Horseshoe Mountain

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/11/2025, By: JerJerBinks
Info: My bro and I spent the morning on Horseshoe today. Group of two in front of us broke and descended the ridge so we never caught up to them. Gracias. No snowshoes needed on the way in and mild mashed potatoes on the way out. Very small slide near the cliffs obviously caused by rockfall. All seemed cohesive to me. Good coverage in the couloir and surrounding area. Patchy lower. Pretty thick drift blocks the way to upper TH, but I'll bet it gets punched through in a week. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/3/2025, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Pretty good conditions in the couloir; still a good amount of snow coverage but warming fast. We put in a nice booter right up the middle. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/29/2025, By: Jcinco
Info: Pics attached showing coverage here and surrounding peaks. I also found an item here that is not the radio in the 4/26 conditions update. PM me. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/26/2025, By: Rampaging Baloths
Info: Start at 345 AM from the winter lot. Not plowed at this time. Got lost in the woods on the way up somehow but found our way out. Couloir had a mixed bag of conditions. Bottom was punchy, middle was great. Top was a stable but quickly deteriorating wind slab. So be aware, especially with a looking cornice. Snow started to transition at 8 AM and was getting a little sloppy. Also there was evidence of a wet slide sometime during the week that destroyed the most recent booter. My partner and I put a new one in. You’re welcome! I walked off the ridge and got back to car in 7 hrs 45 min. Was harder physically than I was expecting but I did it. NOTE: I lost a beofeng radio at the base of the couloir or around the lake. It’s got some sentimental value. My partner looked on his ski down and couldn’t find it. If you have it or find please pm me. I’ll also make a list and found thread on the 14ers. Boudoir is in though. Go get it! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/12/2025, By: notidealbutfine
Info: Started at the Fourmile Creek Winter Trailhead. Lots of folks climbing Sherman today. Skinned to the saddle at ~13,000' then switched to AT boots and spikes for the summit push. There was barely enough snow coverage to ski a continuous line from the summit along the east slopes, but it is possible if you choose your line correctly. Another party was finishing climbing up the couloir as I was descending; it also looked quite good. Decent snow conditions as I was descending at 11:00AM (maybe a little sloppy down low). 10.21 miles / 3,209' gain / 4 hours, 35 minutes 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/13/2025, By: madmattd
Info: Boudoir was a great climb Saturday morning for our party of 3. 4:30am start from the winter closure - 99% snow-covered in the first 2 miles, some of it a couple feet deep, a few short bare spots that can't be bypassed on snow around the fork to Horseshoe, all easily booted with an overnight freeze. Snow-covered from a few feet past the road split to the base of Boudoir, with ski and snowshoe tracks going a few different directions that all get the job done - we used snowshoes here too. Swapped to crampons/axes at the base of the couloir and enjoyed a pretty good booter left by the Friday skiers - we (first up today) expanded upon and solidified the booter, and several others came up later so it should be a super-highway now. Started up at ~7:30, topped out just before 9 - conditions were great for the climb - supportive with a few hard-packed spots (chopped some steps here and there for ease of those later). Plenty of snow through the choke for skiing. We took roughly the East Slopes down (swung more towards Peerless and cut a few of those switchbacks on low-angle snow slopes) - boots worked best down to the saddle but it was snowshoe-able most of the way too but probably too many rocky spots to skin/ski. Continuous snow from the saddle back to the cars, and softening fast in the late morning sun - we "enjoyed" a few snowshoe postholes in the lower 2.5mi of the various roads around noon. The folks postholing to their knee with literally every step (in just boots) shortly below Leavick did not seem to be enjoying their life decisions - it's still deep in many places on the road! I spoke with a skier as we were leaving that booted up and skied down Boudoir (probably the party we saw starting up behind us) - he reported they waited until ~11 for things to soften before dropping, but that it never fully did. He reported a decent but not amazing ski descent, and of course down low was rather slushy on the way out. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/11/2025, By: bigfoot1
Info: DO NOT DRIVE PAST THE "DO NOT DRIVE PAST THESE SIGNS" SIGN! Saw a Subaru abandoned on the road maybe a half mile past the signs. ================================= Another beautiful day! Variable conditions, snow is all wet and heavy. Didn't sink through much at noon and could bareboot the road, but couldn't on my return around 1600. Spent most of the day taking snowshoes on and off, and dropped them for good on the ridge between Horseshoe and Peerless. 97% dry up to Horseshoe. Decided not to hit Finnback because ridge was snowy enough to maybe need showshoes. Saw 2 other skiers at the summit who were descending via Boudoir couloir and I signed a paper in a pipe. Hit Peerless on the way back down, no snowshoes needed. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/9/2025, By: 14er101
Info: Parked at winter trailhead No traction or flotation needed 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 12/7/2024, By: MaryinColorado
Info: Post-holing begins as soon as you turn off Fourmile Creek Rd. Snowshoes are a must. (Or, if you misjudge - guilty! - you posthole without snowshoes and regret every minute of it.) Prior to that, Fourmile is compacted enough-ish that it's doable without snowshoes. My theory (based on knowledge and visual of the peak) was that the road you follow up would be essentially windswept. It was, in a way... I mean, technically, all the snow was windswept ....... onto the road ..... in large drifts. In fact, there is a rather significant, steep drift barricading several of the upper switchbacks. We had to get creative about the route in order to stay in safe zones. So if you're wondering if the official route is doable, the answer is "not safely". But also know that there is much snow to contend with. From saddle to summit, though? Piece of cake. And we booped Peerless for extra credit. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/28/2024, By: backcountrybrodes
Info: See Mt. Sherman update from this day. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 6/15/2024, By: DanielL
Info: Ascended the Boudoir Couloir this morning with the intention of skiing it. The lower apron is now too thin to ski (IMO) and also due to rapid warming and punchy conditions (got there later than hoped!!), we ended up descending the very pleasant SE Face. This is a good and lower angle line that currently holds continuous snow from summit to ~12k, though a slightly longer hike out is necessary to rejoin the standard route. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/30/2024, By: jeffh7
Info: Went up the east slopes in trail runners, skied down the boudoir couloir. Not much postholing on the ascent and we didn't use spikes. Descent had continuous snow all the way back to the parking lot, we didn't have to take our skis off or put on skins (although pushed a little bit at a few parts). Started our descent at about 9:15 and had pretty perfect conditions. Corn in the couloir and firm snow on the flat parts for the ski out. Still good coverage in the couloir, but watch out for some small rocks/debris starting to poke out when descending skiers left. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/30/2024, By: Ericsheffey
Info: Horseshoe Mountain, 13,918' // 05.30.2024 Ascent via Boudoir Couloir Ski/board descent via SE Slopes Great morning on Horseshoe today as we climbed the Boudoir Couloir and skied the SE Slopes. The road is clear to the parking at 11,600', and the snow coverage is still great on route. The couloir is still really filled in, and the cornice up top doesn't impede passage at all. There's a great booter in place too. As for the SE Slopes, you can ski right off the summit and down the SE slopes all the way back to treeline and the road to get back out to the main road. There are patches of dry road that you will have to hike, but some of it is skinnable to get back to the parking area. We had great climbing conditions on the way up, and corn on the way down. Go climb this Centennial while it's in great shape! 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/6/2024, By: gluckhikes
Info: Great, isothermic snow conditions for climbing. Our CMC Alpine Climbing School team started at 4am, no snowshoes needed for the approach after a good overnight freeze. We built a solid bootpack up the line. The large cornice visible from the base is easily avoidable at the top of the couloir. Summited around 8:30 and followed the north ridge down and back to where we had stashed our snowshoes. Wore them out in the afternoon sun without any postholing. Back to the car by 11:30. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/21/2024, By: 14er101
Info: Good climbing conditions today. Recent storm blew a fair amount of snow into the couloir but it felt stable and was great for kickstepping. I highly appreciated axe and crampons. About 8 people out there today. Did see 1 loose wet and some rockfall from the cliffs in the cirque around noon. Parked at the Leavick site but 4wd or good clearance had no problem getting to 11600.