McHenrys Peak

Route: Arrowhead Arete/Stone Man Pass
Posted On: 8/3/2020, By: Cygnus X1
Info: We had a great climb on Saturday. Went up the SE ramp on Arrowhead and then up the Arete to McHenrys. On the descent we stayed high, well above the snow, following a climber's trail to the pass. However, on the descent the gully east of Stone Man Pass was still holding a lot of snow. We down climbed the ridge to the SE of the gully until we got to the choice of very steep wet rock or get out the spikes and axes and hit the snow. We chose the snow. Spikes were barely adequate as there were a few inches of slushy snow over hard stuff that was difficult to kick steps into. Axes necessary, crampons advised. Fortunately we only had to descend about 50-60 feet. Saw some others head all the way over to the saddle south of Stone Man to descend and it appeared they didn't have to cross snow. 

Route: Stone Man Pass
Posted On: 9/16/2019, By: BrandonSlacks
Info: Beautiful conditions from Stone Man Pass through Powell and beyond. Nothing left from last weeks storm. 

Route: Stone man
Posted On: 7/8/2019, By: dbolton
Info: I didn't climb this route, but got a good look at conditions from Chiefs Head. Photos of upper route directly from the South and upper glacier gorge from chiefs head 

Route: via Stone Man Pass
Posted On: 7/4/2018, By: cougar
Info: couloir leading up to Stone Man Pass is still holding plenty of snow. A little bit seen in spots around north ridge to Arrowhead. Rest of upper Glacier Gorge looking pretty dry (Longs, Pagoda, Arrowhead, Spearhead). I didn't go on that route so don't know the snow quality, just observed from Arrowhead. 

Route: Standard route
Posted On: 9/4/2017, By: wondering_hough
Info: Similar to the previous report, all snowfields are avoidable and the route is dry. One mistake, we approached the gully to stone man pass to high and found a patch of ice we didnt want to try and cross. We had to glissade down and climb that awesome (loose) gully just like everyone else. 

Route: SE Ridge
Posted On: 8/28/2017, By: sunny1
Info: Snow fields small and avoidable. Gully to Stone Man pass is dry. Snow climbing gear not necessary. 

Route: Via Stone Man Pass (Glacier Gorge Trailhead)
Posted On: 7/23/2017, By: jasayrevt
Info: Another great outing with Kirsten. 13er summits are an inspiring, invigorating hobby. This classic route is a recommended, straightforward path. It has incredible views of many quality neighboring Front Range RMNP Peaks (i.e. Alice, Chiefs Head, Longs, Meekers, Mummy, Ogalalla, etc). Conditions up high were summer bluebird. So, perfect for navigating these slopes and ridge line extremely well. Standard light pack, trail runners, traction, plus the ice axe approach was good. Climb safely mountaineers. Pictures have been included as beta 

Route: Glacier Gorge TH > Stone Man Pass to South Face
Posted On: 10/31/2016, By: WillRobnett
Info: Glacier Gorge TH > Stone Man Pass to South Face. Single layer fresh snow from the boulder field going up. Very little amount of ice on the south face, wasn't much of an issue for us in the lower snow levels right now. Mostly fresh snow on the south face except for the very upper sections where it's swept away. Thawing and refreezing did start during the day below Stone Man Pass with very little sunlight out there. 

Route: Glacier Gorge
Posted On: 10/11/2015, By: piper14er
Info: 12.7 miles +/- 4300 feet +/- I posted this to my previous report on Pagoda and Mt. Alice with pictures , also at LOJ where I attached a gpx if anyone wants it or pm me. Thanks. My last Front Range 13er. Glacier Gorge trailhead with shortcuts. Take the second left turn off Glacier Gorge to Mills Lake. After the second small bridge go a short diatance to a slab rock that is on the left side of the main trail. Take the shortcut leaves the main trail to Alberta Falls. It s a good trail and even easy to follow in the dark. This cuts off a good portion of the main trail and misses all the people. The shortcut returns to the main trail just east of the Haiyaha/Loch Mills trail junction. Turn to your right and go just a few tenths of a mile to a fork in the trails. Go left to Mills Lake, Jewell Lake and then on to Black Lake. Pass the one and only permitted camp spot on your way to Black Lake. The second shortcut is just before Black Lake where you take a faint trail around the south and east side of the lake. You have a choice here. Once you get to the east side of the lake you can take the faint trail directly towards Arrowhead. The first part of the trail is over rocks and not necessarily easy to find. Here is a Lat/Long N40.26629° W105.64320° at 10700 feet. The gpx attached to this report will help. That is the way I returned from McHenrys Peak. It is not the way I went up. If you go this way you avoid the grass ledge I mention below and avoid the exposure. There is some Class 3/4 rock to get up above the grass slopes depending on your route finding. Once above that get above the steep slabs and head directly for Stone Man Pass. I took the prominent ledge to the south/southwest. I believe the gpx shows the direction although my GPS unit did not like the big rock wall on my right side while ascending. The wide ledge goes well up to the deep gash in the major headwall above Black lake. The wide ledge narrows down to a one foot to two foot wide grass ledge with some real exposure on your left as you head upwards. This is the crux of the climb, the route finding on McHenry above Stne Man notwithstanding. It is only about 50-60 feet in length and there are holds in the rock wall that goes straight up on your right. The drop on the left is mostly vertical, down several hundred feet anyway, to the water falls and rock below. Once you get past that choke point it widens back out and then you gain the area above the major headwall. Go up the drainage to some cairns and find a nice series of ledges to climb out of the ravine. It is not far to that point once you crest. After that it is a traverse across rock, slabs and grass to the bottom of Stone Man Pass. I held more to the McHenrys side of the slope up to the pass for better footing. The first look at McHenrys once you are at the top of the pass is a bit worrisome as it looks so broken and you don't see a trail. There is a cairn almost immediately right of the pass. Follow that cairn to the next and the next. If you stay with the cairns there is a good route and there is a trail for a good portion of the way up to here N40.26201° W105.65681° at 13100 feet. The kicker is this, the cairns take you to the first gully and there are several that are down below that gully that go west. The first gully looks to be Class 4 stuff and if you want to do that head on up. If you want to keep it to easy Class 3 go straight to the second gully here N40.26223° W105.65746° at 13000 feet. You do have to lose some elevation but the way down is on a nice wide grassy ledge, no exposure. Once to the bottom of the second gully take a right up a few easy ledges to the gully. The gully is partially grass and partially good rock. Take the gully up to the ridge southeast of the peak and then it is Class 2 to the top. A few other pics on McHenrys and of Longs, Chiefs Head, Arrowhead, the gash, Black Lake, walking the plank and the changing ptarmigan. 

Route: Black Lake/Stone Man Pass
Posted On: 9/14/2015, By: slowhead
Info: Hillhag & slowhead finally got to the summit of McHenrys, after several failed attempts (weather) in recent years. Stone Man Pass is completely clear of snow, so an ugly scree climb, but relatively short. We went west from Black Lake, and there are some challenging moments in getting up that wall, 4th class certainly. Once up on the shelf below Arrowhead, it‘s the same as the standard route, up Stone Man Pass. However, the guidebooks can be problematic in talking about "going to the second gully, past the rock rib". If you instead do an upward traverse of the main talus field northwest from Stone Man Pass, there are sufficient cairns to help guide a good path. About 400 vertical feet from the summit, you cross over (on a little Maroon-type notch) to the "second gully." This approach bypasses all the awful scree of the second gully, and there‘s also what seems to be a permanent snowfield in there, despite being north-facing. While there is a fair amount of 3 to 3+ climbing doing that upward angling traverse, it was much better than dropping down and climbing that entire second gully. Incredible summit, a must-do. May be the best summit view in RMNP. 

Route: Northeast Arete/Stone Man Pass
Posted On: 8/24/2015, By: alpha
Info: Climbed Arrowhead via Summit Ramps following the SummitPost description. Traversed the Northeast Arete to McHenry‘s. Descended Stone Man Pass. Excellent conditions and rock all around. The portion from Stone Man up McHenry‘s was marked relatively well with cairns. The gully up to Stone Man was a little loose here and there but was overall good. 

Route: Stone Man Pass
Posted On: 7/9/2012, By: JEyez
Info: As previously reported the trail from Mills Lake to Black Lake has been cleared of downed trees. For the most part the "trail" from Black Lake to Stone Man Pass is clear (and beautiful) with the one exception being the gully that leads up to Stone Man Pass. The gully still has snow in it but you can skirt it on either side with only one part that I would consider dicey. No traction or ice axe necessary. From the pass to summit is one amazing climb on solid rock. On this day the weather was schizophrenic which made for slick slabs. Nevertheless, you can expect fairly wet conditions on the approach as the gorge and surrounding mountains are alive and the water is flowing.