6/23/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/24/2017, By: Cruiser Info: Exceptionally beautiful day on Culebra and Red yesterday with some really nice folks. It was awesome to be up on the summit with Cat for her 14 finisher and her dad for his second time through the 58. Some snowfields remain along various portions of the mountain but they are easily bypassed so the entire hike is essentially in full summer conditions. No problems getting to the upper th in a rav4. Scree gaiters would have been nice to have along the upper portion of Red but otherwise trail runners were just fine for the day. What a beautiful place. If Culebra is on your to-do list then don't hesitate to book a date. I found the experience to be totally worthwhile and rewarding. |
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6/14/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/15/2017, By: wddjr Info: Had a beautiful day on Culebra yesterday thanks to Sam and Ron's hospitality. Still some snow on the mountain but it can easily be bypassed if you desire. No spikes or flotation needed. The massive snowfield above the upper trailhead provided some wonderful glissading on the way down. |
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1/6/2017 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 1/8/2018, By: MatthewWatson Info: There was barely any snow, about 6 inches on most of the road from the ranch to the 4 Way, and then inconsistent patches on the ground up to the ridge, ranging from an inch to about a foot deep. The ridge was dry all the way to the top. I wore mountaineering boots and didn't even break out microspikes, let alone snowshoes. A guy named Carlos is managing the operation for the new owners. He was really friendly and flexible with reservations. He did insist on everyone parking at the ranch, so the hike was a full 14 miles. |
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7/23/2016 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 8/2/2016, By: ericwolf88 Info: Perfect conditions with no snow. Most people did Red Mountain but I decided to just turn back after Culebra. Coming down at the large cairn, be sure to get a good look of where the parking lot is so that you can follow that line. I went a little too far North and lost track of where I was so that I had to hike back up 1,000 feet to get my bearings. |
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6/24/2016 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/24/2016, By: Corey17 Info: Absolutely perfect day on Culebra today. All snow is 100% avoidable, easiest snow-less route is the direct upper TH -> ridge route w/o cutting left at all. Traverse to Red Mtn was also dry as could be, and Culebra is completely ready for summer conditions! |
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6/24/2016 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/26/2016, By: addrock528 Info: Great summer conditions. For perspective, here is a time lapse of my hike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU-cHnb0kCo |
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6/17/2016 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/17/2016, By: NetJetsHiker Info: All snow is avoidable. You can walk on what's there in the morning, but best to go around in the afternoon. No snow gear is needed. The road is in good shape all the way to the 4WD TH. |
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2/13/2016 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 2/13/2016, By: SnowAlien Info: Started from Taylor ranch (~9k) around 6.30 am. Snowmobile track to about 10k (they were getting stuck and couldn't go higher). Skin/shoer track after that. Route dry above 12.8k. High winds today. |
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8/5/2015 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 8/9/2015, By: alexithymia6 Info: Great weather all three days. Road up from Purgatoire Campground is a bit steep towards the top. Definitely 4 wheel drive necessary, high clearance not necessarily. Hike up to Mt. Maxwell is steep with only a few cairns to navigate with until you are hiking up the obvious ridge. From Mt. Maxwell all the way to Culebra the ridges, peaks, and route were all snow free. Quite a bit of elevation lost from Lomo Liso to Miranda Peak. Miranda Peak is where there‘s class 3 sections, but fairly negotiable if you take the time to study where to go. Once upon Miranda Peak‘s ridge it‘s pretty straight forward to Culebra. Staying ridge proper as much of the time as possible is the easiest way for route finding. If you get away from the ridge... just do your best to get back to it. Lots of loose rock and talus throughout the entire hike, mainly Miranda Peak through Culebra. Lots of mileage and lots of vert. Good luck! #6 |
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7/11/2015 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/11/2015, By: Fr3ako Info: For those who have booked their day, dry trail up to the top. Nothing much to declare apart from strong & cold winds on the last ridge and between Culebra and Red Mountain. |
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6/19/2015 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/20/2015, By: Frontrangeskier Info: Sneakers and Sunglasses. That‘s all you need. Road graded all the way to the 4X4 Trailhead. |
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6/11/2015 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/11/2015, By: LIV Info: Road all of the way up to the upper trailhead (above Four Way) is dry and drivable if you have higher clearance. 4 wheel drive probably better (a little steep up to Four Way). Mountain still has some snow, but it is avoidable. Great climb - go do it! |
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7/31/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/31/2014, By: PeakPursuit Info: We climbed Culebra on July 25th. The weather was excellent as the storms didn‘t come in until after 3pm. Most of what I read about climbing Culebra proved to be very accurate. The ranch personnel were at the gate well before 6 am and had us climbing with no wasted time. The road to 4 way was very steep, I learned to give vehicles in front of me plenty of room. The road above the 4 way was not any tougher but the parking area was down in a low spot, steep and full of rocks, would be very tough to get out of this lot without a decent 4 wheel drive. Coming back on the road to the ranch I was in 4 low and going slow. Climbing: No snow on the route anywhere. There is a bit of a trail at the beginning that goes to the left side of the basin, we crossed back over the creek and climbed the grassy, less rocky slopes to the right and zig zagged to the very southern most part of the ridge. This route brought us to the ridge near the giant cairn, seemed to be a most direct and very reasonable direction. Once on the ridge, there was only one place to be, following the ridge to the peak. Nice to climb a 14er that had so few people climbing at once. Saw elk crossing the peak before sunrise and more marmots than usual. Most people climbing were on their last of close to last 14er, hmm. One of my favorite peaks, worth the 150 bucks. |
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6/28/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 7/4/2014, By: barryfagin Info: Culebra route is completely dry and snow-free up to the summit. Still plenty of snow along the ridge at higher altitudes, but it is completely off-route, you‘ll never get near it. |
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6/21/2014 Route: Northwest Ridge Posted On: 6/21/2014, By: BrentRichter Info: Culebra and Red Mtn are snow free |
