Wetterhorn Peak

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 5/4/2026, By: Stormline24
Info: Wetterhorn conditions update:

Summited on Sunday May 3, 2026.

The road to the TH is completely free of snow at this point. However, there is a large aspen tree that has fallen across the road approximately 1.9 miles from the 4WD TH ( so it added nearly 4 miles to my trip). If you want to get all the way to the TH bring a saw or chainsaw this week.
It has snowed this week and the valley is 70% free of snow. The two tiers/levels above the valley had enough snow to cover the trail in 85-90% of its area. Easy to get off trail here right now.

There was 6-8" of snow on the summit and I didn't see another person all day.

Traction would be advised for some. I took crampons but didn't use them . I used my axe to descend the summit block in case of a fall ( it would be a long slide in a couple areas). 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 4/21/2026, By: wmagnuson7
Info: Summitted via SE ridge. Almost summer conditions, but not quite. The section leading up to the Prow is still holding a fair amount of snow, so bring an ice axe, crampons (and helmet, of course). Minimal post-holing, so would leave snowshoes at home but bring gaiters.

Gorgeous hike and incredible trail (kudos to CFI!) my new favorite 14’er! Enjoy! 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 3/19/2026, By: Splitboard14ers
Info: Winter gate closure 6.7 miles from Matterhorn Creek Trailhead. No snow to Capitol City. No snow first 1.5 miles up Matterhorn Creek Trailhead road. Some snow from then on to trailhead. High wind had kept snow firm, and I walked across it without switching to skins. From trailhead on, I switched to skins and approached into the basin.

I reached the South East ridge and transitioned to boots then climbed the ridge to Summit. I descended about 80 feet to snowline below the Summit tower and transitioned to ride. I strapped in and rode the East face. Firm snow. A lot of rock features to avoid. Ride was poor due to high wind keeping snow incredibly firm and refrozen.

Rode across basin and through Matterhorn Cutoff back to trailhead. Transitioned to hike out 6.7 miles back from trailhead.

20.15 miles round trip.
11 hours 16 minutes round trip.
5066' vert. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 1/21/2026, By: jacolc
Info: Climbed Wetterhorn and Matterhorn yesterday. Do not have time now for more. Maybe somebody use my track tomorrow.
First day approach 7.7mile 2.5k' 4h21' and bivi at tree line.
Booth summits from camp: 5.4mile 3.3k' 7.5h
Snowshoe and crampons
For more look at LoJ 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 11/2/2025, By: Will_E
Info: Nearly summer conditions on Wetterhorn this weekend. I did a loop of 13,207', 13,313', Wetterhorn and Broken Hill. Beautiful day. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/20/2025, By: stirfry
Info: Wetterhorn Peak and Uncompahgre peak from the Wetterhorn Creek TH on 10/19/25.
I did Uncompahgre first then hiked back to Wetterhorn. Someone posted a good report for the same conditions I experienced on Uncompahgre.

Hiking to/from Uncompahgre from Wetterhorn Peak, there was around 1 mile of snow to cross on the Ridge Stock Driveway Trail #233. The majority of the snow started south east of Matterhorn Peak and ended just before regaining elevation to meet with the standard route for Uncompahgre peak. Most of it was 4-6" deep.

Toward Wetterhorn Peak: The approach was snow and mud free until the boulder field starting around 12,350'. Through the boulder field there was some snow maybe 2-4" deep along with some mud later in the day. There was a 6-10" deep snow field to cross between around 12,800-13,100 ending just before the southeast ridge/yellow dirt section. After reaching the southeast ridge and switching to class 2 and 3 terrain, the route was dry.

Looking from each peak, you could see the impressive snow coverage on the San Juans with more snow incoming.

Finished the day with 17.71 miles and 7,688' of gain according to my apple watch, or 6,615' of gain according to Strava. Strava might be more accurate...but 7,688 is cooler than 6615... 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/9/2025, By: goddibhk
Info: Climbed Wetterhorn last evening and into the night. Was hesitant to posting this cause most of this will probably be outdated rather quick but decided someone might find it useful. The entire route is snow free aside from some small and inconsequential patches right before gaining the ridge. Uncompahgre looked pretty dry as well. Pretty much anything to the south has quite a bit more snow though. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/4/2025, By: jjasks
Info: Still clear of snow as of Friday morning. Windy at the ridge to the top, but still a great climb overall. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/29/2025, By: taylorharris50
Info: Made it to the angled slab at 13,900 (pic 21). The slab was iced over. Unable to assess the final pitch. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/18/2025, By: Lofty312
Info: Bluebird day. Zero ice or snow on mountain. Began at the lower “2WD” Lot at 7am. Summited at 9:20am. This is the perfect mountain. No talus fields, steep scree sections, boulder fields, perfect distance, well maintained trail & a nice spicy scramble for the last 500ft give or take. However think this mountain should not be listed as difficult on the class 3 list as listed, however since it has class 3 &4 moves, maybe it deserves its current spot. N. Henson road up to the 2WD spots .7 miles before the 4WD lot & TH is sketchy, I barely scraped twice on the way up in the dark in my Honda CRV which has 7.3” clearance and a short wheel base. However I thought going down would be easier. Definitely not the case. The sun was in my eyes and there were way more puddles and new boulders compared to when driving up, bottomed out twice, got my car stuck in a puddle blinded by the sun as my car met a boulder at the end of the puddle. I could not reverse to get out l. Thought I was screwed. Put my car back into drive, let off of the accelerator, and by the feel and sound I thought my undercarriage and front wheels were going to be scattered all over the road. By some kind of miracle, I made the 5 1/2 hour drive back home even though the post climb euphoria was non existent as I was a nervous Nellie thinking my car was going to fall apart on the highway at any moment.

Do not attempt this road unless you have 8” clearance. Wheel base length and clearance are the biggest factors and the sun can be your worst enemy even with sunglasses on trying to pick lines. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/16/2025, By: JBK14er
Info: We summited Uncompahgre first, at about 7:45 AM, and then made it to the summit of Wetterhorn around 1 PM. There was no snow on Wetterhorn by the time we got up there. The class 3 section was all clear & dry the entire way, including the "angled slab" near the final push, and the final push itself. It was all nice and dry, and the rock was very grippy. Thank you to the people who posted just below us about the potential for snow & ice. We brought crampons just in case there was still some snow & "pucker factor," but it was all clear. Better to be safe than sorry! 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/14/2025, By: AurumSun13
Info: Comboed with Uncompahgre Peak first. Started at 3 got to Uncompahgre by 6:15am and then over to Wetterhorn by 10:15am. After the two snowstorms during the day, the peaks are now covered in around a half inch of snow under freeze-thaw conditions. Black ice from refrozen melt is extremely slippy. The class 3 sections of Wetterhorn in the snow definitely gave that "pucker-factor". I'd recommend microspikes & climbing gloves for the rest of the season. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/8/2025, By: notidealbutfine
Info: Started at 6am from the lower TH .7 miles below the 4WD TH. Made it there in my Honda Element (7.1" clearance) without much issue, just slow going. Virtually all the snow from Thursday/Friday is already gone at upper elevations. All the scrambling was dry and fun. Caught the run bug and was moving fast today. 8.77 miles / 3,507' gain / 3 hours, 19 minutes 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/31/2025, By: TheBuff66
Info: Hiked 8/30. The road to Capitol City is real easy, any car can do it. However I would caution against the Matterhorn 2wd trailhead. Crosstreks can make it, I saw a few there, but there are a few steep and watery sections that I wouldn't want to attempt in mine. I was fortunate to get shuttled up to the 4wd TH with CFI and that segment is absolutely for off-road capable vehicles only. The trail is easy going until the Class 3 portion. Solid rock and plenty of cairns, but as a first Class 3 for me the exposure got in my head. The downclimb was fine but going up sketched me out. Absolutely stunning views throughout the entire hike and a really fun route. If you're ready for it, send it! 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/18/2025, By: RRanger1996
Info: What a fun mountain! We had rain Friday night into Saturday morning, but no issues at all with wet rock.

Perfect intro to Class 3 for my hiking partner. Full summer conditions.