see the peak through the clouds. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 12/18/2022, By: BiggasPanda
Info: A beautiful day on all 3 peaks. Sunny and barely any wind. Summited Democrat, Cameron, and Lincoln. No need for snow shoes, but micro-spikes and gaiters are a must. It was a little challenging to follow the trail due to the snow. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 11/30/2022, By: wmagnuson7
Info: The conditions today were very challenging. Most of the way up Democrat, there was zero trench/trail, so I was post-holing even with snowshoes given the recent 6-12 (?) inches of snow DeCaLiBron received earlier this week. However, the winds were so strong that by the time I got back to Kite Lake, I saw that my tracks were already filled in with snow. The route to Cameron, Lincoln and Bross was nearly entirely clear of snow, which was great as far not needing snowshoes, but the winds were probably steadily 30 mph with gusts of 50-60 mph. I am a very strong 6'5", 235 pounds and the winds were pushing me around, so it was both physically and mentally exhausting. Also, the gate closes November 1st every year, so add 2 miles and ~500 feet of elevation gain. However, in light of the aforementioned challenges, that was the least of my concerns. Currently, the road up to the gate is in great shape and any car could make it. In summation, I would recommend doing this hike in summer or fall and actually enjoying yourself (I am saying that to myself as well). If you really want to do it in the near future, you would need snowshoes and microspikes, but no ice axe or crampons. God bless. 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 11/26/2022, By: 100PeaksAdv
Info: The road is easily navigable up to the gate. The snow that is present is well packed and easy to traverse. This goes both for snow in the basin as well as the ridge lines/ peaks. Traction was definitely nice to have, but not necessary. No flotation needed at least until the next snow storm. If you dropped a hat today, feel free to shoot me a message! 

Route: Democrat, Cameron, Lincoln, Bross
Posted On: 11/20/2022, By: JQDivide
Info: Gate closed. (adds 2 miles round trip) No snowshoes needed. Road is mostly clear. Routes is almost entirely covered with snow. Varies from an inch or two to a foot. Boots are fine, but Spikes are helpful. 

Route: East Slope
Posted On: 11/11/2022, By: wintersage
Info: Quick little acclimatization hike up Democrat. Low of -5F, high of 7F made for a cold and windy day. Road was absolutely dry up to the closure, from there I just hiked up and put on microspikes at the actual Kite Lake Trailhead and kept them on the whole day. No need for snowshoes, didn't bring them, and just dealt with the occasional postholing.