6/10/2024 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/10/2024, By: anino Info: Hiked from the West Willow Creek trailhead. There is still a lot of snow on the trail below the saddle. It gets mushy in the afternoon. Gaiters are highly recommended. |
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6/8/2024 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/14/2024, By: asorbera Info: From the Willow Creek Trailhead to the first ridge it was summer conditions. The two basins still contain lots of snow patches that are melting quickly. No traction needed, but wet snow led to wet shoes and a good amount of postholing before reaching the final ridge. Absolutely stunning hike and I wouldn't be surprised if it's totally dry in the next few weeks given how hot it was out there. |
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6/8/2024 Route: General Southern Area Posted On: 6/8/2024, By: supranihilest Info: Just a generalized report since I didn't actually climb San Luis but did all the 12ers from 12,951 through 12,583 (plus 13,115 cuz it's right off the trail). The 4WD West Willow trailhead is open. There's still plenty of snowfields on all the trails which are probably 70% dry, 30% mud/postholey garbage/river. Still they're all basically passable. I talked with someone who did do SL via the south ridge and he reported the same, so I'd say the Garita are ready to party. Just know you're gonna get wet feet. |
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5/30/2024 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 5/30/2024, By: sam_richardson7 Info: Start time: 8:30AM up to the Continental Divide Trail from the start of the 4x4 there is a few snow patches, but is all mainly melted. I walked hikers right off the trail at this point to find a good spot to descend into the bowl. After reconnecting with the trail, hitting the switchback into a snow covered forest, I followed tracks from others that had consolidated which created a semi-packed walkway. The basins are snow covered end-to-end still. Its not getting cold enough at night to have a firm walkable surface in the morning. A CDT hiker had summited before me, who started at 3AM, and had post holed in the same spots. The snow is very deep in spots (waist)+ and very shallow in others. Once on the ridge you can pretty much ascend fully without any snow inconveniences. Traversing the basins with back country skis might save some time, this part of the route took me easily more than half the time with just micro spikes. End Time: 3:30PM |
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5/17/2024 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 5/19/2024, By: 14ercooper Info: Road was mostly dry/drivable until a bit before the uppermost mine. Lots of snow above treeline, but was fairly supportive even after the sun came out (even if it did start to get a bit slick after a while). |
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1/3/2024 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 1/3/2024, By: supranihilest Info: Judd (CaptainSuburbia) and my trench from last week is still good, but after this storm may either be wiped out or become unsafe to follow through avalanche terrain. Today was safe at least. Whiley and I booted the road and put snowshoes on at a willow-choked creek crossing. They stayed on until the south ridge saddle. At the intermediate ridge in the middle of Spring Creek basin we more or less took the trail, sidehilling through the sketchiest avalanche terrain of the route. Unlike everything else which was dry enough to not be a concern this short section, a few hundred horizontal feet, was knee deep facets with a thin crust on top. It wasn't going anywhere but felt spooky nonetheless. After that we busted a new trench through the basin and up to the south ridge saddle, where we booted up the ridge. Plenty of snow on the ridge but largely avoidable if desired. We booted back to the saddle and wore snowshoes all the way back to the cars. Overall this route isn't technically difficult but you have to be able to manage avalanche terrain and the stats - about 19 miles and 6,000 vert in just under 11 hours for us, and that's with a mostly pre-established trench. Gear: flotation mandatory, poles very helpful. Traction and axe not useful today but might be with more snow. |
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12/31/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 1/2/2024, By: astranko Info: Hiked in and camped in the west fork of Spring Creek basin on 12/30. We used an existing trench that went from the TH (plowed) to the basin and up to the saddle between Pt 12562 and Pt 12935. We took the "Pointfest" route over UN 13166 and up to the peak. The class 3 crux between Pt 12935 and UN13166 is a little loose but not bad at all. Underlying snowpack is thin but absolute garbage. There were many places that we went that in more "normal" avalanche conditions that would have been very bad. If following the base of the trench in the future, please use caution. |
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10/28/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/28/2023, By: Will_E Info: Nice day up on San Luis, just a few inches of snow on the trail, it was easy to navigate, even for the world's worst route finder. Snowed on my way back, but not much. |
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10/21/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/23/2023, By: jklammer Info: Still very dry as of Sat 10/21/2023 Temps were great, also. Looks snow is coming this week but not much per OpenSnow app. A few short sections with snow on the north face (see pics). No need for traction or assistance. A pole was helpful but not necessary. If anyone else knows - are there bighorn sheep tracks on the San Luis south face? Looked like a trail, but then saw sheep out there too - and no reason or sense why it would be a human trail. Great peak - fun trail. |
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10/20/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/22/2023, By: crispy_asparagus Info: Conditions are the same since conditions were last updated. Trail is in summer conditions, with a small amount of snow in both basins that lead to the south ridge. No traction is needed. There is also some mud on the trail after starting the second basin. Tread lightly to avoid damaging and widening the Colorado trail. There was a lot of wildlife on the hike including a herd of bighorn sheep, deer, and several of ptarmigans hanging out on the snow in the alpine. |
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10/14/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/17/2023, By: zzcarp Info: Trail is still mostly dry and quasi-summer conditions. As the previous poster said, the snow is on the CDT portion along the north-facing slopes and a little in the shaded portion on the summit ridge, but it's a couple inches at most. No traction really necessary. The only place I slipped and fell was in the semi-loose dirt on the way down the last shoulder to my car. |
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10/7/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/9/2023, By: gluckhikes Info: Mostly dry, plenty of footprints through the patches of snow. More snow on the north and west aspects of the CT/CDT approach from West Willow Creek Trailhead. |
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9/30/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/30/2023, By: shapovalovm Info: The route is practically in summer conditions. There is some snow at the last 0.2m (or ~100 feet of elevation), but it is easily avoidable. Very easy trail. There's so much wildlife there. |
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9/23/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/24/2023, By: ProfetaP Info: We chose to do the south ridge and it did not disappoint. Almost any car will be able to make it to the lower TH and the upper any decent clearance car (room for about 10 cars in each). But, due to the mountain being so secluded there are not bathrooms or trash cans at the TH. The hike ended up being around 15.5 miles (started at the lower TH) and was around 4.1k gain. The trail is very easy to follow and crosses through numerous gullies and terrain, which make it very fun and beautiful. There are several water crossings for the first 4ish miles, which are easily crossable without soaking your feet. The summit stretch is loose-ish talus that could be easy to slip on or roll an ankle. There is also a few false summits, so dont get too excited when you think you are at the top. But, the trail is almost completely free of snow. A few patches here and there, but it is completely avoidable. |
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9/18/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/18/2023, By: Piotr Info: Nice and dry all the way. Northeast ridge route had few inches of snow near the top. |
