Pennsylvania Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/20/2021, By: Carl_Healy
Info: A quick hike up Pennsylvania with 4 others from here on the dot com. Really only needed floatation through the trees and maybe a little bit after. After reaching the false summit to the south with the big cairn (and before that) there was snow in places that was pretty firm but overall it was all pretty thin. Didn't use traction. Stash your snow shoes where it looks like you won't need them anymore. We carried them further than needed thinking there was going to be deeper snow at or after the false summit but that wasn't the case. Road to trailhead plowed all the way and snow packed. This could all change with new snow tonight and the next couple of days. 

Route: CR 1 TH
Posted On: 12/5/2020, By: mtngoatwithstyle
Info: Very quiet day on Pennsylvania. There is snow on on some sections and dry dirt and rocks on other until you reach 12,800 and you cross the ridge to summit, where there is more snow than usual. All sorts of snow encountered, crappy sugar, breakable crust and supportive snow.I used snowshoes but had to keep taking them off and putting them on the way to the summit. On the way down I transitioned into microspikes but put the snowshoes back on in a couple of spots. Photos are of nearby peaks, Kuss, AdamsB & London for reference. 

Route: Pennsylvania Mountain TH
Posted On: 10/2/2020, By: angry
Info: Dry to summit, no register. 

Route: SW Ridge
Posted On: 9/14/2020, By: joyfulwriter
Info: Used the TH at the end of Mountain View Dr. Trail to false summit was muddy, some snow, but very passable with no traction. Made a loop across the basin and up to the real summit, then back across the ridge to the false summit and down. Access to the real summit was snow-covered both ways, some areas knee deep; others hard packed. No traction needed. We were the only ones who continued on past the false summit on Saturday. Beautiful views, a bit windy. 

Route: Pika TH
Posted On: 5/22/2020, By: Sbenfield
Info: A couple small snowfields, easily negotiable w/o any extra equipment. Short and sweet 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 5/3/2020, By: Chelsea
Info: No one else on the mountain today except for one guy + dogs near the trailhead. Snow is melting FAST! Snow remains below treeline and on the slopes up to the false summit. Good bootpack through most of the snow. Snow firm in the morning, softening as we headed out. If you stay on the bootpack, postholing is minimal. Started 5:30am, summit 7:45am, back to car 9:45am. Didn't use spikes or snowshoes. Perfect weather conditions, even saw an inversion for the first time! Watched a herd of bighorn sheep for a while and took time to explore the cliffs on the west side of the summit as well as the mine ruins. Really beautiful area. Photos 1-8: along the route Photo 9: looking towards Buffalo Peaks Photo 10: Sherman & friends Photo 11: Mosquito Gulch Photo 12: Silverheels 5.47 miles, 1,606' 

Route: From the Pennsylvania TH
Posted On: 4/30/2020, By: Jay521
Info: No problems getting to the standard TH and no problems going to the summit. If you get an early enough start, snowshoes probably won't be needed but watch out if you are coming down later in the day - ask me how I know... 

Route: SE slopes
Posted On: 4/28/2020, By: eskermo
Info: Flotation or a hard freeze/early start will make life easier. Discontinuous snow on the main trail, but ways exist to patch together a ski/board descent right off the summit as of 4/26. Didn't go very low before putting on skins and climbing back to the main, lower trail. Sweet and short summit! 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 4/5/2020, By: ryannadire
Info: The locals use the trailhead for a snowshoe loop so it's pretty easy to follow a path to a clearing with great views of the rest of the route. There's a false summit at the top of the ridge with a large cairn and a summit register but the true summit is further north. Picture 1: Emerging from the woods and looking up at the ridge leading to the false summit. Picture 2: Looking back toward the trailhead. Picture 3: On the first major bump of the ridge looking toward the false summit. Picture 4: At the false summit looking at the true summit. Picture 5: At the summit. 

Route: East slopes from Mtn view Drive
Posted On: 2/13/2020, By: Ptglhs
Info: Didn't summit. Deep snow below treeline. Even with shoes on and trying to follow a ski track I was going in a couple of feet. There's a trench to ~12k which is where I turned back. Wind polished slabs up there with no post holing, though I still had flotation on. Winds were brutal and visibility was poor which is why I turned around. 

Route: East slopes from Mtn view Drive
Posted On: 1/5/2020, By: Ptglhs
Info: There's a boot pack but still some postholing for the 1st half mile to treeline. After that the snow is very firm, or you're on talus or tundra. Snow shoes might be useful but I didn't bring any. Road plowed all the way to summer TH. 

Route: Southeast Slopes
Posted On: 12/9/2019, By: Chicago Transplant
Info: Started from the Pika Trailhead (see TH status update). This is a quick relatively easy route any time of year, but may have some wallowing in winter. About 5.5 miles RT and 1500+ vertical (some ups and downs). Below treeline the trail was snow covered and needed snowshoes. Some postholing and was the slowest travel of the day. A few large cairns near treeline, from there the route is fairly obvious up the ridge. Above treeline the route is windscoured once out of the willows and snowshoes were no longer needed. Mostly walking on grass with some talus. The ridge goes over a false summit with a large cairn, the true summit is north of this across a windy flat and past a mining prospect. On the way back down I avoided the reclimb and contoured left of the false. First image is breaking out of treeline looking up the ridge at the false. Second is the false from the true, sorry no pic of true from false - too windy and I just wanted to keep moving. 

Route: East Slopes, West Ridge
Posted On: 10/4/2019, By: supranihilest
Info: There's a trail from the Pennsylvania Mountain Trailhead but it splits shortly after the parking area; take the left branch. If you're on the Pika Trail that's the wrong trail and it dies out in willows, leaving you to willow bash your way up the mountain. If you find the right trail the ascent becomes very easy. The descent to Mount Evans B is also easy; the ridge looks pretty gnarly from afar but it becomes very obvious how easy it is when you view the south side of the ridge. It's got a trail the entire way down. If you go up Mount Evans B DO NOT take the obliging looking shelf on the south side of Pennsylvania Mountain. It looks great and is actually steep talus field after steep talus field. It's tedious and time consuming and you have to regain a ton of elevation anyway, so just go back over Pennsylvania Mountain, it's far easier. 

Route: Pika Trailhead
Posted On: 6/2/2019, By: nedryarson
Info: Plenty of snow to skin from car/trailhead at 11,500 to summit. Started at 6:45am and nice firm conditions to skin. Sun had softened snow perfectly for descent at 9:30. Hard to find an easier 13er to ski considering the mellow slope and high elevation trailhead. 

Route: via Pika Trailhead
Posted On: 5/4/2019, By: Chelsea
Info: Road in to the Pika Trailhead is mostly dry. The top section of the road was muddy coming out this afternoon, glad to have AWD. There was only room for 2 cars at the trailhead, but we were the only ones there today. Unfortunately we were unable to summit but used snowshoes all the way to 12,250'. I'd assume snowshoes would be required the entire way up. Snow pretty hard in the morning but much softer around 1pm. No other tracks coming from the Pika Trailhead at all, doesn't seem like a very popular route. No avalanche danger, gorgeous views, great day even though we didn't summit.