Keller Mountain

Route: East Ridge Direct
Posted On: 9/3/2024, By: jpacheco1982
Info: Did Keller mountain east ridge direct from rock creek trailhead. Road is easy if have suv and basic common sense. Took rock creek trail to boss mine and then went up just east of mine on an intermittent social path until hit an old trail on the ridge that was intermittent and ran until about treeline. We stayed faithfully ridge direct on way to summit which required two class 4 downclimb and there were some optional low class 5 moves. The easiest way to do this route involves skirting some towers on south side of the ridge, but what is the fun in that. Most of the rock is good quality but below the ridge crest it gets looser. 

Route: North Traverse and Keller from Bighorn Trailhead
Posted On: 8/20/2024, By: JasonKline
Info: As Furthermore once said in a trip report, the route from North Traverse to Keller can be made class 2 if you repeatedly drop down from the ridge a bit to avoid the obstacles. It's only 1.7 miles by foot from North Traverse to Keller, but it's very slow due to the route finding. Doing both North Traverse and Keller from the Bighorn Trailhead isn't a short day. 

Route: E Ridge
Posted On: 7/30/2024, By: bmerkle
Info: Bugs are less bad than they were -no snow left on the route. Stuck to ridge top and it was 95% solid rock for climbing. You can really make it whatever you want, ridge direct is a little spookier (4th class downclimbing into notches) but you can always drop off the S side for relief. https://caltopo.com/m/TB18TAS 

Route: East Ridge from Rock Creek
Posted On: 7/15/2024, By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: Beautiful summer conditions. Followed Rock Creek trail to mine then head up. You'll intersect a trail, follow that to the 12er and go across to Keller. Class 3 mostly after 12er but can go higher or ridgeline proper for more spice or lower for looser but easier. Definitely recommend a helmet but overall would call this an easy class 3 with options for harder. On the way down we intersected with the same trail around treeline and followed the old carriage path down to the Gore Trail. Do not recommend with the horrid amount of deadfall. Go back down the steep way you came up and take Rock Creek trail back. 

Route: Rock Creek
Posted On: 10/23/2023, By: snacktime
Info: Echoing DrSluices 10/19 CR, the route is still mostly dry, except for the talus slope, which is holding pockets of snow that I chose to walk through (with gaiters) rather than try to avoid. Spikes might also be helpful on this section, but my partner did fine without them. Some trapdoors in the snow. Once past the major obstacles, the last walk to the summit has a bit of snow that also is likely avoidable. We took the deadfall trail back to the Gore Trail - while its definitely a more gradual descent than the Boss Mine trail, be prepared to navigate over or around LOTS of deadfall. Trail is relatively easy to follow despite the deadfall. 

Route: From Rock Creek TH
Posted On: 10/19/2023, By: DrSluice
Info: The Gore is holding some snow especially on north facing aspects. I was glad I wore gators. You could mostly avoid snow if it were worth the effort to you, or you could do what I did and dress for snow and posthole above the knee a little bit. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 10/17/2023, By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Peak fall colors! Only stepped on snow a couple times in more shaded spots on the ridge but Id classify the route as dry. The fallen trees were a bit of a nuisance down low so I was very happy to be back on the Gore Range trail at the end of the day. We stayed on the ridge crest for some of the scrambling but dropped down on the left side on occasion to avoid some of the spicier looking obstacles. 

Route: South Ridge from Bighorn Cr
Posted On: 9/24/2023, By: Laxer04
Info: Route is snow free like most of the gores. I stuck to the ridge for the majority of it, solid class 3 scrambling with some exposure. Super fun. Perfect day in the mountains. Not one cloud in the sky and I saw one person on the peak. We did see a bear near the cabin on Bighorn Creek. We went with this route because of how scenic the bighorn creek trail is. The aspens are just starting to change - likely a week or two away from peak. My strava came in at 13.15 miles 5583ft of vert 

Route: East ridge
Posted On: 5/6/2023, By: yaktoleft13
Info: Lots of snow in the Gores. Road to rock creek is not yet melted. Intermittent snow on the south facing slope to gain the ridge. From there, lots of snow up to the false summit. Traverse to Keller's summit is quite spicy with current snow levels, especially after the midway point. Took about an hour each way from the false summit 

Route: East ridge from Rock Creek
Posted On: 9/24/2022, By: VeraUndertow
Info: Route is snow free, fall colors are starting to pop off. The trail/abandoned road up the long east slopes heading to treeline has possibly the most beetle kill dead fall I have ever seen, but most of it had paths around from people walking around it prior. Not great LNT ethics, but a lot of the piles are dangerous to climb over. Once past the deadfall you gain 600 or so feet thru a steeper forest and then over toward treeline. Above treeline it's a talus slog for another ~1k before you actually get to the ridge, but once there it gets good! I stayed ridge proper as much as possible on the way up and there were plenty of class 3 and 4 moves on solid rock, going up and over the almost 13,000' bump in the ridge. The north side was covered in snow but the south side bypass was fine on the way back, tho almost more dangerous on loose dirt and class 3 grass. Great day to be up high with perfect clear skies. Round trip took just under 6:15 for me and the trailhead was over full when I got down with people parked in some silly places, tho I didn't see anyone outside of 1/2 mile from the TH all day 

Route: East Ridge, from Rock Creek TH
Posted On: 7/12/2022, By: mijoflynn
Info: No snow on route. Not much left on surrounding peaks, either; attaching pics in case they help anyone plan. My first summit in the Gores! What a spectacular range. 

Route: East ridge
Posted On: 12/18/2021, By: gluckhikes
Info: Did not make it to treeline, but there is now a one-man snowshoe path to follow up to 11500. The first 3 miles are well traveled, but expect deep snow as soon as you turn off the trail. It seemed to just get deeper as I got higher. Didn't get a look at the upper ridge. 

Route: East Ridge from Rock Creek
Posted On: 10/4/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: More involved than expected. Bring a helmet. We took the Rock Creek Trail for somewhere around 2 miles before heading straight north up steep, forested slopes to the ridge crest. There we ran into a trail that runs most of the length of the ridge to treeline. Shortly past treeline the rock begins and doesn't relent until you've summited and returned to treeline. The initial section is just boulders. Eventually the ridge narrows. Early on you can scramble across the crest of traverse on the south side on dirt and boulders. As you make your way towards the prominent point on the ridge note an obvious notch with tall cairn on it below the top on the south side. It's easiest to traverse below and around the point to this notch and there's no need to summit the point. From this notch there's a down climb of about 100 feet, the first real scrambling of the route. It goes at Class 2+/Class 3. The rock deteriorates greatly from this point and beyond. Scramble down and then traverse across several gullies and ribs. Test everything as it's all loose. If you return to the crest too soon you'll be forced back down by much harder and more exposed scrambling. When you run into a big block of white rock on the ridge you'll have to down climb again and then traverse a narrow, exposed dirt ledge to a steep dirt gully. This is just below the final point on the ridge, and you'll have avoided most of the much harder scrambling by staying lower where possible. Scramble up this gully (extremely loose Class 3) and walk to the summit, which is the farther lump on the ridge. Though you can go towards Bighorn Pass and down a steep scree/talus slope to the lakes below we went back across the ridge, following the trail where it picks up at treeline and taking it all the way to the Gore Trail. I would not recommend this. The trail was an absolute nightmare of deadfall several miles long. We would have had an easier time descending the steep slope we ascended from the Rock Creek Trail. 

Route: East ridge
Posted On: 9/12/2020, By: Col_Forbin
Info: I highly suggest Keller tomorrow if you are looking for an easy scramble with a dusting of snow to make things more exciting. Mountaineering boots and spikes were ideal 

Route: Bighorn
Posted On: 7/6/2020, By: art__vandelay
Info: Conditions are good. Good and steep.