Redcloud Peak

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 5/19/2020, By: hogantheepic
Info: Climbed up via the Sunshine Northwest slopes route, but back down via this route. Nearly the entire ridge itself between Sunshine and Redcloud and all the way down to the lower saddle going up the Northeast Ridge on Redcloud is clear of snow, though there are some MASSIVE cornices on the edge of this ridge to stay farrr away from. Between treeline and the lower saddle, however, much post-holing was done, because we didn't have any flotation with us. Beware the roaring rivers that snake under the snowfields up this valley as well, because the snow on top of these rivers silences the noise they make. Everything below the treeline is extremely clear, including the dirt road all the way from Lake City. This picture doesn't do these cornices justice; the biggest one is atleast 15 feet tall. 

Route: From Sunshine
Posted On: 2/28/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: Easy traverse between Sunshine and Redcloud. Snowshoes were useful coming off of Sunshine to the saddle then we stashed them. The multiple trails from there are obvious since they're snowy and everything else is dry. I booted up Redcloud trying to stay on the rocks which worked well enough. On the descent instead of re-climbing Sunshine we crossed Sunshine's northeast face. There's a couple of avy slopes there but it proved stable. For the traverse only, flotation is marginally useful, traction and an axe are not needed. 

Route: From Sunshine
Posted On: 1/20/2020, By: Furthermore
Info: -Some deep snow wallowing near Sunshine saddle (sunshine side)
-Wind blown, trail covered in snow but fast travel to summit from saddle. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 11/12/2019, By: supranihilest
Info: Tons of snow on the northern aspect of Redcloud, all the way through the entire basin, up to the Redcloud/Point 13,832 saddle, and up the ridge to the summit. I only descended Redcloud (ascended via "Sundog" and Sunshine Peak) but wore my microspikes on the descent since there were hardpacked slabs covering parts of the descent. Flotation wouldn't really be useful but traction was extremely useful. I wore trail runners for the entire day and while my feet were wet it was warm enough to be OK; wear appropriate footwear for you and conditions. Carry microspikes or traction, you'll want them for any possible descent route. 

Route: Via Sundog
Posted On: 11/6/2019, By: terrysrunning
Info: Went up the N ridge to Sundog, traversed to Sunshine, then Redcloud, and down the standard route. Had microspikes and used them for about 20 minutes in the trees coming up to Sundog, but could have gotten by without them. Other than that was in trail runners all day. Temps got up to around freezing; there were places that spikes would have been mandatory if the snow was too hard, but we just postholed a little here and there and had a great time. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/14/2019, By: wintersage
Info: Along the approach, just after treeline, a few small avalanche debris fields still hold a little snow but don't require traction to pass and can be avoided by going on the rock field next to it. The basin is completely in the shade so it was colder than I expected. From there to the summit of Redcloud is still in summer conditions with a dry trail. Ditto for the ridge that takes you to Sunshine. I opted to go back the way I came and re-summit Redcloud. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/19/2019, By: Unknown
Info: Redcloud NE Ridge: Trail is still snow free until you crest the false summit, where there is a shallow snowfield (1-2"). There is a shallow snowfield forming (1-3") along the true summit ridge that can be avoided if desired (Photo). Traction unnecessary, had good footing in just trail runners.

Sunshine: Insignificant snowfields forming. Essentially still dry. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/1/2019, By: Squirrellysquirrel
Info: Shelf road to Burrows Park has had additional improvements to the road, culverts put in place to assist runoff/drainage. Fingers crossed: no more mudslide-washouts. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/23/2019, By: Gene L
Info: The road to the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch trailhead is open and was easily driven in my rental Hyundai Kona. I ran into several hikers who drove up in 2WD sedans without issues.

There are still several large patches of snow on the lower portion of the Northeast Ridge trail that you'll need to traverse. I crossed these in regular trail running shoes, but on the way down it can be slippery, so be careful or hike on the rocks to the side of the main trail. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/11/2019, By: Squirrellysquirrel
Info: Road is open to Burrows Park/ Grizzly Gulch from Lake City, mudslide has been cleared. Happy trails :0) 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/30/2019, By: Troy5280
Info: Started the approach to Redcloud and Sunshine at 4AM. As previously reported, there is extensive avalanche debris across the trail near the creek. Even in the dark, footprints and human activity are evident. The trail is mostly covered until the alpine bowl above treeline. After that there is only one other large snowfield, which is easily avoidable. Summer conditions the rest of the way! 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/19/2019, By: Nicster
Info: Had a great time climbing Redcloud Peak! Echoing previous posts, there is still significant avalanche debris once you leave treeline. In the morning before sunrise it was fairly easy to navigate and felt solid and grippy. The trail is almost completely obscured but if you keep following the debris field up the valley you'll find it again quite easily. If you're going to be doing Sunshine by the NW ridge, the trail junction is buried but you can still see the trail going off to the right. If you are in the center of the avy debris it should be pretty easy to find. There are a handful of snowfields in the basin and two above the saddle that cross the trail. Ascending, these were all easy to cross or skirt around and were also solid.

We made the summit in about 3:30 hours just before 9am. There were a few wisps of cloud forming to the East and West so we decided to keep moving. Started almost immediately to bag Sunshine as well but turned back before reaching the saddle proper. The clouds that we had spied had already doubled in size and by the time we reached Redcloud again a bit before 10 they had doubled again. Thought we made the right call, I always like to be cautious dealing with the weather.

Descending, the snowfields had deteriorated quite a bit. The two fields above the saddle where quite soft. I was postholing up to my waist and I'm about 6'4". All the fields in the basin were soft on top, making it slippery but with no danger of postholing. We glissaded a bit in a few sections, just keep an eye out for rocks buried in the snow. The avy debris was similar to the lower snowfields, solid and little wet on top. Would've made for great glissading if not for all the debris. I would definitely recommend microspikes for the descent.

Pic #1: Looking back at the debris field in the direction of Handies. This is before the trail gets obscured.

Pic #2: View into the basin with some of the snowfields. The trail largely follows the left edge of the basin crossing about 2 or 3.

Pic #3: Looking over at Sunshine. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/15/2019, By: jnorris303
Info: Hiked up Redcloud today and then over to Sunshine. Shared both summits with a few other people. As soon as the trail breaks out of the trees you pretty much follow a continuous avalanche debris field on snow for about an hour and a half, which doesn't end until you're in the basin below Redcloud's saddle. There are parts here where you find/follow the real trail again to the left of the snow, but for the most part it's follow the footprints and make your way up the wide gulley on snow. It's amazing to see and very remarkable how much snow came down with these avalanches. At some points it's at least 50 ft deep still. The snow was easy to walk on and for me, traction wasn't a problem on the way up or down. The remainder of the hike involves crossing some snowfields with some minor postholing. I'd recommend trekking poles, and spikes if you want, but neither are necessary.

As mentioned in the previous report, once you're moving along the ridge, there's a spot on the trail marked with a sign that tells you to turn right, where the main trail goes. They clearly want you to follow this route. We followed it, but it is covered by snow after a certain point and you have to then pick your line to regain the trail as it crosses above you. The alternative is a social route that goes directly up the ridge, but it is steep and loose. Many people were taking this route, as it's more direct, but I'd recommend just following the sign.

Once on the false summit, the route up to the summit and over to Sunshine is snow-free. Sunshine looks far away but it is easy to get to. The jaunt over to it is relatively flat and easy.

Photo 1 - Redcloud from Sunshine
Photo 2 - Handies from about 1/2 way down to the trailhead. The wildflowers are unreal.
Photo 3 - Almost to the saddle
Photo 4 - Redcloud summit on the return from Sunshine
Photo 5 - Looking southwest from Redcloud, Sunshine to the left 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/10/2019, By: TravelingWilbury
Info: Hiked up to Redcloud today and continued on to Sunshine.

The trail starts out great with very apparent avalanche damage from the start. When you get up into the basin you'll encounter giant continuous fields of avalanche snow with debris mixed in. The snow was very firm and actually makes for pretty easy travel, especially with microspikes, and if you get down early enough should make for excellent glissading (at least where there isn't too much debris).

Once past the debris fields there was some minor postholing remaining snow on the way to the ridge but after that the route was dry. On the ridge there's a spot where the trail juts to the right, but most people were using a social trail that goes straight up since a portion of the switchback is covered by snow. I went straight going up and it was pretty loose and steep. Coming back down I started on the switchback and skirted down along the edge of the snow and I think it was a little better, although still steep and loose.

The snow on the way to Sunshine was almost completely avoidable. There was some tracks through one snowbank and it looked like they postholed pretty deep but it's easily avoidable by staying higher up on the ridge. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2019, By: Ryan1979
Info: Overall pretty good conditions on the mountain. We lost the trail a few times because of avalanche debris. There are social trails to help navigate through those sections and its easy to find the trail again. I used my spikes several times throughout the hike and was glad I had them, others didn't and were fine. Put spikes on once, on the way over to Sunshine, through a larger section of snow that was unavoidable.