Culebra Peak

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/6/2022, By: laddymac
Info: Extremely unpredictable snow conditions. We were prepared with snowshoes and crampons because of new snow. We were breaking trail the whole way. Snow: 10" at the gate increasing to 18" -"24" at 13,000 and above. Because of low temps, extremely high winds etc. the footing would change from 3 foot drifts to hardened ice pack. There was no correct footware. The wind was relentless at 30mph, gusting to 40 mph. In these conditions I would avoid unless very fit, well outfitted, and you enjoy a long, brutal slog. See video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cksIav62GdTn-9N2Xpcw1-v7YDeGKTDL/view?usp=sharing 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/25/2022, By: Lordofthegnar
Info: Woowee, long day on the mountain. Started from HQ. Trail was reasonably packed to about a quarter mile before Four Way. I put on snowshoes early as while I wasn't sinking in initially, my ankles were still sliding around more than I cared for. My friends didn't put on their shoes until closer to Four Way. Beyond that point, snowshoes were helpful the whole way. Snow conditions varied frequently from 1-2.5 ft drifts to supportive crunch. Winds were strong on the ridge and temps very low; bring thick gloves and I'd recommend using a nalgene or bottle instead of a bladder (my hose froze almost immediately once upon the ridge, even with an insulation sleeve). Bring goggles as well if it looks like it will be windy (and it often is). The folks at the ranch said it was taking most people 10-12 hours to complete the climb. Beautiful trek but definitely plan for a long day. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/17/2022, By: MrSmileweil
Info: Everyone on the mountain was let in at 6 am. Our group started at 6:25 am after building our A frames and doing other hike prep. The earliest group finished at 5:55 pm while our group and others finished 7-8 pm. Road had snow all the way up and so did the west face, but the coverage was not the best. Our group summited and skied down the west face gully. If planning on skiing I would bring rock skis and plan for the skiing to take a longer than expected because the coverage is a bit spicy. Looks like there is more snow in the forecast on Wednesday and Friday this week for those getting after this mountain next weekend. It might be enough to make the road easier to ski, but I don't know about the west face. There were a few parts of the hike where floatation was nice, but all of the hike could be done with no flotation if you don't mind a little bit of sinking. I haven't been tricked by a false summit in awhile, but that false summit really got me. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/3/2022, By: halfapackofapache
Info: Lots of snow from the recent storm. Broke trail 95% of the way. No snowmobile track from HQ to four way yet. Roughly 6 inches near ranch HQ and 1.5 - 2ft near tree line. Snow was extremely soft the whole way. Wore snowshoes from roughly 10k to 12k. Stashed snowshoes once above tree line. Still found plenty of deep snow drifted along the ridge but it was too inconsistent for snowshoes. Wore micro spikes from tree line to summit. Started at 6:30am. Summit at 2:30pm back to truck at 6:15pm. It was extremely slow going uphill through the snow. Definitely had to earn this one which was fitting as it was my finisher! Yippee. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/12/2021, By: alohamischa
Info: Summer conditions. A couple of snowfields on the first slope, but very easily avoidable as you can pick your own line up to the ridge. No snow all the way along the ridge to the summit. We also went over to Red Mountain with nothing but dry ground to step on! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/6/2021, By: Thmpsn_
Info: Road to upper 4WD trailhead is clear, and had no problems for Subaru Forester. Route is mostly summer conditions with only a couple avoidable snow patches. We tagged Culebra and then headed to Red Mountain. Completely avoidable snow for entire descent to saddle and ascent of Red Mountain. Total car-car time including both peaks was 6hrs and 36 minutes. 8 hikers completed Red Mountain this day. Warm weather, needed nothing more than a quarter zip. No microspikes needed. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/5/2021, By: taylorharris50
Info: Road open to the 4WD trailhead. There are still some snowfields but mostly avoidable. Carried micro spikes but did not use them due to warm weather / no ice. Trail to Red Mtn completely free of snow. Great day! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/30/2021, By: Ssgustafson
Info: The ranch has cleared the road to 4-Way for parking, which an easy 1 mile hike from the 4WD TH. The early morning hike up to the cairn was on firm snow. I used microspikes much of the way, although they will probably not be needed in a week or two. Past the cairn there is still snow along the ridge, but it is largely avoidable. Some may want spikes here in places. Culebra and Red summits were dry. I took a little shortcut coming back from Red to the Culebra ridgeline to circumnavigate the summit, which worked well. On the descent from the cairn at about 11AM - Noon, the snow was melting (fast!) and mushy, but was largely avoidable most of the way down. Pretty miserable knee / waist deep post-holing the last couple hundred yards to the 4WD TH. I didn't bring snowshoes and didnt see anyone else using them. In the coming week or two the snow and associated post-holing should be done with! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/28/2021, By: EthanBeltramo
Info: Climbed Culebra and Red today. They are letting people park at the 4 way now, the upper trailhead is still blocked by some drifts. The snow was super solid in the morning and I only needed microspikes. The last mile or so on the descent, things got soft and I was postholing waste deep even with snowshoes, but it is melting fast. However the snow stayed pretty solid on the ridge. Most snow is avoidable on the ridge and all the way to red mountain. A lot of the postholing can be avoided by being creative and taking a longer route around the snow field. Also a lot of the snowfield can be quickly glisaded down to make the descent much faster and avoid some postholing. Took my micros off after the initial climb to the large cairn. Didnt put on my snowshoes until the last mile or two on the decent. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/24/2021, By: durkan
Info: Wet day put there today. Similar conditions as previous post. - road dry or snowdrifts avoidable until upper 4wd trailhead. Road muddy with downed trees - No Red, but one person did make it. Looked good with just traction. - HQ start, no exceptions per staff. - Snowshoes helpful on descent, but slipping occurred. Needed between 4wd trailhead and ridge only - clocked about 14 mi, 5k ft of gain for just Culebra 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/22/2021, By: BrookStout
Info: As mentioned in previous report, road is melted out to Four Way, but several downed aspen trees means they're making everyone park at HQ this weekend. Hopefully the issue is fixed by next weekend! The weather was lousy today so tacking on an extra 7 miles was a major disadvantage. Flotation definitely needed on the descent. Glissading worked in places but too slushy to get very far. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/21/2021, By: tortilla
Info: It snowed this week and there are now many downed trees over the road. The ranch isn't letting anyone drive up the road, that's unlikely to change this weekend. Expect to start at the ranch HQ. Expect a thin snow covering on the road starting around the flat area before fourway. The snow on the road gets deeper as you approach the upper TH. Some were sinking a bit in the morning, but I'm light enough that I was able to stay on top of the snow for the most part. I used spikes and poles. Postholing was plentiful on the descent (noon) from the large cairn until back on the road past the upper TH. Stashing a pair of shoes by the large cairn may not be a bad idea. Starting from the Ranch HQ I clocked just under 14 miles and 5k vert (only Culebra, no Red) 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/14/2021, By: sctbke
Info: Great hike today of both red mountain and culebra. Road is drivable (barely) all the way to the 4-way in a good 4wd vehicle. You still have to navigate a few snow drifts, but these should be better after they got run over a few times today. I plowed trough as many of them as I could on the way down! Road is well snow covered (2+ ft) starting about half a mile after the 4 way. 4 way is the last place to park or turn around currently. Lots of snow in the upper trailhead basin, but it was frozen solid almost into natural steps. Didn't use any traction on the way up. Once you gain the ridge, almost all snow can be avoided, including on the trip over to red mountain. Upper part of the hike is beautiful! The snow was solid so I ended up hiking on it as much as I could on the way up and down. I descended through the last snow field at noon, and it was still solid enough that I only post holed twice. Took snowshoes and crampons and didn't touch either, but this might be a different story if you descend later in the day. Accidentally left my favorite gloves about 100yd directly to the west of the massive cairn, below the ridge. If anyone finds them, tell them I miss them :) Saw some elk, turkeys, and some absolutely massive tracks in the snow from a bear. Expensive trip considering I was only on the ranch land for 6.5 hours, but at least they were super nice and still let us hike it! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/9/2021, By: NatDog
Info: There is a surprisingly little amount of snow left on this route. As others have mentioned, the ranch is instructing hikers to park a few miles up the road from HQ - I measured 1.7 miles. The parking area is at 10,250'. There was snow on the hike up the road, but it was avoidable until above Four Way, near 11,400'. Snow was consistent from here until ~12,200', but was firm enough to boot over even with the later morning start. The upper ridge appeared to be and was indeed mostly dry, so we stashed the snowshoes at ~12,200'. There were some short snow crossings from here to the summit, namely on the east side of the ridge after turning at the cairn at 13,300', and on the north side of the ridge at 13,500'. Both of these were mostly avoidable by walking on rocks near the snow, but for the most part the snow was firm enough to walk over. On the descent, we put on our snowshoes at ~12,200. As expected, the snow back to the road was extremely slushy, but the descent back to Four Way went by quickly even with the postholing. The snow conditions were pretty good overall for early May, but the wind was a different story. Once above treeline, the wind started and did not cease the rest of the day. This made talus hopping interesting at times, but luckily the temps weren't too bad. My hiking partner and I, and another hiker decided against making an attempt on Red Mountain as the wind seemed even more intense on that saddle. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/3/2021, By: bailees395
Info: Completed this on Sunday, 5/2. Had to park right off the road about two miles from the HQ building. Road to the upper trailhead still has lots of snow and probably will not be melted all the way for at least a few weeks. Lots of snow still from treeline to the ridge line. Traction was not necessary in the early morning but on the descent, me and my hiking partner used crampons and couldn't have gotten down without them. Once on the ridge line, there was a little bit of snow but it was pretty thin and traction was not needed on the ridge line to the top of Culebra. Gorgeous views of the Sangre de Cristo range at the top.