Route: Northwest slopes and east face Posted On: 2023-05-28, By: Logan5280 Info: Ascended NW slopes to saddle at 13.4k then climbed a couloir on the east face to the summit. Started at 2wd trailhead in Winfield because I have a low clearance car, although some vehicles made it about a mile higher up the 4wd road. I left a little before 5:30am, and the road walk was mostly dry, except for a few deep snow patches. A pretty decent overnight freeze made for good snow conditions considering the time of year. The switchbacks above the 4wd trailhead have intermittent punchy snow, which turns to consistent punchy snow from 11k-11.6k ish. Flotation is necessary at the moment for that section unless you really enjoy post-holing. I lost the trail a couple times in the snow, so I just made a beeline through the woods to the bowl. The bowl just above 12k is mostly dry following the summer trail, except for one big, flat snowfield. From there, I did some talus hopping and followed trail segments to the saddle, where I stashed my snowshoes (could have done this much earlier). The NE-facing couloirs on the north side of the east face were looking pretty good, so I donned crampons and traversed to the second one. The snow was warming up fast at around 8am, but it was still supportive enough. The couloir (maybe 45-50 degrees) left me just shy of the summit on the ridge, with an easy walk to the top. There's still a gnarly cornice on the east side of the summit. The main couloir of the east face is probably out for skiing due to bad coverage, but some of the other chutes still seem good. I descended the easy talus to my snowshoes, then traversed west to the big gully on the north face, where I linked up a ~1,000ft glissade. Snow was nice and icy for this, although the rough crystals sandpapered a massive hole into my pants. Easy descent from there. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-05-31, By: jdoest01 Info: Summited Huron Peak on the 23rd of May. Parked at Winfield where it was bone dry, then camped near the clearing where you get the first good close up view of the Three Apostles. Started at 8am and the snow was solid, so the hiking was easy. Lost the trail about a mile in due to the snow, so just followed snowshoe tracks up to the bowl. Snowshoes definitely needed once the snow got slushy around 11am. Stashed some snowshoes near the top of the snow before you get to the ridge right at the top. Left them there though, so if anyone is up that way, look for them just below the ridge before you turn right up to the summit! It's like maybe 3/4 of a mile from the top. They're not the best snowshoes, but if anyone wants a free two pairs, just snag them. We decided to go down the boulders due to the snow and lateness in the day, so they should still be up there. I won't be through for another year, so if someone wants them, feel free to take them (location is in the last picture, circled in black)! We were just pressed for time and not feeling very good...haha! Other than that, the hike down was uneventful. Lucked out with the weather for sure! |
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Route: East Face from Rockdale Posted On: 2023-05-17, By: isaacbauman Info: Note we did this hike on May 11. The team decided to attempt to splitboard the east face of Huron Peak via the FS381 4x4 road to Clohesy lake from Rockdale. The small creek crossing proved to be much more of an issue than anticipated. There was no obvious way to cross without wading through the water. I opted to use Crocs and hold my splitboard with the snowboard boots attached to cross the freezing river. Another in our group used hiking boots to wade through the water. This is a warmer option since the water can sit in the boots and warm up your feet. Upon crossing the two sections of the creek there was not even snow to skin for about a half mile, forcing us to boot pack. After about a half mile, we began skinning. Not ideal as there were still many rocks and pebbles sticking out scratching our skins, since the snow is melting. After a little while, there would be places where the snow would break through to our knees making an unpleasant skin. The snow was super wet and sticking to the tops and bottoms of my friends skis, making it all the more difficult. To make matters worse, the entire time it was sleeting and everything we were wearing was completely soaked. 3.5 hours after crossing the river, we finally made it to the end of the 4x4 road (at Clohesy lake), where we looked up into a daunting and intimidating whiteout above the treeline. The summit wasnt even close to visible. By this time, it was already 11am and we figured that summit would be impossible. Some lessons and takeaways we learned When crossing a river, just GO! Don't try and figure out a way to walk around. You are going to waste your time and eventually fall in (happened to our buddy and he had to skin in wet snowboard boots all day). Walk around where you can but if youre forced to go, pull up your pants and wade through. BRING EXTRA SHOES (crocs, hiking shoes that can get wet, etc.) AND something to dry your feet Do not stop as often and transition as quickly as possible. Do not go out when its snowing (rather sleeting/raining) |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-05-10, By: NelsonBrands Info: Successful Summit. Departed at 4:55am (wish I would have left a little earlier) and got back to car at 11:10am. 3hrs45min to peak and 2hrs25min to car. Snow the whole time from 2wd TH. Put snow shoes on at first parking spaces at the 4wd TH and had them on until I stashed them at tree line. Didnt use any traction or axe but pry could have used snow shoes in spots. Post holed about a dozen times with snowshoes on and a couple dozen times without snowshoes. Snow is melting FAST. Would only recommend if you have snowshoes. Great morning overall! |
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Route: East Face Posted On: 2023-05-05, By: spoony Info: Climbed and skied the East Face from Rockdale. The creek was not running too hard but there is no snow/ice bridge and I managed to dunk my right foot, which left me with swamp sock for the day. FS381 has annoying start-stop snow for the first 1/4-1/3 mile. Its not a problem in the morning when the snow is solid, but it made for a slow departure on the way down after the snow softened up. Clohesy is still frozen but I could see cracks in the ice in spots. The snow is the basin beneath Huron was nicely consolidated but the snow up higher on the face was still a little loose depending on exposure. I post holed a bit on the climb. The coverage was great but avalanche debris made for a slightly bumpy ride back down. I think left the summit at 11:30 and I wouldnt want to be much later than that (depending on freeze and weather). Kept skis on almost all the way back down FS381. Bring flotation if you plan on walking because the snow is mush. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-05-05, By: sav2266 Info: Didnt hike - but drove the road to see how close to Winfield is clear. I got to just below Winfield in a Jeep Rubicon - patches of slushy snow above where maintenance ends until the road was fully blocked/covered (I didnt feel comfortable driving further solo in afternoon slush) about 200 ft or so below Winfield. Should melt soon to the 2WD TH. |
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Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 2023-04-14, By: colin j Info: The North Ridge is a slog but as of 4/9 is in good condition. There is unconsolidated snow in areas and it is most efficient to stick to the ridge crest in many cases. Also on 4/9 the warm up created very sloppy snow on the descent but overall this was manageable. The East Face is very fat right now but the summit cornice is also pretty large; fwiw it may have fallen since I was up there. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-02-27, By: aksean22 Info: There is a packed snowcat track leading all the way to Winfield that made for easy skinning. From there I followed a fresh snowshoe and sled track up to the summer TH. The snowshoe tracks continued up Clear Creek towards Lake Ann and I was forced to start breaking trail up Huron. I stuck more or less to the summer trail. Deep snow all the way to tree line was hard work and slow going. Above treeline the snow turned into the usual windblown hardpack which went much faster. I skinned up to the ridge, ditched the skis around 13,500' and booted through mostly dry rocks to the summit. Got to the top at 4pm and spent all of 2 minutes on the summit before booking it back down to take advantage of all the daylight I had left. Skied really bad snow to treeline and really good snow back to the summer TH. From there I put my ski boots into walk mode but left the skins off; basically using them like classic cross country skis for the mostly flat road out. It worked pretty well and the miles back to the car went quickly. Lights where on in one of the old houses in Winfield and it looked like someone was staying there. I saw no signs of snowpack instability going up or down and no avy debris anywhere. 26 miles, 5800', and 13 hours car-to-car. |
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Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 2022-11-15, By: Jonathan Deffenbaugh Info: Ended up being a low vis/high winds (~35 mph) sort of day after Mountain Forecast predicted some clouds. Definitely snow shoes required for the approach up the 4WD road, once on the ridge line going towards Browns Peak, would not be required. Was only able to top out the switchbacks on the ridge around Middle Mtn before conditions deteriorated to the point of having to turn around. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-10-26, By: Tommy Burke Info: Drove to the 4WD trailhead with my Taco. I was amazed to see a Subaru at the trailhead - must be an awesome driver! The hike was very windy but the trail is very easy to follow all the way up. The top is steep with packed snow - fantastic traction with crampons. Poles were also a big help. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-10-09, By: amandaefaith Info: Packed snow on the trail starting around 12800 / 13000. Once you hit the ridge, the trail steepens. I recommend spikes or cold weather boots for coming down that section. Rest of the trail is in good condition, a little muddy in spots. All snow was avoidable over to 13,462 and down from Middle Mountain. Likely not avoidable if you plan to hit the saddle between 13,462 and Browns Peak |
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Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 2022-09-12, By: kwhit24 Info: We parked around 10.300' and started hiking up the 4WD road. We turned off after about .3' of a mile when we came to the gated road on our left. The old mining road follows a bunch of switchbacks to 3200' below Middle Mtn B. From there the rest of the rout is pretty clear. Follow the ridgeline to PT 13462 and Browns Pk. From Browns follow a faint trail that traverses to the saddle for Huron Pk. Up to this point everything is Class 1 but this portion involves some talus hoping along a easy slope. Once at the saddle just follow the standard trail for Huron up and back down to the car (11.39 mi; 4,330' gain; 5:46:53 total time) Start at West Winfield TH 7:15am; Middle Mtn B 9:10am; PT 13462 9:40am; Browns Pk 10:05am; Huron Pk 11:00am; Upper 4WD TH 12:30pm; Back to car at Lower TH 1:00pm |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-08-19, By: cmancero Info: Drove to upper trailhead on 4wd road with stock off-road 4Runner without any issues. Arrived 6am only 3 cars there. Hike is more then 6.5 miles . Trailhead sign says 3.5 up and we think it's slightly more then 7. Both of our Garmin devices read differently so unclear. Weather was cloudy so sadly no views. Hike more grueling then I thought compared to elbert or other “easy” 14 ers. Nearest bathrooms are at Missouri gulch trailhead on way to Huron. Recommend a stop there. No scree .click for photos |
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Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 2022-08-04, By: Syde0004 Info: Followed the AllTrails Huron loop. Pretty challenging. Whole lot of scrambling across boulders. No real trail to follow for a lot of it on the way up. The views on the way down were spectacular! Trailhead: 4:30am, got a spot just fine Summit: 8:50am Back to car: 11:40am |
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Route: North Ridge from Lulu Gulch Posted On: 2022-07-31, By: TheSpaceForce Info: 7/30: Ascended from Lulu Gulch via Browns Peak direct (Option 1). We cannot recommend Browns Peak direct/Option 1. From a "leave no trace" perspective, you are very likely to cause a bunch of additional erosion, crush a bunch of tundra, or both on this route. If interested in approaching from the North Ridge, consider going via the Middle Mountain-Browns Peak-Huron ridgeline for the entire route (Option 2). Otherwise, an entirely different route may be the best choice. We descended the Standard route, which is in impeccable shape. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-07-17, By: cfitzpatrick Info: Summer conditions, lots of water on the trail and on the 4X4 hike. Completed as a sunrise hike, started around 2am and summited around 5am. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-07-01, By: Swelchy Info: Summer conditions, lots of snow melt on the trail, I would recommend wearing waterproof shoes or shoes that dry fast. We did not encounter any snow or slush on the entirety of the trail. Started a little late at 8:00, summited at 10:50, back to the car by 1:30. |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-06-27, By: hsfedina Info: Snow yesterday made the mid-final Ascent slushy. It was fine for me (and easier to follow trail) but down-hikers reported mild difficulty. Spikes not necessary. Overall amazing! |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-06-25, By: cloudkicker Info: Terrifying avalanche terrain, bring probe, also bring crampons and axe. Kidding. 100% summer conditions |
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Route: Northwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-06-20, By: Roxandnate Info: Full-on summer conditions. One 15-foot rapidly melting span of snow to cross. Lots of meltwater in the basin. Please don't go off-trail to avoid. Lots of damage is being done to adjacent tundra. |