6/3/2017 Route: North Gully Posted On: 6/4/2017, By: AlexeyD Info: Still continuous snow top to bottom but probably not for long. Lots of dirt on snow in the lower sections. Despite N aspect, gully was almost in full sun by 7:30 AM. Bottom was already getting soft, while upper sections were a mix of supportable and breakable crust, making for a tiresome climb. Crampons and ice axe highly recommended (angle is upwards of 35 degrees in parts of the upper gully); ski crampons could also work well in these conditions. Sizable avy debris field around the middle of the gully, originating from the cornices along the ridge on skier's L; currently this does not present any obstacles to skiing. Upper section of the gully has an intermittent booter on climber's left side, giving some respite on the climb, but the snow is getting quite thin in places and looks like it will fully melt out in a few sections over the next few days. Given the warm temps, we didn't want to linger too long and dropped in around 10 (normal recommended time for this line is about 11). The upper portions were still quite crusty at this point, but skier's left side turned to corn around 1/3 of the way down. At the moment, skiing from the summit requires making a descending traverse from right to left in a somewhat no-fall zone (rocks below) in order to avoid the thin, crappy snow on skier's right. Once around this section, it gets much better. Bottom half was decent corn, though bottom exit chute was getting soft and kind of dirty from fir needles. We were able to ski all the way to the creek crossing, but probably not for much longer. In retrospect, I probably would've waited another 20-30 minutes before dropping in to enjoy better conditions on the upper half of the route. Otherwise, a decent enough line with good vertical (2000+ feet) for very little time commitment. |
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10/21/2016 Route: South slopes Posted On: 10/21/2016, By: madadraw1 Info: Rav4 made it up to the TH. Just the one major area of ruts at 1.5 miles from I70. The road had only a few areas of thin ice but not a problem at all. The trail has some very occasional areas of snow/ice but the trail is ~95% snow free. However, I can't speak to Grays/Torreys. From a distance, looked like snow might be accumulating in the trail higher up. This was a nice very quick outing. Just 2 hours 45 minutes in all. |
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4/24/2013 Route: Road Posted On: 4/24/2013, By: emohr Info: Not enough of a trip for a full report, but hopefully enough info for some conditions. My buddy and I reached the bottom of the Grays and Torreys trail at about noon, and set-off up the road. We didn't have snowshoes, and I wasn't too concerned. I just kind of wanted to scout the area, and see if it might be possible/safe to try and hike Kelso this weekend. The road had been driven up about 300 feet, then the tire tracks stop. There were a few pair of ski tracks running through the road, but otherwise, it was pretty desolate. We made it to the Bridge at the Grays and Torreys in about 2 hours, but were too burned from post-holing to continue. It was a much needed workout since a lackluster winter. Snow shoes weren't necessary, but they are definitely helpful |
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11/3/2012 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 11/4/2012, By: MTGOAT72 Info: Kelso is a good hike right now with amazing views. The road up had a little snow and ice but nothing too bad. There is some snow building near the summit but other than that it's clear. The wind is crazy cold so pack that down jacket! Full TR: http://www.coloradoascents.blogspot.com/2012/11/kelso-mountain.html |
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7/5/2012 Route: Southwest (Kelso) Ridge Posted On: 7/5/2012, By: DanielL Info: We did the whole ridge from Kelso Mtn to Torreys Peak yesterday for Independence Day and the whole route was completely snow-free. The mountain has an unreal amount of false summits but the route is easy except for some Class 3 at the beginning above the Torreys-Kelso saddle. |