Horseshoe Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/1/2023, By: tefensmom
Info: Snowed at least two inches overnight. Tagged horseshoe and then peerless, bailed on sheridan because clouds were looking suspect but conditions look dry to ascend it. Looped the route by connecting mining roads back to the main road and to the car. Used trail runners and ice axe. No traction. Postholed a lot. Snowshoes not a bad idea to try to avoid wet feet- I dont mind wet feet this time of year. Boudoir looks to still be in, with some slide evidence. Will add some photos. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/17/2023, By: macg91
Info: Approach is melting out but was still able to put on skis shortly after the TH and link up mostly continuous snowfields to the apron. There's some avy debris about halfway up the couloir but it didnt interfere much with climbing or skiing. A solid freeze followed by a sunny morning produced good ski conditions, descended off the summit at 10am. The exit was more onerous and involved a mix of skiing/skinning/booting. I expect the approach will continue to deteriorate but the couloir itself is in good condition. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/7/2023, By: 14er101
Info: Echoing previous reports Road dy and accessible all the way up to the Horseshoe turnoff Good conditions in the couloir, full coverage, a few sections of hard pack, but an excellent boot pack all the way up. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/6/2023, By: ekalina
Info: My climbing partner Dan and I hit Boudoir this morning. The couloir itself is full coverage and snow conditions are quite good for axe and crampons. We kicked steps mostly with ease, though there are occasional brief sections of very hard snow alternating with soft, dry snow mixed in with the Goldilocks stuff. With some more melt freezes, consistency should increase. We saw some old wet slide debris below the steep cliffs in the horseshoe that probably ran on some of the warmer days last week, but otherwise no immediate signs of instability. Any cornice is well off to climber's right of the top out point. For the time being, you can drive all the way to the 4WD turnoff for Boudoir without encountering any snow. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/30/2023, By: SarahSF
Info: Did anyone lose something at the peak of Horseshoe Mountain today? We have it with us. Just reply with what you lost and we'll sort out how to get it back to you. Things warmed up a bit since the last trip report. We hit the summit around 11am and the ski down was softer then described. There was a bit of a breakable crust at times. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/30/2023, By: spoony
Info: Climbed and skied the Boudoir today. Skinned from the parking area into the basin below Horseshoe. The recent snows have left great coverage down low, but I dont know how long it will last with warm temps. Booted the couloir with crampons and axe. The couloir was also pretty caked and I skied easily from summit back down to the car but the new snow had not corned up yet so there was definitely some post holing.Thanks to whomever was in front of me for the booter! Skiing was marginal with some wind crust, some recycled powder, and some firm chalk. Another warm two or three warm days should help consolidate the snow. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/21/2023, By: 14er101
Info: Disclaimer: Given the lineup of storms, this likely won't last long. Good conditions today. Thanks to the cold the Couiloir stayed firm and in good shape the entire day. The lower 2/3 was mostly hardpack and the top 1/3 was consolidated and perfect for kicking steps. Definitely want crampons and some kind of axe. (Pics below have human for scale) 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/16/2023, By: 14ercooper
Info: Fantastic day for a snow climb. Did get a bit of a late start, which means I hit the snow starting to soften up around 10 or 10:30 at the base of the couloir. Otherwise, was in great shape. Find a good overnight freeze and go get 'em. Fair bit of windblown snow, so crampons and a mountain axe are a super good idea (and I'd say they're required right now). Super solid snowpack all the way up. There is a bit of a cornice hovering ominously off the ridge, but staying climber's left up the couloir I never had to deal with it and didn't feel I was in the fall path. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/9/2023, By: 14er101
Info: Started 10am on 4/8, summit camped, descended after sunrise 4/9 Overall great weather, definitely starting to feel like spring! Snowshoes could've helped but were not needed. Sherman appeared to have been quite busy and well-tracked on both days. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/11/2023, By: bryanpeck3
Info: Carried but skipped using snowshoes in the woods in just firm enough snowdrifts. Ditched snowshoes above treeline and mostly stayed on rocks. 10.5 miles for Horseshoe and Peerless after parking a mile from Leavick with all other vehicles. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/26/2022, By: EndWillows
Info: About as easy as it gets. Did the traverse from Sheridan over to Peerless then Horseshoe. Bushwhacked from Horseshoe to where I parked at Fourmile. Didn't exceed easy class 2 all hike. Kid friendly for sure. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/12/2022, By: mnk219
Info: Pretty clear! Submitted Sherman and traversed across to Weston (Sherman - Sheridan - Peerless - Horseshoe - Ptarmigan - Weston) and back down to the Fourmile trailhead on the path north of Horseshoe. There was a short patch of snow on the climb up to the saddle between Sherman and Sheridan, but no traction was needed. Otherwise snowfields were avoidable on this stretch. 

Route: Weston Pass
Posted On: 6/5/2022, By: kwhit24
Info: Hiked Weston Pass group today. Overwhelming majority of the route is snow free or the snow can be avoided. There are some snow patches to cross under the Finnback Know/Horseshoe saddle but snow was firm and rock hopped the rest. There is shallow snow going up and down Horseshoe and also some coming off Ptarmigan and between Ptarmigan/Weston Ridge was pretty windy today and working around snow forced into some rock fields but it was manageable. Amazing views of the Sawatch. Probably the best I've ever had. Saw one person while coming off Weston and a couple people on Sheridan towards the beginning. Only saw 10 or so vehicles on Weston Pass road. I easily made it to the 4wd road with my Ford Edge and could've made it all the way to the Pass if I wanted to Started at 7:30am. Finnback Knob 9:15am. Horseshoe Mtn A 9:50am. Ptarmigan 11:00am. Weston Peak 11:45am. Car by 1:30pm 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/28/2022, By: Ssgustafson
Info: Quite a bit of snow in the brief section of forest, including one very large drift that you can go over or circumnavigate. Snow was firm on ascent (left at 6AM), but was getting mushy when I finished at about 845AM. Picked up a little wind around the saddle, but it dissipated quickly. Overall a really nice day! 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/14/2022, By: Carl_Healy
Info: Started at trailhead at 04:00, reached base of Boudoir Couloir around 05:30, summit just before 7:00, back at trailhead around 8:30. Excellent conditions, at least for being that early. My partner had been in the Sawatch last weekend and stated that snow today in Boudoir was way firmer today. Brought our snowshoes but stashed them at base of couloir. Never but them on on the way to the couloir or on the way back. Some snowfields on the road but never postholed (ok maybe once or twice near the trailhead on the way back) But again we started way early... Certainly could have turned into a posthole nightmare if we just waited an hour as there was certainly evidence of that for previous days.