3/7/2020 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 3/9/2020, By: bkcheck Info: Trail is decently packed down up to the Bard trail junction, but the snow is deep and not particularly supportive between the junction and treeline. Snowshoes recommended. A little after treeline the snow diminishes and you can pick a snow-free route all the way to the summit. The ridge up to Woods Mountain is dry as well. |
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2/29/2020 Route: Herman Gulch TH Posted On: 3/2/2020, By: durkan Info: Leap day spent atop Parnassus. Microspikes on at trailhead. Donned snowshoes at the Bard-Watrous Trail junction, but stayed to the west of the creek and did not cross toward the sign. Snowshoes stashed at saddle. Traction was not needed today from saddle to summit. |
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2/15/2020 Route: NW ridge via Watrous Gulch Posted On: 2/16/2020, By: nickle Info: Good skintrack/snowshoe track from the Herman Gulch TH to approx 2/3 up Watrous Gulch. Put in a good trench from the end of the skintrack all the way to treeline where the route is windscoured. All gullies that are steep enough to slide are wind scoured so there is little avy risk on the primary route. We did get one big 'whumpf' in a low angle area, the snowpack is sensitive, so be aware of route choices. The W face of Parnassus is totally windscoured and not a hazard. The ridge to Bard also looks scoured and low risk, we opted not to make the traverse due to the wind and temps. Beautiful day out. Photo #1: W face of Parnassus Photo #2: Ridge to Bard |
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1/4/2020 Route: West Side Posted On: 1/4/2020, By: CreekRunner Info: Two of us put in a trench shooting off from the well used Watrous Gulch trail. Snowshoes are needed till just above treeline. Poach it while it's still good! |
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11/9/2019 Route: Watrous Gulch Posted On: 11/9/2019, By: DorothyK Info: The snow started fairly close to the trailhead. As soon as we cleared tree line, it was 15" deep in spots, crusty in the morning (and mashed potato in the afternoon upon our descent). The west slope of Parnassus was dry, however; you could get away with no traction. Overall, spikes and gaiters were very helpful. |
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6/29/2019 Route: Bard, Robeson, Engelmann Posted On: 7/1/2019, By: bludwig Info: Be prepared for the best views of the Front Range Started at 5:00AM and hiked Parnassus, Bard, Robeson, and Engelmann. Came down the Bard route, which is a steep down climb with a small incline in a boulder field. After that, it's all trail hiking from there. The all mountains were mostly dry, the saddle between Parnassus and Bard is snowy but no traction is required; we did the entire day in trail shoes. Total of 13.25 miles with 5500 ft in gain in 10.5 hours. Photo 1: Wood/Parnassus saddle Photo 2: Parnassus Bard saddle Photo 3: Robeson (far left) and Engelmann (straight back) from Bard |
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6/27/2019 Route: Watrous Gulch/West Ridge Posted On: 6/27/2019, By: HikerGuy Info: Summer conditions. Dry except for going over a snow bank left by an avalanche. The creek rises during the day, but there are plenty of small ripped out trees close by to make a bridge, if needed. Wildflowers are starting to bloom, but they are few and far between at the moment. |
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5/12/2019 Route: From Herman Gulch Trailhead Posted On: 5/12/2019, By: WildWanderer Info: First half mile of trail was dry, but as soon as the snow starts it doesn't stop. I had to put on crampons to get up certain sections of the lower part of the Waterous Gulch trail early this morning, as it looks like someone flattened it out with a snowboard and it's like walking up an ice chute. On the way down after the sun had warmed the snow it was easier to navigate. Lots of snow in the gulch. Don't expect a trail after the Waterous/Bard turnoff. Above treeline most of Parnassus was windblown. Due to intense winds today I wasn't able to summit Bard, but it looks like it would have been a fun challenge in less wind. Wood Mountain was an easy hike up from the Wood/Parnassus saddle. |
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5/5/2019 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 5/5/2019, By: LetsGoMets Info: Consistent snow from 3/4 mile up the trail until the saddle with Woods basically, though you can take a more direct angle versus going to the saddle and up. Snowshoes not needed in the morning, but it was def getting sloppy and deep in the afternoon. Tons of snow in the basin. |
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4/17/2019 Route: Watrous Gulch Posted On: 4/17/2019, By: Jay521 Info: Good packed trail. I booted it all the way to the top (microspikes were helpful but not necessary) but I was glad I had snowshoes coming down. Afternoon heat really softened the snow. If you get an early start and are faster than I am (almost everyone is...) you could probably boot the whole thing. Once at the Woods/Parn saddle, you can avoid snow the rest of the way but there is a LOT of snow below that. I haven't figured out how to add text to the photos but the one of the avalanche debris is near where the split to the Bard Creek trail is. |
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12/14/2018 Route: Watrous Gulch Posted On: 12/14/2018, By: LetsGoMets Info: Flotation required beyond the Bard Creek junction as you head into Watrous Gulch and up to the saddle between Parnassus and Woods. I put down a fresh snowshoe trail through a mix of 1-3 feet of snow all the way to the saddle basically. Enjoy! |
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9/2/2018 Route: Watrous Gulch Posted On: 9/2/2018, By: madmattd Info: Around 11.5k, ~1/2-mile after the Bard Creek Trail splits off, there is a very obvious path diverging right that passes through a few campsites then climbs to within 100' vertical of the Woods-Parnassus saddle. The remaining 1000' of ascent on the ridge is tundra with the occasional stretch of a social trail. Hardly any talus to deal with. I found easy going a short ways below the ridge to climber's right. |
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8/25/2018 Route: Via Bard Peak from Ruby Gulch Posted On: 8/26/2018, By: supranihilest Info: The ridge separating Mount Parnassus and Bard Peak is not as technical as it looks from far away. At worst it's Class 2+. Stay below the crest and you'll find you can weave in and out of the rocks to keep it at Class 2. Be aware that some of the rock is loose, even some of the huge boulders. You can also drop down below the "difficulties" entirely on tundra but this requires a few hundred feet of loss and re-gain. Dropping off Parnassus to the Parnassus-Woods saddle is somewhat steep tundra but all Class 1. |
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4/25/2018 Route: SW ridge from Waltrous Gulch Posted On: 4/26/2018, By: Ptglhs Info: Snow is melting along the trail from the parking lot, but still quite deep from 11-12k. SW was steep and deep and posthole hell coming down late in the day. Above treeline conditions are much improved. I didn't see a trail up the SW ridge. |
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3/11/2018 Route: Watrous Gulch Posted On: 3/12/2018, By: cardgenius Info: Used microspikes up the trail until the second split off. Trail is hard packed snow and ice. Snowshoes after that up through the drainage to the saddle. Stashed the shoes at the saddleish point and put the spikes back on up to the summit as it's mostly wind blown. Lots of snow in the north basin and on the north and north eastern Face. Got to watch to skiers climb the north eastern Face. Deep snow.... |
