5/18/2024 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 5/18/2024, By: truekyle Info: Went back for redemption. Did not make it. My mom and I had a very scary thing happen to us at 12000. On the first hill we heard a sudden pop and the snow shifted. If you have ever been ice fishing and heard the ice Crack under your feet, sounded exactly like that. We turned around right away. Be safe everyone. |
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4/19/2024 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 4/19/2024, By: truekyle Info: Didn't make the summit. The wind took me and my dog by surprise. We did make it to 13k just before you down climb to the power lines. The route is in great shape. Brought snow shoes and spikes but didn't use them. However you may want them in the future for the down climb. |
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4/14/2024 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 4/14/2024, By: kal_18 Info: The route is mostly free of snow with the major exception being from Hoosier Pass to about 100 feet below the first bump on the ridge. We wore snowshoes for this section and I think its necessary. There are definitely snowy patches but they are either avoidable or very shallow. I did not need to use any traction for the majority of the route. Great way to spend the good weather. |
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3/19/2024 Route: Hoosier Pass, variation on North Spur Posted On: 3/24/2024, By: Mel Kel Info: We took a variation of the North spur gpx route provided on this website to avoid avy danger. Moderate rating on nearly all aspects with persistent slab and loose wet problems. Our variation required almost an additional 900' descent/ascent but we were happy with our choices given the whoompfing we experienced on lower angle snow. We did have to navigate under some "red" terrain, however that was very shallow and windblown. More snow/different conditions could change this. Happy to provide the gpx if anyone is interested, although I probably wouldn't pursue this route if it was considerable (but I'm pretty conservative and my risk tolerance is fairly low). As a result of this variation, it did require more elevation gain/loss (~900') as we did not stay on the ridge from Hoosier ridge. We were able to ski and skin the entire route, which was a nice surprise. Of course it meant picking our way down around some rocks and sharks, but it was very manageable and we even got a few great, but heavy turns in. Mostly variable/wind blown snow though on the upper half of Silverheels, but the snow was continuous. |
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3/9/2024 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 3/10/2024, By: ekalina Info: Vandy and I hiked the south ridge of Mt. Silverheels from the Beaver Creek TH (winter closure), stepping out of the car at 7 am to a chilly -8 degrees but mercifully no wind. We started by following CR 655 as others have done. There were several inches of fresh snow on the road, but we didn't need our snowshoes yet. Somehow we missed the right turn at the (permanently closed) 4WD TH, which is 2.4 mi from where we parked and quite obvious in retrospect. Instead, we continued up the road for another mile, and observing some old trenches on the far side of Beaver Creek, proceeded to cross to the other side. Snowshoes were mandatory here but didn't stop us from sinking into the soft snow, sometimes to above the knees. At the creek crossing, we were able to walk across the flat, snow-covered top of a beaver dam and avoided any liquid water. Upon reaching the far side of the creek, we briefly hooked up with some of the existing trenches. Unfortunately, none of these seemed to carve a reasonable path up to the ridge, and deep wallowing soon commenced again as we hammered in our own trench. This part was very slow and took us about 1.5 hr for one mile of progress. The snow really didn't become much shallower until we were on the ridge and had rejoined the regular route. For the remainder of the ascent, it was debatable whether snowshoes were helpful - we kept encountering pockets of deep, soft snow, interspersed with long stretches where a layer of shallow snow overlaid shifty talus. This may change once the wind does its job and scours the ridge. We reached the summit at 1:40 pm, stayed very little time owing to a 10-15 mph biting wind and the late hour, and then high-tailed it back to the car. With the trench in place and downhill grade, we made much better time and were back at the TH around 5:15 pm. Total stats were 15.1 mi RT (including GPS wiggle), 3800 ft gain, and about 10.25 hrs. We probably made it a bit harder on ourselves by missing the turn off CR 655. This route is much more scenic than the North Spur from Hoosier Pass, especially with all of the fresh snow. Note: We observed whumpfing on a southwesterly slope aspect near treeline prior to reaching the ridge. The slope angle is too shallow to slide in this area, and you should be able to easily avoid avy terrain on this route. But we still have persistent weak layers within our snowpack. |
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2/22/2024 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 2/25/2024, By: pjcolorado Info: Hoosier Pass parking lot is well plowed; nice snow barrier with Rt 9. Immediately across the street from the trailhead the snow is soft and I needed snow shoes from here until well above tree line, and I wore them all the way to the ridge leading to the base of Silverheels. The wind has blown most of the snow off the that ridge and up Silverheels and I didnt need spikes or crampons. It was windy and snowy all day, but the temperature got up to the upper 20s, so it was a nice day on the mountain. |
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12/29/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 12/30/2023, By: drop_bear Info: It's good. Short deep section in the willows. |
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11/11/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 11/11/2023, By: Laxer04 Info: We carried snowshoes and spikes, but didn't need them. There was maybe a small section or two where snowshoes would be helpful, but we opted to just posthole through it. Piece of cake. We didn't see a single person all day and we spent about an hour on the summit. Glorious day. |
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10/21/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 10/21/2023, By: etradio1 Info: Dry up till silverheels proper. There are some snow patches, i brought traction but didn't need it. Wouldn't be unwarranted to use on the way down. |
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10/8/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 10/10/2023, By: andrewpatterson33 Info: Trail was in perfect condition. Don't miss your descent on the way off Mt. Silverheels! Did a "trail run" and only saw one other person. Perfect weather! |
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10/8/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 10/8/2023, By: djacobson Info: 100% clear of snow until the final push up the north spur where there was a very small patch of snow (maybe 1-2 inches deep) and only about 10 feet long. Avoidable. May be gone as it was pretty warm today. Traction was not needed. Still holding onto summer-like conditions! |
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9/22/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/23/2023, By: backcountrybrodes Info: Fun sunset hike just north of Fairplay, and very unique views on the route!! Weird but soothing to have 360 degrees of flat tundra meadow all around me for most of the hike. 'Cow plop' dirt for the first mile on a previously existing dirt road was a challenge, but very nice on my feet when going down. Started at 4:30pm and ended at 8:10pm. Sprinted down the rolling mountain meadows in the dark on the way back and made it from summit to car in 1 hour. Don't try that at home kids |
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9/15/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 9/15/2023, By: Veory Info: Today was very wintery. Several inches of snow from the trailhead to summit, on which I occasionally sunk to my knee in wet unconsolidated snow, but I'd say just above the ankles was the norm. Whiteout all day. Most of the snow around Hoosier pass had melted by the time I returned. Microspikes were helpful on descent but given the wetness, the snow balled up a lot on the bottom. |
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9/4/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 9/11/2023, By: joannalee07 Info: Hiked on Labor Day. Full summer conditions, no snow left on the route although new snow may be coming this week. Full trip report: https://www.coloradomountainpack.com/post/mount-silverheels |
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7/14/2023 Route: North Spur from Hoosier Pass Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: DixieFlyer Info: There is a snowfield near the ridgeline below Peak 12814 that can be avoided. The soles of my shoes never touched snow on the hike. |
