"North Massive"

Condition Updates
2023-02-25 Route: Fish Hatchery Trailhead Posted On: 2023-02-26, By: Wildernessjane Info: Summited North Massive yesterday. Bomber trench until we broke off from the the East ridge route for Massive. Then broke trail on skis just past treeline at the base of the ridge leading to North Massive. Trail breaking was pretty brutal at times and I'm pretty sure the two of wouldn't have been able to make it if we'd been on snowshoes. Dropped skis partway up the ridge and hiked the rest of the way. Some fun turns below treeline but lots of ups and downs so skins had to come on and off a couple times. We steered clear of steeper lines due to the recent storm but it looks like there could be some fun lines to ski. Saw some people on the summit of Massive so you can be certain the trench is in.	4	1
2022-08-08 Route: Out & back from Massive Posted On: 2022-08-09, By: Codyhill1991 Info: Why has this peak eluded my radar for so long? This was a pretty interesting little addition to an otherwise chill day on Massive. I can't understand why this peak doesn't "count" on the list when N Eolus and Cameron do, but either way it was fun. Went up Massive SW slopes. Great trail, CFI was out there, not a lot of people. Had summit of Massive to myself in the morning, had all of N Massive to myself, and the crowds were starting to hit regular Massive as I summited it again on the way back. Y'all. Please stop with speakers on hikes. From Massive it's pretty straightforward until you get closer to the slopes of N Massive. On the way there I stayed lower and went around, which involved crossing a few steep gullies of dirt and kitty litter scree, but all class 2. Not exposed or dangerous but not my favorite vibe. On the way back I stayed right on top of ridge proper, a few class 3 moves and I encountered one definite class 5 down climb. I am 5'5" and would have struggled a lot with that spot if I were any shorter, but it's not very high consequence. All in all a fun little side trip. Had been eyeing the Oklahoma loop but didn't feel like I had enough confidence or beta for it this time around.		5
2022-06-11 Route: \"Massive Green\" Posted On: 2022-06-13, By: CheapCigarMan Info: Mostly dry. Easy avoidable or passable snow fields without needing traction or flotation.	1
2022-02-26 Route: via Mt. Massive East ridge Posted On: 2022-02-26, By: Will_E Info: Summitted N Massive today, missed getting it when I did Mt. Massive a few winters ago. Did the standard Massive winter route from the fish hatchery, got about a mile and a half in before needing snowshoes. There was a decent trench up to the Colorado trail, after that I was breaking trail to treeline. I could mostly make out the previous trench, but where I couldn't I meander a bit. Its not the most efficient Beard McQueen style trench, but it'll get you up the mountain. Stashed snowshoes just above treeline, not worried about anyone coming up to steal them in today's temperature, didn't need any traction the rest of the way. Went straight up ridge near Mt. Massive proper, then across to Green and North, then back to Massive to tag it for no particular reason. Nice cold day.	15	13
2021-07-17 Route: Frying Pan Lakes Posted On: 2021-07-22, By: arianna2 Info: Somewhat difficult hike from frying pan lakes. Pretty steep since it's only about 2 in 1/4 miles and 3000 ft. A lot of talus to go over. Minimal snow. GPS a must.	5
2021-01-27 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2021-01-28, By: angry Info: Booted first few miles. Broke trail in snowshoes from ~11,200 until gaining the ridge where we stashed em and booted to summit. Did not use traction. High winds covered our tracks above tree line. Packed down our trench on descent, should be good until next storm.	5	4
2021-01-02 Route: E Ridge Posted On: 2021-01-03, By: jscully205 Info: Good trench to tree line. From tree line to ridge it was untracked deep snow through willows with the occasional wind crust slab. I was sinking knee deep on skis. I gained the ridge scrambling up the only dry wind blown section seen from a distance. Midway across is my estimate. You could just go up the toe as well but it's not as direct. Ridge to summit was mostly dry and was easy hiking but got burned on the wind forecast which made it a little more annoying.	4
2020-09-18 Route: via Massive Posted On: 2020-09-18, By: Eli Watson Info: Mt Massive SW Slopes > "Massive Green" > "N Massive" > "North North Massive" > Mt Oklahoma from 10,200' on Halfmoon Rd Nothing new to report on Massive SW Slopes. Other users have done a good job of detailing the conditions recently. No secret that it's one of the few dry routes in the Sawatch by now. Ridge to "Massive Green" > "N Massive" > "North North Massive" has less trivial snow to cross. Felt comfortable without traction 12:30 - 1:30 PM in my Mutants but be careful. Ridge direct to Oklahoma is nothing short of spectacular. Seriously so much fun. Choose-your-own-adventure on the down climbs from "North North Massive" to the saddle low point. Can traverse around on the right if you want to avoid some committed down climbs. Nothing over class 4 in my book but debating climbing grades is all the rage right now. Can get as spicy as you please, but the ridge really lends itself to staying on the ridge crest on stable rocks. Climbing Oklahoma's summit ridge is a buffet of 'choose-your-own-adventure'. Either hang down to the right to avoid real scrambling to ascend snow-pocked class 2 scree and talus, hang left from the saddle low point to keep it class 3 and sneak around to Oklahoma's easier ridge, but true scramblers will feast on the ridge proper. Oklahoma's standard route descent was the loosest rock I experienced all day. Alpine tundra is prime time red right now, but the willows are still green even at 12,000'. An excellent Trip Report for this route can be read here: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=20539 Will upload photos when I get to a full computer.
2019-07-14 Route: Grand Tour de Massive Posted On: 2019-07-14, By: TieDye Info: The summit register could use some new pages. Please refer to my 2019-07-14 Mt. Massive conditions report for details on "North Massive".
2018-07-29 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 2018-07-30, By: Cygnus X1 Info: After summiting Massive via the SE ridge, Oldtrad and I made the traverse over to North Massive. There is a fair number of use trails to follow but the route is obvious, follow the ridge until you get to the rock ridges between Massive Green and North Massive. There is some loose scree/gravel to contend with descending to the saddle just before Massive Green. Once you reach the rock ridges scramble around the west side, the rock is generally pretty stable. Our route up the south face of the eastern summit involved some loose scree and talus but it wasn't too long or difficult. Only Class 3 we had to do was on the west side of the rock ridges and the notch right at the top of the route we picked.
2016-07-09 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2016-07-09, By: oldgrayhair Info: The Mt. Massive trail from the East Slope is in summertime conditions with a few muddy spots from snow melt. I was able to get to the top of Massif Green before running out of energy to continue to North Massive; I have included a picture of North Massive for your information.
2016-01-03 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2016-01-03, By: SnowAlien Info: Solid trench up Massive, but none existed for North Massive. Managed to set a skin track in deep snow. No issues with gaining the ridge, stayed in the trees. Above 12k ridge is windblown, no flotation needed. Long day.		3
2015-06-05 Route: North Halfmoon Creek TH Posted On: 2015-06-05, By: Lyssah Info: The route starts out from North Halfmoon Creek TH wet but passable. It stays that way for about 1.3 miles up into the trees. Slowly, broken snow drifts start to appear across the trail that must be crossed/postholed. The trail is indistinguishable from about 1.6 miles in on, all snow-covered and poor trail markings on the trees. I‘ve been on this trail several times so I knew how to get where we wanted to go by sensing, but it was VERY DIFFICULT finding any vestige of trail. The large, flat rock slabs that have had past glacial activity are the only indicators of being on the right track at times. We used snowshoes from 1.6 miles to tree-line and were very happy we did so. Temperature was such that we had base layers, pants, gaiters, hiking boots, gloves, snow hats, and medium weight jackets. We elected not to go onto the steep stuff after treeline as the snow looked iffy in the afternoon heat and we turned around. Still lots of snow up there currently. And the mosquitoes are back.
2015-03-15 Route: Massive East Ridge Posted On: 2015-03-16, By: Yikes Info: Final winter conditions report for 2015 (from me). Yep, the mountain is still there. Good trench from the Hatchery. Snow was pretty stable in the morning and no snowshoes required. The warm afternoon was a different story, bring snowshoes or swim (saw a few postholes so deep that I thought I should dig down to see if anyone was buried under there). No winter difficulties on the ridge between Massive and North, just a long, slow slog. 3 more days. Those with some free time this week should take advantage of the "as good as it gets (in winter)" conditions.
2015-02-01 Route: Fish Hatchery Posted On: 2015-02-01, By: Monster5 Info: The current trench for Massive trends a bit far right between the N Massive and Massive ridges. I.e. well-positioned to make a loop out of Massive and N Massive though it adds an additional 3/4 mi RT to just Massive. Snowshoes used both up Massive NE and down N Massive NE ridges for about a mile each near treeline (thanks to Yikes and crew for some morning breaking). Windswept or hardpack on both ridges above treeline. Axe used briefly between Massive Green and N Massive though probably not necessary on a less windy day (we were hiding just off the ridge rather than taking the ridge proper). Sustained 35-40 mph with a gust or two about 50 mph. No stability concerns on route and choosing a good line near treeline to access/drop N Massive NE ridge. Around 15.5 mi for the loop though a lot of it cruiser. Probably goes by faster if you don‘t have to brace every dozen ft.		4
2012-06-02 Route: From massive summit Posted On: 2012-06-04, By: Rcizzle Info: Sorry this is from my phone so it‘s going to be short and to the point. From Massive summit the route is mostly clear. There are few snow patches that did not freeze well between summit and Green, however they could be avoided. After you navigate around a rock rib on north massive you‘ll find loose scree and some insignificant ice. There is about a 50‘ section of snow with a very low grade leading to the summit that is pretty sturdy on the ascent but does force some minor PHing on the descent. Not worth putting gaiters on. Also give plenty of time on the return to massive summit if you choose to do so. Its grueling and weird freakishly building tstorms have been producing cloud to ground lightning as early as 9:45. That was the case on Saturday especially with warm above average temps and up slope up valley winds driven should cause some concern when you‘re up there. As we near the Soltice the longer duration of sunhit has really made for some interesting weather. From the fire weather forecasts, this is not monsoonal so the 12 o‘clock rule hasn‘t been very reliable. Happy climbing all.

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