3/17/2012 Route: From Mill Creek Campground Posted On: 3/18/2012, By: Unknown Info: The route from Mill Creek was very dry, but with spots of deep snow in the trees. Snowshoes were helpful from 11,000 to 12,000 ft. My trip was cut short due to a knee injury and I had to double back at 12,500ft. |
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12/30/2011 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 12/31/2011, By: carson_h Info: Mike, Ryan and I generally followed the route from this post: http://www.summitpost.org/sunshine-redcloud-route-emporium/158780 Snowshoes were necessary from 11,700 to ~12,500. The snow conditions were challenging even with the snowshoes -- a breakable crust over sugar. We had crampons and axes, but didn't use them. Microspikes would have been helpful in a few sections. At 11,900 this route exits the trees and enters an open bowl. Mike was on point when we heard a loud whomp and a 60ft crack opened above him. Ryan and I retreated to safer ground before Mike slowly traverse to a group of trees. He waited there while Ryan and I descended deeper into the trees and traversed to the right (East) under his position. Ryan and I climbed a tree covered ridge until we were above Mike and had a good line of slight on him. (Mike felt safer continuing up vs. descending because the angle of the slope was much lower just above his position). He climbed the rest of the bowl without incident. The safest route would likely be to cut off of the trail around 11,800, traverse 200 yards right, and ascend the tree lined ridge. We lost an hour in this incident and didn’t make it to Redcloud. |
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9/16/2011 Route: Via Redcloud Peak Posted On: 9/17/2011, By: San Juan Ron Info: Sorry, no pics. I can't figure out how to load pics directly from my IPhone. The trip up Silver Creek was uneventful, however, once reaching the ridge below Redcloud we began hitting 1-6" of snow on the trail and also began getting snow showers. This continued for most of the rest of the trip with windy conditions. The temps ranged from 28-42 above 13k. The trail up to Redcloud from the ridge was visible (for the most part) but generally covered with several inches of snow. The route from Redcloud over to Sunshine was similar to the climb up Redcloud -- the most snow was on the north face of Sunshine which made route finding a challenge at a couple points. We descended via the North Slope below Sunshine (sign reads "dangerous area") which was more challenging than usual due to the snow. We didn't use spikes. It did snow a bit more on Friday night and Saturday morning on both peaks so the snow totals may be a bit higher now. FYI, I have climbed Sunshine and Redcloud 15 times so I generally knew where the trail was despite the snow. SJ Ron |
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7/16/2011 Route: Via Redcloud Peak Posted On: 7/18/2011, By: jeffs Info: Std route clear of snow execpt a couple of small patches you can easily avoid. |
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6/4/2011 Route: From Redcoud out Northwest Face Posted On: 6/5/2011, By: bhaydin Info: I hiked the standard route via Redcloud to Sunshine but exited the NW Slopes. Road is completely snow free to silver creek trailhead and seeing some traffic for sightseers. Still plenty of snow up there but I didn't find a real need for my snowshoes. The bottom half of South Fork Creek it was helpful, but the stetches of soft snow were pretty few and far between at noon when I was descending. There was plenty of slide activity in the South Fork area and a number of large cornices ready to fall. I would think a ski descent would have been fun as well. Just be safe! The standard route up Redcloud has firm snow all the way up to the 13,000 ft saddle. The connecting ridge has snow that can be avoided until the last push at 13,500 near the gnarly rocks. |
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4/16/2011 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 4/17/2011, By: mountainjam Info: Sunshine Peak and Redcloud Peak from Mill Creek Campround. The road to the campground is completely dry and the campground and bathrooms were open for use. The route was dry until 11,300. At that point we put on snowshoes and I wore mine until about 13,300. From there I wore microspikes to Sunshine's summit and also over to Redcloud (probably not necessary but I liked the extra traction). We were able to follow a trail or tracks most of the day. Snowshoes were needed back in the trees in the afternoon. I tried without snowshoes for a bit and immediately postholed up to my waist. Overall I thought the route was pretty steep but it made for a fun and rewarding day. Pic1 - Sunshine (taken in the afternoon) Pic2 - Redcloud from Sunshine Pic3 - Sunshine from Redcloud Pic4 - Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn |