5/3/2025 Route: Via Williams Creek Posted On: 5/5/2025, By: TakeMeToYourSummit Info: *Disclaimer: No FKTs were threatened in the hiking of this peak or making of this CR* As of this weekend (I left on 5-4-25) the Williams Creek Campground (& facilities) are still closed. Enough snow to skin didn't start until the corner around 11,500'. It was variable up to the 12,195' bump. Almost entirely dry until the 12,483' bump (planks on the back). Skinning up along the snowy edge of the ridge worked well enough on quality snow. I stashed all my gear (taking only poles & my camera) at 13,100ish in favor of lighter/faster travel since a clean summit descent was not in & I was racing the incoming storms. More ambitious people might be able to drop high patches & climb higher into adjacent patches to keep a "continual" descent going - but it is going fast! A north facing or Bent Creek drop also had longer lines but with their own tradeoffs. My best turns were between 13,100' & 12,400'. Many miles later - I made it back to my car with something like 10 minutes before the rain started (glad to make the call higher). Overall a beautiful peak & will be hikeable with avoidable snow within the next 2 or 3 weeks. |
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8/2/2024 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 8/4/2024, By: backcountrybrodes Info: See UN 13,838 update from same day |
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7/14/2024 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 7/14/2024, By: Belchfire Info: 2 wonderful centennials are still there. Dropped my lighter on the run down, +1 scavenging to whoever finds it. |
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6/22/2024 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 6/23/2024, By: dr_j Info: Summer conditions. The social trail is fairly clear starting from the Redcloud saddle all the way to UN 13811. The lower trail has a few sections of deadfall, and avoidable last bits of snow. It's wet with all the runoff. Flowers are starting to pop in the lower sections, and should be good for another 6 weeks or so. Road leading to Grizzly Gulch is fine, just take it slow after the gate. |
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9/8/2023 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 9/9/2023, By: PikaSteve Info: Beautiful day with dry conditions. Tundra travel from UN13832 on semi-defined use trail segments. Extra ups and downs added to the days endurance challenge, especially on the return. Brisk west wind kept forest fire smoke away. Stayed on summit for an hour soaking in the sunshine, views and peacefulness. Highly enjoyed this hike. Aspen still green; hoping others will share photos in upcoming weeks. |
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7/1/2023 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 7/2/2023, By: mjlucarelli Info: All snow crossings are on the standard route to Redcloud Peak, which I crossed without any gear. Once you reach the ridge between Redcloud and PT 13,561 your route is snow free all the way to 13,811. |
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9/3/2022 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 9/4/2022, By: 14ercooper Info: Great weather in the San Juans, nice little hike over to these two peaks. There's a halfway decent climber's trail out to 13,811', but be warned that it doesnt' actually go all the way over 13,832', so you'll need to walk a few dozen yards up to the summit one of the two directions. |
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8/13/2022 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 8/14/2022, By: CheapCigarMan Info: Easy hike over from PT 13,832. Will be easier to stay on the saddle and ridge as it may be tempting to hike lower on the slope. Intermittent faint trail. Route is obvious. Nearby Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn appear with their grandeur. |
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5/28/2022 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 5/30/2022, By: Thevirtualsherpa Info: Summer conditions |
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1/16/2022 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 1/16/2022, By: Geckser Info: We (Arthurspiderman and I) went up to point 13811 and it's brother, whose name I never bothered to learn. We were optimistic due to a lack of snow on low south facing ridges and high south facing ridges. Sadly this trend did not extrapolate between 9,800 and 11,800 making for a very unpleasant post holing experience. We followed a route shown by Dad Mike starting at Bent Creek and gaining the ridge that goes directly to Point 13811. Snow between shin and knee deep, gradually getting deeper and more unpleasantly layered. We have established a mediocre trench for this region. The best thing I can say about the trench is that it follows a pretty efficient path. I would recommend flotation for this section :(. At 11,800 we broke treeline and it was smooth sailing from that point onward. Simple 2nd class on 98% dirt. Very, very nice once above treeline. No ice axe or traction required. Do these two soon if you need to, they are very nice above treeline and there is some semblance of a trench. Beautiful day, little wind. |
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6/6/2021 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 6/7/2021, By: hellmanm Info: 90% snow-free. Trail is apparent/easy to follow most of the way, but (avoidable) snow obscures some sections of the tundra walk. Nothing of consequence though. One mandatory snow crossing from 832 to 811, but it was so slushy that you wouldn't slide very far on a fall. I had spikes, but I didn't use them (my sister opted to use hers, and I could see them being useful, but not a necessity at this point). One pic from the 811 summit looking back towards 832, Redcloud, and random pts. The other pic is looking at 811 from 832. |
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5/12/2021 Route: Via Williams Creek Posted On: 5/12/2021, By: CoHi591 Info: All snow is either avoidable or pretty inconsequential. It's always a joy this time of year to haul the snowshoes up just to not use them. Trail is totally dry until just before treeline. There are a few big patches of snow around treeline, but they're pretty easy to avoid or just walk over for a few steps at a time, never thought about putting spikes on. It does obscure the trail in part, but at that point it's clear where you need to go. Rejoined the trail at treeline, avoided all snow from there to summit. I didn't go over to PT 13,832. The ridge was really snowy, you'd definitely want an ice axe and spikes. I felt too out of practice to get myself on steep snow. Everything else in the area seems to be still holding a lot of snow. I'll add pics when I get home. This would be a wonderful trail in the fall! |
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10/3/2020 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 10/4/2020, By: denvermikey Info: Summer conditions. Excellent trail. Aspen at tail end of peak time. |
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6/27/2020 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 6/27/2020, By: brauda02 Info: All dry from 13,832. Trail is faint from here. No trail on the NE ridge of 13, 811. Be sure to go to the Grassy Saddle descending to Alpine. I ended up doing a steep bushwhack dropping down too soon. Alpine Gulch Trail is easy to follow and reasonably maintained. Many high water crossings. |
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11/10/2019 Route: Combo: 13,832 + 13,811 Posted On: 11/12/2019, By: supranihilest Info: This conditions report only concerns the terrain between Point 13,832 and Point 13,811; see the Redcloud Peak and Point 13,832 conditions reports I posted to join the full route together. From the summit of Point 13,832 begin your traverse. The traverse is mostly dry, though large snowfields on southeast facing slopes after Point 13,632 were very hard and slick; I could not kick steps into them so I wore my microspikes to descend them. Sticking as close to the ridge crest as possible would have been better, since it was mostly dry. After these snowfields things dry out again and it's an easy stroll to Point 13,811. I wore trail runners for the entire day and while my feet were wet it was warm enough to be OK; wear appropriate footwear for you and conditions. Carry microspikes or traction, you'll want them for any possible descent route. |
