5/14/2022 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. |
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5/10/2022 Route: Boudoir Couloir Posted On: 5/10/2022, By: constipated_pete Info: Adding another report saying Boudoir is in and a lot of fun right now. There was a good freeze last night and when we skied down at 10:30 the area around the choke was still firm, but the apron was nice corn. |
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5/8/2022 Route: Boudoir Couloir Posted On: 5/8/2022, By: swilson753 Info: Ascended Boudoir, descended East Slopes with borderline snow conditions. Started at 4:55 am, which was about an hour too late. There was no freeze the previous night and we were postholing starting about a third of a mile in. Ascended the couloir at 8 and topped out at 9:15. Snow was rapidly softening as we climbed. A large group ahead of us was kind enough to kick steps, which made the ascent much easier. Hiking back down the road at 10am was posthole hell - start earlier or bring floatation. There was abundant evidence of recent slides in the cirque, but the couloir itself was clear. Lots of roller balls from the group above us as well as general melt off. Couloir was well sheltered from the wind today. It's a great climb - just don't make the mistakes we did (late start after a warm night, stubborn refusal to wear snowshoes). |
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5/7/2022 Route: Boudoir Couloir Posted On: 5/8/2022, By: kyrawhitworth Info: Couloir filled in and great snow conditions. Soft and sticky but not yet slushy which great for both the ascent and descent. Crampons and axe headed up and I glissaded down most of it while others skied. Post holed pretty deep for about an hour on the way back wishing I had skies. Road completely clear. |
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5/7/2022 Route: Boudoir Couloir Posted On: 5/7/2022, By: climbnowworklater Info: Great conditions! Snow was perfect. Climbing was pleasant and skiing was soft. Completely filled in and should be for a few weeks. Get it now. Thanks to cloudkicker and his crew for letting me join up last minute. |
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3/12/2022 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 3/12/2022, By: halfapackofapache Info: Sun was in and out of the clouds today. Wind was pretty brutal on the summit ridge and summit. Trail is packed pretty well tell you split off at 11.6k. From there to tree line there were a few soft spots that I would sink up to my knees or so. I decided not to bring snowshoes with me and paid the price here. Could have been useful to have them. Tree line to summit was a mix of rocks and shallow snow. I brought my snowboard with me and rode some mellow terrain from 13.2k down to the car. Had to unclip 2 times and walk a bit to avoid large bare spots above tree line. The coverage wasn't very good. |
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2/27/2022 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 2/27/2022, By: gluckhikes Info: Spikes all day but no snowshoes needed. The road is well traveled and packed, and the snow above treeline is intermittent and windblown. Not much use trying to follow the old mining road, just head directly up toward the saddle with Peerless. The ridge to Peerless is corniced but dry on the west side. Mostly dry until the summit of Horseshoe. Only the trail seems to hold snow. I then dropped NW to grab Finnback also, finding more avoidable cornices and some steep talus but nothing major. |
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2/19/2022 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 2/19/2022, By: Geckser Info: Had a quick jaunt up Horseshoe with Arthurspiderman. Was about 9.5 miles with 3,100 feet of gain from trailhead and took us about 3:20 hours. Conditions on road were perfect for hiking, hard packed but inconsistent with some dry spots. There were a lot of dry rock ribs to take to the ridge, easy and pleasant. The ridge was nice albeit windy with gusts up to 55. Luckily it was an otherwise warm and sunny day so it was still trivial. Looking at Sherman you should need neither flotation nor traction. Looks like the snow is too inconsistent for even a passable ski, much more trouble than it is worth |
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11/7/2021 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 11/8/2021, By: mvandergrift Info: Trailhead is easily accessible until the turnoff for Horseshoe. After that, there's enough snow that you'll want AWD/4WD for that last half mile. Nothing too challenging, just a little slick. I parked at 39.198462, -106.157871. The owner of the home down Silver Horseshoe Dr has put out No Trespassing signs around their driveway entrance, but there is plenty of room for a couple of cars to park past that area. The road beyond this is clear enough for another half mile for someone with good snow tires to make it, but I don't think it's worth it. The trail up Horseshoe is in fun winter-like conditions. Plenty of snow, but nothing beyond ankle-deep. There's still rock to walk along the side of the road for most of the trip. You could get by with trail runners, but hiking boots were ideal. Some small sections are getting slippery from the freeze-thaw cycle, but I didn't need traction or poles. A very fast trip with decent elevation gain. Just watch out for the wind this week! |
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8/24/2021 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 8/24/2021, By: PikaSteve Info: As expected, gentle class 1 route: jeep road to saddle then trail to summit. As forecast, very strong wind at saddle, but unexpected calm at summit. Only two other groups on mountain. Bluebird day with no smoke. Plenty of solitude and great views. Clear visibility from Mt Powell to Humboldt Peak and from Snowmass Mountain to Pikes Peak. |
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6/15/2021 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/15/2021, By: brauda02 Info: A few snowfields on the road. Ridge is dry. No traction needed. |
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6/10/2021 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/11/2021, By: Kcmartinez22 Info: Parked my jeep at the snow drift blocking the 4WD road to Horseshoe (about 1/2 mile up once turning left). I bypassed all the switchbacks and stayed on dry ground all the way to the snow field just below the Peerless/Horseshoe saddle. Walked right over it in approach shoes and enjoyed a completely dry ridge (barring one very minor snow field) all the way to the summit. The ridge to Peerless is free of snow. No traction necessary. |
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6/7/2021 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/8/2021, By: CoHi591 Info: Road is blocked by snow right at the turn off for Horseshoe, room for 3-4 cars right there. There are some snow drifts on the road and a few snowfields heading up to the summit, nothing crazy but I would definitely throw spikes on to make it much easier. Went over to Peerless and Sheridan, didn't touch snow en route. |
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6/4/2021 Route: Boudoir Couloir Posted On: 6/7/2021, By: Wallowa Info: Skied the couloir at ~730AM. Conditions were ideal. Not a lot of skiing below the couloir (surprisingly little snow in the basin). Skied to the lower small lake in the drainage and then exited on foot. |
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5/29/2021 Route: Boudoir Couloir Posted On: 5/31/2021, By: joemcglinchy Info: Boudoir is in and fully covered. Got to it at 645am, and thought it would have been more firm had we started earlier. Halfway up some natural rockfall, some fist sized rocks and ice chunks, coming down across the climb path from climbers right. Others we saw later on that day didn't have that experience, so have fun and be aware! |
