Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-27, By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Still a dry and otherwise fantastically easy walk-up, especially compared to its next-door neighbor. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2022-09-05, By: shapovalovm Info: Did the whole CBasin from Purgatory: Day 1: Started at 9:10. Parking was full, so I had to park near the community center (lots of additional parking there). Got to the basin by 2:45. Lots of people! Camped at 11200 Day 2: started 5:10, did 4 peaks, back to camp by 1pm. Started down at 1:30, back to the car by 6:50pm Peaks (in order): 1) Eolus: class 2 to the notch, perfectly cairned, no issues with navigation even in pitch dark. The catwalk is nothing to be afraid of, if you can walk in a straight line (it's like 3-4 feet wide at worst). Scramble up is easy. 2) N Eolus. A tiny baby scramble from the notch. Overall from Eolus it took me 25 min to get there 3) Sunlight: shit shute until 13800, horrible experience. But from there it's a ton of fun. No way it is class 4, though, even the summit block. The fall from there is to the nearest rock which is like 5 feet below. I understand it may be scary to people, but so may be the catwalk, but we don't call it class 4 do we? 4) Windom. Having done 3 peaks, this one felt hard. The views are fantastic though. Also, again, I don't think the rating is right. Haven't seen a single person who managed to summit it with no scrambling above the saddle, so should be class 3. If Sneffels and Kit Carson are class 3, this one definitely must be class 3 as well |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2022-07-04, By: MountainBuhn Info: (Pics on Mt Eolus review) Copying this info for all 4. Backpacked in from Purg on Friday 7/1. Started at 3:30 and got to the lowest spot in Chicago Basin at 9pm. Started the day on Saturday at 2:30am attempting all 4. Mt E: Clear of all snow. Catwalk is overrated imo. Ledges were far tougher (and longer). Some loose rock to deal with. We found staying under the ridge was the best option on the way up. Headed more straight east on the way down. N E: Easy, self explanatory, maybe a slightly sketchy move getting from the saddle of Mt E to the beginning of the climb if coming from Mt E. Pup made it up N Eolus with no help. Put him in a bag for ledges due to the rockfall potential. Sunlight: Started from Twin at 10:30am after resting after Eolus. Storm clouds were moving in but we decided to send it anyway (wouldn't recommend). Red gully was bad as advertised but not as bad as say sneffels scree or Wilson/Diente scree so it's relative. Got to notch with plenty of thunder but no lightning so we went for it. Class 4 move wasn't bad but tougher on the way down if you're shorter than 6'. I thought the move into the “chimney tunnel” was harder than the leap. Booted it off as thunder was heard straight above us. Pup stayed below class 4 move and my partner and I summited at different times. Windom: Weirdly my favorite. Boulder hopping up to the notch was tough. Notch up to peak was a blast. Pup needed a couple of butt shoves but besides that was good. Summit block of Windom was a blast. Definitely plenty of class 3 fun (the class 2 rank is just incorrect). Back to the lakes by 5pm. Somehow had no rain fall on us. It felt like there was a force field around the 4 peaks and we were just extremely lucky for a monsoon weekend. Basic ally summer conditions for all 4. Backpacked out 7/3 in 4 hours of rain (finally got us). Fun weekend. To summit all 4 in one day is something else. Would do sunlight again and spend more time at the top. Real calf burner |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2022-06-13, By: fmv093042 Info: Route is clear other than 1-2 small sections of snow on the approach to the junction between Mount Eolus and North Eolus. I brought traction but never used them! The summit push is very stable and in great shape! Fun day doing Mount Eolus and North Eolus. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2021-11-09, By: nicoinco Info: Copied from Sunlight post: I hiked into Chicago Basin over the weekend via the Purgatory Flats approach. Ended up summiting Sunlight, Windom, and North Eolus, but decided to turn around at the “catwalk” of Eolus due to what appeared to be unconsolidated and sloping snow on the ledges of Eolus. Sunlight was mostly dry and grippy above the gulley. Ended up with just under 45 miles and 13,000ft round trip for the weekend. I brought crampons, microspikes, poles, and an ice axe into the basin with me, but didn't end up using any traction. The poles were helpful for some post-holing at and above Twin Lakes, and I used my axe on Windom for added comfort traversing some short snow slopes towards the top. There was evidence of some sliding on the north face of Windom, so I'd be wary of any further attempts at the crossover from Sunlight with any new snow. Overall, less snow than expected and an excellent weekend alone in the mountains. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2021-08-12, By: PikaSteve Info: Great trail to just below the catwalk. Solid scrambling after that. Medium haze. Can see Mt Wilson, Mt Sneffels and Rio Grande Pyramid. Some cell service. I will see if I can upload photos. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2021-07-10, By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: No snow on Mt. Eolus or N Eolus from Chicago Basin ~11k' to summit to contend with. Summer conditions. We started with N. Eolus then went over to Mt. Eolus. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2021-06-25, By: Will_Quillman Info: Summer conditions on most of the route, I put gaiters and spikes on before reaching the saddle. My buddies skirted off route on the rocks to avoid the snow, so you definitely do not need this equipment to climb at the moment. This route was a tad boring but you can make it a little more fun by climbing off route if you so choose, like we did. Started from high up in the basin around 5am, summited in approximately 2 hours, so topped out around 7am. Headed back down and rode the saddle over to Eolus. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2020-08-22, By: Clint the climber Info: It's a long haul into Chicago Basin from Purgatory but well worth the mileage. There are multiple places to filter water along the way so no need to carry enough water for the entirety of the pack in. North Eolus is a great little walk-up from the saddle. If not for the summit, climb it for the views. |
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Route: Chicago Basin Approach Posted On: 2020-07-11, By: s mckinney10 Info: Hiked in from the Purgatory trailhead. Everything was in full summer conditions. There are a couple small snowfields to cross, but no traction is required for the ascent or descent. Lots of marmots and goats in the basin and around the twin lakes. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2019-10-06, By: TieDye Info: Sunlight: S Face still totally dry. Windom: Fresh snow dustings are starting to stick around on the portions of the trail on the NW Face which lie in the northern shadow. Was fine without traction but watch your step. These snow dustings are accumulating on the NW Face and on top of the leftover snowfields. Went straight up a snowfield to the W Ridge instead of dropping all the way down. Fine in trail runners in the afternoon. Eolus: Similar to Windom, fresh snow dustings are starting to stick around on the ESE Face where the trail drops down from the ridge. No traction necessary around 6 PM. Watch your step. N Eolus: Totally dry. The snowfields from this past winter aren't going anywhere. All manageable without equipment at the times I was on them (times listed for reference). Everything else dry (approach, catwalk, whatever doesn't get caught in shadows all day). Still overwhelmingly summer conditions. Get it while you can! Overnighters said it got down to 17 F at whatever elevation that is Friday night into Saturday. Purgatory TH - 710 AM Animas River bridge at Wilderness border - 930 AM Twin Lakes - 1200 PM (15 minute lunch) Sunlight - 215 PM Windom - 400 PM Twin Lakes - 510 PM Eolus - 635 PM N Eolus - 705 PM Twin Lakes - 800 PM Animas River bridge at Wilderness border - 1045 PM Purgatory TH - 240 AM 41 mi, 11.1k vert, 19:30 TH to TH |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2019-09-09, By: bludwig Info: This will be a copy/paste for all four of the Chicago Basin peaks: There is some snow by Twin Lakes on the route to Windom/Sunlight, it is hard and no traction required. The flies/mosquitoes are pretty bad and pretty aggressive. Although, the cold nights may start killing them off. Because of the very unpredictable weather in the Weminuche, I wanted to include my rough split times between the mountains so you can determine how to break them up. Doing all four in a day can be very difficult due to the temperamental weather. Order: Windom, Sunlight, Eolus, North Eolus. I recommend doing North last since it is very easy to bail out on if needed and recommend Windom first because route finding in the dark is straight forward. From campsite (11,000 feet) to Windom: 2.5 hours Windom to Sunlight: 1.5 hours Sunlight summit to Eolus turnoff: 1 hour Catwalk turnoff to Eolus: 40 minutes Eolus summit to catwalk turn: 40 minutes Catwalk to North Eolus summit: 7 minutes North Eolus summit to campsite: ~2 hours |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2019-08-05, By: pbergmaier Info: We summited all four peaks on 8/2 and 8/3. Lots of water on trail from the junction at 11,200' to Twin Lakes. No snow until you reach Twin Lakes. Only a few small snow crossings along the trail from Twin Lakes up to about 13,200'. The larger snow field directly below Eolus' east face (photo 1) can be mostly avoided to the right, although we still had to cross about 100' of it to reach the ramp (photo 2). This snow field makes for a great glissade on the way down, however! Some slick rock on the ramp itself, be careful! Around the corner below the Eolus-North Eolus ridge, there is a larger snow field that you must climb (photos 3 and 4). Traction here is highly recommended since it is steep. I used crampons, my buddies used microspikes. I'd bet that you'll probably want traction here through the end of August at least. Another great glissade spot for the way down, though. Above this snow, there is a short section of class 3 climbing before reaching the ridge. Completely dry from here to the North Eolus summit (photo 5). Great grippy rock! |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2019-07-25, By: daway8 Info: All 4 peaks by Chicago Basin can be done with microspikes and trekking poles, just be sure you know how to safely self-arrest with whatever you bring. Sunlight had worst conditions - snow hard in spots and sank past knees in others. Several rock outcroppings appearing - going up the rocks was easier when available. Microspikes tend to be more suited to that mixed terrain than crampons, just be aware it is steep so again, be prepared to self-arrest. Windom generally firmer with excellent glissade descent. Some were going up with no traction but only by following friends who had traction (wouldn't recommend that). Eolus and North Eolus had multiple snow fields leading up to them but hardly any snow above notch. Easily doable with microspikes. Catwalk totally dry. North Eolus was trivial, rock super grippy. Route finding going up Eolus face was some of most challenging encountered yet (at 55 14ers and counting). Rock not very grippy at all and covered with mud and damp plants, but abundant foot and handholds. Could still glissade patches going down but no longer a continuous slide along the standard route. Rain came every day between 1:30pm - 2pm and typically lasted a couple hours or so with plenty of thunder. Occasional overnight storm but mornings have been storm free. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2019-07-18, By: Cranfillpe Info: See detailed report for Mount Eolus from 7/15. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2019-06-26, By: wombat Info: See my Eolus conditions report for approach. Although N Eolus looks like snow blocks the route- it is possible to avoid snow all the way from the saddle. |
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Route: South Ridge Posted On: 2018-07-21, By: alyannkar Info: Summer conditions. Pretty much just a hop and a skip up. I backpacked into Chicago Basin from the Purgatory Trailhead the afternoon of 7/19 and then summitted all four peaks the morning of 7/20 and backpacked out later that afternoon. Not quite sure why the longer route to the basin gets a bad rap. It was a gorgeous and mellow trail, easy hiking. There are several trees down towards the end of the Animas River Trail in the mile before the bridge and register where the trail intersects with the Needle Creek Trail and the train stop. The Needle Creek Trail has even more trees down. Otherwise, both trails are in great condition. In Chicago Basin, insects and goats are in full swing. The lower you camp in the basin (or just before the basin), the less you will have to deal with the goats swarming. The trail up to Twin Lakes is beautiful (thanks Colorado Fourteeners Initiative!) and is in summer conditions, as well. |