Horseshoe Mountain

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! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/23/2021, By: rosey33
Info: Patchy snow on the drive in but manageable. Can drive to the turn off for horseshoe. Was hoping to climb boudoir couloir but the snow was unsupportive and very wet early in the morning. Couloir looks thin but climbable with a good refreeze. Made the decision around 12k to take standard route after post holing waist deep multiple times. Walked up to the summit with no trouble then continued on to Sheridan. Was a good day even with the wind. rt 8.5 miles 4 hours 54 minutes 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/11/2021, By: merrion13
Info: Planned to ascend and then ski Boudoir. Very thin coverage in Boudoir, and despite the sun and warmer temps, the high winds just wouldn't soften the snow. Ended up chattering down the East Slopes, really needs more snow to make this an enjoyable ski as it was very patchy. Good news is the road is almost 100% snow from the Leavick mine, so the skin in was easy. East slopes had a lot of spotty coverage and required frequent transitions between patches of snow. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/1/2021, By: kalestew
Info: Same conditions as reported in January- extra 4 miles from the winter closure brings the total distance to just under an 11 mile round trip up the East Slopes. There are two sections along Horseshoe Gulch that are unavoidably deep (you'll post-hole for 20 or so feet along the road), but I didn't find traction or flotation necessary. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 1/12/2021, By: colin j
Info: Flotation not necessary; spikes may be helpful though poles are really all that's needed. Horseshoe Gulch is about 50/50 dry and consolidated snow. From the Horseshoe-Peerless saddle the ridge is wind-scoured. Clear but windy today. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/28/2020, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Road is packed down to Horseshoe turn-off. Snow from there to treeline; mostly tracked out on the way down, but still a few short stretches where it's possible to posthole up to your knees. Not necessarily worth the added weight of snowshoes yet, however. Snow is then largely avoidable up to Horseshoe-Peerless saddle with some slab/punch crusting below Peerless, completely avoidable up to Horseshoe summit as well as Peerless' as long as you stay on the west side of its ridge. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/19/2020, By: capetrekker
Info: Great conditions all the way to the summit. Light snow cover on parts of the trail. Could change this weekend with the snow rolling in. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/13/2020, By: smartt
Info: Horseshoe to finnback knob to peerless to Sheridan today. Just sharing the current conditions that will be changing over the weekend as I'm sure many of you have noticed. Took snowshoes but didn't need them. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/1/2020, By: cougar
Info: Similar to previous report for Sherman. Snow was just patchy, dry lines abound. Didn't need traction. Much windier on ridge and top than forecasted. Peerless and south facing aspects have more snow but still not much. Maze of unsigned roads and junctions in area, most seem lead up to the same place. Take the first left on 603 to avoid private cabins. Plenty of tire tracks so drivable with snow tires, saw light suvs and pickup at a cabin half mile up. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/21/2020, By: Sglm14
Info: Very little patch of snow on the trail towards the summit. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/16/2020, By: Scott Conro
Info: (Also Peerless and Finnback Knob) Some snow on route, but inconsequential when unavoidable. 

Route: From Gold Basin (West slopes)
Posted On: 8/31/2020, By: CaptainSuburbia
Info: Rough 4WD road to trailhead from Weston Pass road. Parked about .5 miles up. Didn't want to risk it anymore in my Ram 1500. Walked last half mile or so. Nice double track from there through trees, then steep to Horseshoe summit. Grassy at first then talus starting half way up. Easy trail to Peerless. Finnback from Horseshoe was steep talus to start then a mix to saddle. Short, rocky climb to summit. Mostly grassy descent back to lower slopes of Horseshoe and single track. Had the beautiful Gold Basin to ourselves. Saw a couple climbers on Horseshoe summit and a truck on the Peerless saddle. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/9/2020, By: wintersage
Info: Did the Sherman Grand Slam starting at 4am. Summitted Sherman, Gemini Pk, Dyer, Sheridan, Peerless, and finally Horseshoe all in a day's work. Summer conditions abound in all peaks, starting early helps you avoid the Sherman crowd. Overall took us 10 hours to complete with long breaks at the summits. The way back from Horseshoe needs some extra care as you can accidentally take one switchback too many and end up going down the wrong road. Make sure to stick to the road going eastwards (as provided in the route description on this site). 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/2/2020, By: tcphoto87
Info: I started just after 7am and summited Horseshoe at 8:20 with a couple stops for photos along the way, my watch clocked it in around 2.91 miles. I also followed some of what I'm assuming are old mining roads that were steeper to bypass a few of the switchbacks. I parked at the 11,850ft-parking area but I probably could've driven at least to the lake and probably further. There was a car parked up right at the saddle at 13,200. Summer conditions, super steady all the way up. Theres an old mining building thats mostly standing on the opposite side of the summit I nearly missed and didn't see when I was up there at first. Took the switchbacks on the way down, total mileage back to the car was 7.5ish. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/24/2020, By: bangerth
Info: Summer conditions all the way up, no problem at all. Beautiful mountain -- nearly peerless among its neighbors.