Handies Peak

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 7/8/2024, By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: Summer conditions to the summit! 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/30/2024, By: j12miskin
Info: Summitted Afternoon of 6/29. Took the road from Lake city all the way to the lower American Basin trailhead- after the silver creek trailhead it definitely requires 4WD with medium to high clearance, there are two creek crossings which my Outback was able to navigate but I did see part of a front bumper at the edge of one of them. Trail has 3 or 4 small snow crossings in the middle part which were inconsequential and easily navigable, most of them will probably melt out in the next two weeks. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/23/2024, By: ellaadler
Info: Lovely trail! We started hiking at 9:20 and we were done by 1:00. Some snow on the trail but it stayed packed in the morning, a bit of post-holing as we came down. Such a pretty hike! The road however was not so pretty. We were coming from Grand Junction and followed Google Maps. This led us to a left turn down County Road 18 past Ouray. Driving a Ford Escape, this road was unpassable. So we headed to Silverton. From there we attempted to go over Cinamon Pass & again, could not make it. For either of these routes, you need 4WD and a high-clearance vehicle. We overheard that the best road to the trailhead requires you to pass through Lake City. Follow the directions on 14er.com! We ended up catching a ride with an outstanding human named Chris & got to do the hike! Thanks Chris! 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/21/2024, By: Eph 2 5
Info: I can't speak to the conditions on the Handies trail itself, but here are some pictures of American Basin on 6/19/24. Handies is on the left in both pictures. The summit is out of view in one of them. The pictures are taken from near Pt 13,535 (now 13,549) on the ridge to the west of American Basin. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/17/2024, By: JonW
Info: Came from the Grouse Gulch TH and got on the Southwest Slopes part way up from American Basin. Descended the East Slopes. Both had intermediate snow making route finding challenging at times. Most snow was encountered descending the saddle heading into AB. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/11/2024, By: wmagnuson7
Info: Much of the trail is covered in snow, especially the first half of the route, so route finding is annoying at times. I would leave snowshoes and ice axe at home, but bring gaiters. I would bring either poles or spikes for traction when postholing. Cheers! 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/7/2024, By: MountainBuhn
Info: Parked at Animas Forks and hiked over Cinnamon to arrive at American Basin. AB is covered still, but the snow was rock solid even though it definitely didnt get below freezing the night before. Summited at 9:40am and still solid snow going down at 10am. Spikes recommended for sure, but snowshoes are unnecessary. Cant get to AB main trailhead yet. Look at my TH report for that. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/31/2024, By: stickmann
Info: The lower parts of American basin still have a lot of snow. The west gully will probably be melted out soon but had continuous snow until 200 below the summit. The west slope route itself is mostly a slog but had a few moments of steep fun. I descended the southwest slopes route where there is very little snow left near the summit. There is one section of the trail that is interrupted by a small band of snow that Im glad I had an axe for. I carried flotation but never used it and was out of the basin by 10am. Snow was supportive all morning but I bet the basin will be a pain after a few more days of warming. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/6/2024, By: AlpineSplit
Info: East Face is in great ski condition right now. First mile of the approach is a bit annoying with the snow patches, best to hike longer than you think. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/10/2023, By: GreatGlissader
Info: Great hike, not too much snow. Road is dry to trailhead. Looked like more snow on the southwest route. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/16/2023, By: Montana+3
Info: What a beautiful and fun experience! Trail was wet, a little muddy in places, not bad. At 12000' there was about 5 inches of snow on the trail in spots. By 1300' we encountered any where from 1 to 2 feet of snow. From just above 13000' to the summit the trail was mostly clear of snow. A little muddy in sections, until around 100 yards from the summit. From that point to summit was dry. Very windy at the top, but WOW, amazing views. Highly recommend this hike. I had a bilateral amputee with me and she made it through the snow, very carefully. I would not recommend going after this date. The trail miles are not accurate at all. This is more like a 6.5 mile hike round trip. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/7/2023, By: ltlFish99
Info: Some snow in the last 400 feet to the summit.
Quite windy on the summit, a steady 40mph, with stronger gusts.
Views were Wonderful.
While heading down, there was sleet, rain, and Thunder, although i did not see lightning. 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/2/2023, By: loriburroughs81
Info: Trail Conditions were perfect- no snow. There was some weather that came in Saturday afternoon/night so there may be some snow now. Wind gusts on Sunday were close to 96mph, so make sure you check that before hiking! 

Route: Southwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/2/2023, By: loriburroughs81
Info: Trail Conditions were perfect- no snow. There was some weather that came in Saturday afternoon/night so there may be some snow now. Wind gusts on Sunday were close to 96mph, so make sure you check that before hiking! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/29/2023, By: RWSchaffer
Info: The upper North Ridge holds a little bit of icy snow (Photo 1), just enough to make traction useful for a short stretch. The route is otherwise still in summer conditions. Fall foliage was nearing its peak (Photo 2, taken on descent).