Mt. Sherman

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/17/2011, By: iquack08
Info: There were some patches of snow to get to the summit, but very doable with just boots and gaiters. After the saddle, there is pretty much a snow-free line to the summit. To me, the regular route/switchbacks leading up near Mt. Sheridan (to the saddle) seemed snow covered (after a quick glance from distance but not entirely sure). So I decided to follow some snow tracks up the middle of the saddle and risk the cornice. It seemed that a good number of people took that risk. That's probably the only major obstacle to consider. See photos. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 6/13/2011, By: mtree
Info: Still great snow conditions. Recommend micro spikes and snow poles/ice axe for last 1/4 mile especially if you‘re up there early. You could angle to the right and take White Ridge just below the final summit pitch. Most of the snow is melted off this approach. Snow conditions pretty soft by late morning. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/12/2011, By: evanbdenver
Info: Road past Leavick mine is passable for all cars for another ~1 mile. Still lots of snow on many parts of the climb. Snowshoes or traction are not a necessity but can help, especially snowshoes on the descent after the snow warms up and gets soft. Good glissading below the saddle and safely away from the cornices. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 6/3/2011, By: WSN
Info: Road is passable by normal sedans all the way to leavick site where road is blocked by snow drift. I started at 6:20 am and the snow was frozen and firm all the way to the summit. However when I skied down around 11:00 am snow blow 13000ft became soft and slushy. Above 13000ft there was good corn snow. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/4/2011, By: samuelnoble1893
Info: Weather was absolutely beautiful!! I honestly have never climbed anything on a more beautiful day. Sadly we wernt able to summit cause of someone in the group. But we hit the trail head at 4:45 in the morning so the snow was rock hard for the entire trip. So if you go early in the morning, you got an easy and fun climb, Good luck :) 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 5/29/2011, By: Chary
Info: Climbed and skied today. Road opens to the same 11,200ft although a high clearance vehicle may go further on the road (one Wrangler did just that). One can ski down continuously to the road. Snow on the South Slope, corn (?) and now as wind swept, was as good as one can get, considering the high temperature. Better start way early, like before 7am. I started at 8:45am. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/26/2011, By: Codys14ers
Info: We hiked Mt. Sherman Monday morning in beautiful weather. The trail was pretty solid the whole way up, we gained the summit just before 10 AM. The large cornice that has been spoken of on the saddle between Sheridan and Sherman is still there and should be avoided. We were able to glissade down much of Sherman‘s face on the way back to the car. The snow was much more soft on the way down, we did not bring snowshoes and did not really need them until the last 1/8 of a mile. Traction devices on the way up were helpful, our microspikes did the job very well. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/20/2011, By: Andymcp1
Info: Snow was packed well. Some loose snow on the slope leading to the hill top mines, but still relativly stable. Extremely large cornices on the saddle from sheridan to sherman, which appear to have had some recent collapses as it looked like some avalanches occured directly below. Do not travers under them, and use caution gaining the saddle if your route takes you near them. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/16/2011, By: Jay521
Info: Snow was solid early in the morning but turned to mush by noon. Traction helpful in the morning and snowshoes were mandatory in the afternoon. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/8/2011, By: Bean
Info: Mostly-continuous skiable line down the south slopes from the top back to the winter closure, but without more snow it‘ll become patchier quickly. There is a very large cornice at the Sherman-Sheridan saddle, so plan on going around that. Road closed at 11,200‘, but a couple weeks of warm, sunny weather should change that. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/13/2011, By: gprandall
Info: As noted on the trailhead status page in my post today, snow closure is about 1 mile below Leavick. It took me five hours from snow-closure to the summit with heavy camera gear. I summited about an hour before sunrise. I wore snowshoes to the Hilltop Mine at about 12,900, then cached the snowshoes and hiked on boots from there. No need for crampons or an ice ax at this time, as the snow was soft enough to kick good steps. That of course will change soon as the snowpack consolidates further, particularly if you‘re heading up very early before the snow has had a chance to soften. Two hours 45 minutes back down to my truck. The photo below was shot on the summit at sunrise. Glenn Randall www.glennrandall.com 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/18/2011, By: Exiled Michigander
Info: You can park within about 1.25 miles of the Leavick site; it will be very obvious where the road starts to become impassable. You might be able to go a bit farther with a 4-wheel drive vehicle with high clearance, but I don‘t think I would chance it. We all had snowshoes, but really didn‘t need them--microspikes would have sufficed given the solid track all the way to the top. There are a couple cornices on the ridge between Sherman and Sheridan to be mindful of, but you can easily keep far out from them. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 2/14/2011, By: SurfNTurf
Info: Good snow cover on the South Slope route. The road to the winter TH at Leavick is plowed, but there are one or two spots that might be difficult to navigate in a low-clearance vehicle. The initial hike along the road is bootpacked if you stay on the path, but snowshoes are strongly suggested once you enter the drainage. It‘s possible to make it to about 13,500 by hopping on ice-covered rocks, which I did, but it was more work than simply strapping on snowshoes and choosing a direct line. I also wouldn‘t feel comfortable on the final pitch without an ice ax. Microspikes or crampons more than helpful. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 2/4/2011, By: Markwise
Info: The road is plowed up to the Leavick site, which I guess is about a mile further than the normal winter closure. Past Leavick it seemed inadvisable to continue driving. You can see in my first picture an idea of what some of the road looks like past Leavick. Snowshoes are not necessary to do the road. We punched through the snow a few inches at points but nothing major. My second photo gives an idea of the snow cover along the South Slope route. We used snowshoes most of the way up after leaving the road. Though if one really wanted to they could likely make the summit without snowshoes. My third photo is higher up the South Slope route giving another look at the snow conditions. It was very windy (as always on Sherm) and cold for us this day. My fourth photo is upon our return, a look at our vehicle parked at the Leavick site. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/5/2011, By: Rcizzle
Info: Today was definitely not a climbing day for Sherman. The Sherman area lacks alot of snow but visibility issues kept me from examining the entire area and reaching summit. From the few observations I have had I noticed avalanche danger is currently a minimum there and completely avoidable if it exists. The Sherman Sheridan saddle is an area of av concern. Mt. Sheridan which is what I almost accidentally climbed (and still wondering why I didn‘t) has either areas of drifted snow (avoidable and not considerable by any means), bare ground, and 1" of snow. Sherman when it showed itself for 30 seconds appeared as if the wind stripped it of any snow. Snow shoes are probably not needed I did not use them. Crampons are helpful (used them), microspikes would be ideal (will own after today). As I was leaving the wind calmed slightly and it began to snow so things might change. The road wasn‘t plowed on my arrival which added some extra distance, but apparently is was plowed when I RETURNED(would have been helpful a little earlier in the day). Hope this helps but no pictures because there was no visibility, sorry.