4/13/2018 Route: From Sunshine Posted On: 4/13/2018, By: bmcqueen Info: Trail between SS and RC is snow covered. Spikes were nice. See Sunshine CR for pics. |
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3/11/2018 Route: From Sunshine Posted On: 3/11/2018, By: RyGuy Info: Hiked Redcloud from Sunshine today. Trail going down Sunshine is a mix of hard crust snow on the east side of the ridge and snowy rocks on the top of the ridge. Didn't need snowshoes, but microspikes were very helpful. Past the saddle towards Redcloud, patches of snow on the trail, but nothing to write home about. |
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11/25/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 11/25/2017, By: bmcqueen Info: Probably moot since I did the climb today from Silver Creek TH which literally got closed for winter while I was still up there.....but here were conditions regardless: I did the two unnameds, Redcloud, Sunshine and Sun Dog today. No floatation required. I only put my spikes on once for a bit of hard-packed snow going up Redcloud. The rest was either dry or small enough amount of snow that walking in boots was just fine. |
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10/22/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 10/23/2017, By: noshirt Info: It snowed about 4 inches on Friday night at the trailhead but a lot of it melted by Sunday morning. In the places where there was snow on the trail it was soft powder ranging from a couple inches to knee deep. The trail gets a lot of sun and there were a couple other hikers so whats not melted by now I'm sure is packed down. It was cold and windy up top so layer up. I did the route in regular running shoes and although it was cold my feet never got too cold and I never worried about losing traction. Until there is another snow no traction is needed. |
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9/17/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/19/2017, By: thelonious Info: Minimal snow on route. Switchbacks from 13,900 are mostly snow covered; however, it's very manageable. |
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9/16/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/25/2017, By: VegasRich Info: 2-3 inches snow above 13000 msl, no traction devices needed. |
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7/24/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/24/2017, By: Thevirtualsherpa Info: Prime summer conditions. Road to TH is doable in any type of car. Trail to both peaks is 100% dry. Try to stay on trail once you get to ridge, lots of imposter trails which have awful conditions. More of a general note, this route/peak is almost all in open so keep that in mind when looking at weather. |
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7/2/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/4/2017, By: xandc Info: We climbed Redcloud and Sunshine. Ascent via standard NE Ridge route. Descent on the NW face on Sunshine. Trail up to Redcloud was clear and dry the whole way. Traverse to Sunshine was also fully clear and dry. Descent down Sunshine was mildy loose up top near the peak and got progressively worse the closer you got to the talus field. There was still some snow in the gullies making it hard to choose the best route to drop down to the talus field. The suggested gully to ascend up in the description of the NW route, when going the opposite direction, was unpassable due to slick snow. We took the "do not take this route" route to the left (when headed down) of the suggested gully. Had I known conditions prior I would have had my helmet with me and insisted that everyone else in the group do the same. The rock walls are very loose and not able to act as the support I thought they would when looking down the gully initially. Expect a lot of rock tumble. This part was very slow going. If taking this route communicate with the person below and make sure they are clear of the gully before starting down; there is no way to avoid rock fall through this section. The NW face is definitely a lot more interesting with a much more dramatic view of sunshine and redcloud compared to the standard route. I am glad we took it, but unless you have basic route finding skills, a helmet, and experience with some class 3+, I'd strongly suggest going back over redcloud for the decent. If wanting to do this route I'd suggest waiting a few weeks for the suggested gully to become passable |
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6/25/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/26/2017, By: Tim A Info: Basically summer conditions. Sad to see lots of weekend warriors going around mud in the trail and contributing to significant braiding and erosion. I hope Redcloud doesn't turn into the next Bierstadt. |
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6/17/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/18/2017, By: Krispy Info: Hiked Redcloud from the silver Creek trailhead and was pleasantly surprised to find very little snow. Can't say I'm a fan of the shelf road to get back there - if you're afraid of heights like I am you're in for a treat. The hike itself is beautiful though and wasn't terribly difficult. There are a few spots near the false summit that felt a bit dicey just because they're so close to the edge, but nothing unmanageable. There are a couple small snow fields left that you'll have to cross, but in a couple days even those will probably be gone. |
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6/17/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/18/2017, By: jladderud Info: Snow in the basin around 12,200-12,800. We started at 5:45am and didn't use flotation or traction (even on the descent). |
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6/6/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/6/2017, By: Nelson Info: Having done Sunshine NW and the traverse to Redcloud I elected to descend the standard route. Flotation is a must between 12,300 and 13,000. You will not make it without flotation. I saw several groups turn around here. |
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5/13/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 5/14/2017, By: Gueza Info: Was able to start skinning about a mile from the TH and skied it cleanly from the summit down the NE ridge to the NE face. Trailhead is also fully accessible now via motor vehicle. |
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4/24/2017 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 4/25/2017, By: blainerblainer Info: Gate is closed ~1 mile past Mill Creek TH. Redcloud is skiable from the summit with poor crusty/icy snow conditions for us. From the 13,000 ft saddle it is possible to reach the summit almost entirely on either a snow or rock route. Route to sunshine peak looked mostly dry. |
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11/12/2016 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 11/13/2016, By: fakejox Info: Climbed Redcloud and Sunshine from Grizzly Gulch on Saturday morning. For the most part, we experienced winter temperatures with fall trail conditions. There is some snow collected on the trail on north facing aspects, but not enough to warrant flotation. We brought traction and didn't use it, although there are a few off-camber sections of trail on the NE ridge where some might find microspikes helpful. Once on top of Redcloud, the traverse to Sunshine was mostly dry, with a few sections of shallow snow. See pics below. |
