Mt. Sherman

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/18/2013, By: seth0687
Info: Road is clear all the way to the gate and there is no reason why you couldn‘t take a 2WD all the way to the gate if you drive slow. Started at the gate at 0517 hrs. and hit the summit at 0650 hrs. You can avoid all snow if you really want to, but the snow was perfect hardpack. No flotation was required, and microspikes would only be necessary if you prefer some added traction on snow. The Sheridan/Sherman connecting ridge is slightly corniced so you will have to pick your line from a couple of runnels if you choose to glissade. Overall great conditions and a super easy day in the mountains! Good luck. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2013, By: sergeisorkin
Info: Firm boot packed snow the entire way up. There‘s a very narrow line down South Slopes for a ski all the way back to the gate - though I think it may be broken up soon with the warmer weather. Microspikes never hurt, floatation definitely unnecessary (unless you are starting late but even then the snow is avoidable on the main trail). 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/5/2013, By: Kassia Lawrence
Info: Hiked the west slopes from the Iowa Gulch TH today- trailhead was very hard to find- we ended up taking a left on Lake County Road 2B from Lake County Road 2- it lead us to close to the trail head- there was still a lot of snow so we had to walk a bit up the road- a lot of icy crust all the way up the gully, but no snowshoes needed. We heard a pack of coyotes below us in Iowa Gulch which was awesome too! Some snow along the ridge line, and the summit was covered in it- and super windy!! The descent was quick until the gulch toward the beginning of the trailhead, where the snow had softened considerably and was hard to get through- we sunk down to our thighs a few times. Overall beautiful hike with great views- just hard to find the trail head!! 

Route: Standard
Posted On: 6/3/2013, By: Shattuck311
Info: Muddy road walk of 1.5 miles to the gate. From there, snowy in patches to the hilltop mine, with consistent snow to the saddle and on the entire ridge. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 3/31/2013, By: XC Snowboarder
Info: We skinned to the summit from Leavick today. Skinny in some spots on the 4wd. Snow was in good shape on South Slopes from summit down to where it mellows out and then good again to 4wd road. Gemeni looks like a good ski right now. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/8/2013, By: Mike Cormier
Info: The weather looked so good today, as compared to the weekend, I decided to swap my day off from tomorrow to today. It was a good move. The weather was great on the mountain today. I carried snowshoes, but never used them. My gaiters and microspikes were useful in spots, but not critical. The only real accumulation of snow was in the bowl beneath the Sherman/Sheridan saddle (pics 1 and 2). I simply stayed to the right of the snow and made my way up to the dark rock on the ridge (extreme right of #1). The ridgeline itself was pretty clear (#3). 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/26/2013, By: speth
Info: Made it to the same spot as previous, just slightly below the summer trailhead. Road blocked by ice. DON‘T park on the ice sheet, someone‘s car slid and domino‘d several other cars into each other. The road/trail is almost completely clear the entire way, there are patches of ice intermittently up towards the large structure at the back of the valley. I kicked some steps up maybe 50 feet of snow to gain the ridge, but others were veering a little farther south and walking up, no issues with traction (though microspikes might be a good idea). Upper ridge had a little snow, what existed was almost rock solid and I plunged through to my knee less than 10 times the entire day. Cake. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/18/2013, By: ThuChad
Info: TH conditions are the same from the last report. Made within 200 yards of the summer TH gate. Big ice sheet blocks the rest of the way. Climbed Sherman via standard route today. It's still a safe option. There wasn't much snow, less than 6", before the last 200-300 ft. push up to gain the ridge. Snow was knee deep but I stayed on top pretty well. I varied from the standard route slightly so I could take the safest route up and over the cornice. The cornice is still pretty small. After I gained the ridge the climbing was cake besides the wind. 30-40 constant with 50+ gusts. Blew me over a few times. I used microspikes going up until I gained the ridge then just booted it up to the summit. No traction aid on the way down. Not sure I could have climbed it much faster in the summer. Flew in from 1k feet yesterday. Started 6:00 Summit 9:05 Car 11:00 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/13/2013, By: winmag4582001
Info: You can drive to within 200yrds of the summer gate with a AWD/4x4. This morning was COLD. Snowshoes were not needed. Microspikes are definately nice to have. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 1/1/2013, By: d_baker
Info: Road conditions for the Fourmile Creek TH are the same as was posted by climbingbiz on 12/29. We parked just above the Leavick Mine site, on the left in the big pull out. Snowshoes were left at the truck. Spikes were not needed, but there is some ice on the road farther up, but can be avoided by going on the right side of it, in the snow. Ascended S slopes, descended S slopes. Cold frickn day. Pix: 1.) S slopes route, taken on our descent. Note: the gully we came down is low angle and we thought it to be safe and efficient by plunge stepping down. 2.) Closeup of Sheridan/Sherman saddle, where the SW ridge route typically is gained in summer. 3.) Sheridan‘s NE ridge and connecting saddle with Sherman 4.) Looking down from near the summit, looking at Fourmile Cr rd/valley 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 12/31/2012, By: climbingbiz
Info: Road is blocked with snow near 11,000ft by a few snow drifts, but still mostly clear otherwise. Snowshoes are not needed, though micro spikes came in handy a few times. The summer route goes through a large snow drift on saddle between sherman and sheridan that is best avoided. I took a more direct route just to the right of the snow, though there was a good amount of loose rock. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/9/2012, By: leonel8a
Info: Drove all the way to the gate on my 2WD corolla just fine. Very windy at the top, 20-30mph sustained with gusts. The last 100-200ft of elevation has some snow/ice but if you keep well to the right as you exit the drainage around 13,800‘ you‘ll find it easier to reach the top, it‘s a bit longer but worth it. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/3/2012, By: alpinenut
Info: Small amount of snow on the summit ridge. No need for traction or snowshoes yet though. Similar conditions on Dyer, Gemini, and Sheridan. Drove all the way to the gate. Small amount of snow and ice on the road - but easily passable by just about any car. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/22/2012, By: slider175
Info: Road was completely dry and in great shape. The gate at 12,000 was actually open and road was easily passable beyond the first mine at 12,300 if you‘re up for it. Little to no snow to speak of the entire route. The little bit of snow present did not cover the trail at any point. Winds were approximately 20-25mph at summit out of the west and temp was 25 up top at 9AM. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/15/2012, By: Weenus
Info: Reached the summit around 10am on Saturday. Roughly an inch or two of snow on the way up, two to ten or so on the way back (due to drifts). Was still snowing when I left, so I'm not sure what the final amount was. Had micro spikes with me, but didn't end up using them. The final incline before the summit ridge had brutal, constant winds--I ended up crawling up roughly 150 yards from the final saddle as I was nearly knocked over several times (I'm roughly 6'2", 205 lbs, so it was really going). Visibility was roughly 20 yards or so near the summit, about a 1/4 of a mile towards the TH.