Half Peak

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2025, By: andy_schlichting
Info: Trail is in great condition to the summit. Any snow you encounter is a non-issue. The gully right before the summit is quite loose, but the class 3/4 climb (difficulty depends on what line you choose) is solid. And if you stick to either side of the gully, it can also be solid. The 2nd and 3rd water crossings on the lower trail have no options except fording the river...unless you do like I did on the way up and miss the turn. There is a social trail from where the 2nd crossing is that looks like the trail for about half the distance to the 3rd crossing. I did have to crawl through a short section of that on my ascent in the dark, but at least I stayed dry. One of my favorite mountains. Stunning and unique and Cataract Gulch might be the prettiest hike I've done in CO--non-stop waterfalls the first three miles. Also tried for Quarter Peak. I did not realize the ridge doesn't connect and you need to drop down about 1,000 feet and hike around to the other side. 

Route: South Ridge via Cataract Gulch
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: backcountrybrodes
Info: Climbed Half yesterday on a bluebird day. Lots of snow starting at 10.5k, 4 river crossings were tricky that I counted and I definitely had to do some Fierljeppen (stick a pole and vault) to avoid getting drenched - which I did anyways at the end. Overall a beautiful day out with 360 degrees of views. Took me roughly 5:00 up and 4:45 down with post holing for the last 3 hours which was rough. Snowshoes and poles were essential for me! I’d guess they’re needed until mid June at least. 

Route: South via Cataract Gulch
Posted On: 8/11/2024, By: coopergould
Info: Had a great morning on Half today despite the forecast - was glad I got going early because the rain came promptly at 10am on the deproach A few items worth mentioning: approximately mile 1 to mile 2.75 were surprisingly overgrown and I got absolutely soaked brushing up against wet vegetation after the rain last night. Maybe a non issue after a couple days without moisture and/or in the fall. Additionally, the relatively flat tundra stretch leading up to the CT held many marshy sections - my feet were already soaked from the first couple miles but this section certainly further added to it The upper mountain (after departing the CT) is a phenomenal experience - the scrambly section can be easily kept at class 2 with tons of great class 3 lines if desired. Cant emphasize enough how fun that section is and how incredible the views are the entire hike. This one has been on my list for years and Im so glad I finally made time for - its phenomenal and extremely unique 

Route: South via Cataract Gulch
Posted On: 7/29/2024, By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: Summer conditions. Follow the trail as it winds through the gulch to avoid willows and angle up the drainage to reach the ridge to Half. Gaia clocked 15.4mi and 4600' gain. Hourglass was some fun scrambling, 2+ I'd say due to some high consequence if you're not paying attention. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/19/2024, By: AsTheDuke
Info: Conditions for Half Peak and Quarter Peak. Close to summer conditions along Cataract Gulch Trail and the CT with only a few easy snowfield crossings. One mandatory stream crossing to ford along the Cataract Gulch Trail. The other stream crossings along the Cataract Gulch Trail can be avoided (above the waterfall, you can take the social trail along the westside of the creek to avoid two stream crossings, and another stream crossing can be avoided using the snow bridge). South Slopes and ridge traverse to Half Peak are dry. Traverse from Half to Quarter (outlined by climb13ers) is mostly dry, but once you get to the bowl below Quarter Peak, I had to drop lower than I wanted to avoid steep snowfields. Once at the base of the false summit north of Quarter, there's a steep snowfield blocking the route (northwest of the false summit). To avoid this, I had to drop about 200 ft to the west on loose talus slopes and ascend from the northwest to bypass this snowfield and the false summit. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 5/24/2024, By: merrion13
Info: Attempted Half Peak this morning from Cataract Gulch. Road in great shape, 2WD fine to the TH. First mile of trail completely dry, then intermittent but increasing snow on the trail, and unfortunately a lack of a solid freeze overnight meant soft snow even at 5:45am. Several of the creek crossings required substantial detours and bushwacking to find an alternate crossing. Between the creek detours and post-holing, we were slowed a lot so had to call it at Cataract Lake. If you're attempting in the next week, likely would be easier with an overnight freeze or wait a couple weeks for a lot more thawing. 

Route: Standard from Cataract Gulch
Posted On: 10/21/2023, By: cloudkicker
Info: Posting this from the summit. Dry all the way to summit but some snow was nearby and on some of the neighboring peaks (north facing routes). No summit register to be found. 

Route: South Ridge from Cataract Gulch TH
Posted On: 9/5/2023, By: Ssgustafson
Info: This scenic route measures approx 15.5 miles RT (versus the 12.6 miles indicated by Roach). 

Route: South slopes
Posted On: 7/4/2023, By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Packed in from cataract lake then headed up the CDT to take the most gradual line up. Completely dry. No need for traction. Nice gentle tundra slopes until some neat exposed almost catwalk sections. Really enjoyable! If you are considering tacking on Quarter from Half, please read the conditions update for Quarter as it was a total slog! 

Route: Standard
Posted On: 6/30/2023, By: gcook33
Info: Havent seen any updates on this route this year so figured I would post one. A couple snowfields along the route, but inconsequential. Stream crossing at 2.5mi is pretty brutal, I got over dry with my long legs on the way up but the left leg took a bath coming back. Great trail and fun route. 15.2 mi and 4800 

Route: West Slopes Via Cuba Gulch
Posted On: 7/3/2022, By: Doomhammer
Info: Summer Conditions, trail pretty faint but easy to follow to treeline, willows can be mostly avoided by staying to the right and going up to the ridge and joining the CDT. Went around the willows on the way down but ended up too high and had to do a steep bushwhack back down to the trail. Class 1 the majority of the way with a couple class 2 moves on the summit ridge with some decent exposure, Great views from the summit. 

Route: south slopes
Posted On: 6/16/2022, By: zootloopz
Info: Big day in combination with the Pole Creeks. ~25 miles / 8.5k gain. Summer conditions. Although expect to get your feet wet. Also, willows are the worst on sunburned legs. W/ vertical_volume 

Route: via Cataract Gulch
Posted On: 5/31/2022, By: LetsGoMets
Info: Almost completely bone dry, basically summer conditions. Few inconsequential snow spots in the upper basin. Actually put on spikes to cross a frozen tree over the creek before the sun came up. Ridge crux section is clear and dry. Excellent trail all the way to the Colorado Trail, and excellent from there until you start up the South Slopes of Half. Smooth all the way basically, zero talus up high. Great peak, ridge section is fantastic. Mileage was 15.5ish, time was 7 hours or so. Saw nobody all day. 

Route: Via Cuba Gulch
Posted On: 5/28/2022, By: Reg0928
Info: Looped Pt 13003 (Pt 12990 pre lidar), Pt 13164, and Half Pk from Cuba Gulch. Wet and muddy, especially in the willows, but never really dealt with any snow. Crossed a couple really short fields high in the basin with no traction or postholing. As close to summer conditions as you'll get without it being totally dry 

Route: Cataract Gulch to South Ridge
Posted On: 1/15/2022, By: Geckser
Info: Pretty good conditions on Half Peak. The snow was generally supportive throughout the whole trip. We travelled on skis to 12,600 on the CDT at which point we summited with trail runners. Clear skis, warm weather, truly a beautiful day. The track that we set up will probably be somewhat supportive. Large swaths in the Basin will likely be filled in with snow. I could not find a single winter trip report for Half so I will probably write one up in the coming week. Overall very fun trip! The conditions will likely not get much better than this in the winter so get while the gettings good. Also got to meet the legendary Dad Mike, needless to say I was honored