7/8/2024 Route: Standard Posted On: 7/9/2024, By: mrickers Info: Route is dry. Snow on the first ramp just above the entry to the second ramp is a non-factor. Well cairned above 13k. Water everywhere in Vestal Basin. Also marmots everywhere in the lower meadow camp area, beware. |
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9/3/2023 Route: Ramp/Standard Posted On: 9/5/2023, By: ryansunshine20 Info: Really fun route. You can basically walk up the ramp on grippy rock if dry but theres also a steep climber trail to the left which is way less fun but would have been used if the rock was wet. At the top where the ramp steepens to the summit it turns to more blocky fun class 3. I don't think the route we took got to class 4. I would not attempt this if there is imminent rain or it just rained because that grippy rock would totally suck. |
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8/21/2023 Route: North Ramp Posted On: 8/23/2023, By: Danger_D Info: Snow free the entire way. All creek crossings are easy to navigate. While there were definitely some mosquitos it was much better than I feared, but there were some interested marmot who were poking around the camp for food |
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7/22/2023 Route: NE Rib Posted On: 7/22/2023, By: calhack7 Info: Some snow in the lower(east) ramp so we took the upper ramp, which was completely dry. |
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7/3/2023 Route: Standard Posted On: 7/5/2023, By: jahselassie Info: Climbed Arrow on Monday. Vestal Basin still has a decent amount of snow so bring your snow gear. The climbers trail for Vestal and Arrow is holding snow, and my partner was glad he had his axe and spikes. We stayed on the center rib and were able to avoid most of the snow on the route. |
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9/25/2022 Route: Northeast Face Posted On: 9/28/2022, By: CheapCigarMan Info: Took the train to the Elk Park stop. Hiked the Lower Elk Creek Approach to 11,400' and camped at Vestal Creek. This is probably the hardest approach I've encountered to date. Several ups and downs on the Colorado Trail portion of the approach (we calculated an additional 500' of gain). You are able to pass the beaver pond by rock hopping just at water's edge. Views of Arrow and Vestal are spectacular here. The Vestal Creek Trail high on the slope, as Roach describes, is easy to find. We found it to be a solid trail. The Vestal Creek Trail has lots of dead fall and downed trees to crawl over or under. We stopped counting at 85. Once at camp the supper views were the most spectacular I've encountered so far on my hiking journey. Arrow, Vestal, and the Trinities towering over you with their commanding presence. Words nor pics can describe the beauty we encountered there. We left at 5:30am, still in darkness. Followed a solid steep trail through willows and rock up to the bench at 12,000'. Still in darkness it took a while to identify the correct ramp up. A solid ramp which led to some beautiful Class 3 scrambling the final few hundred feet to the summit. All the while hiking up the ramp witnessing a spectacular sunrise on Vestal's Wham Ridge and the Trinities. Spent a half hour on the summit soaking up the views of Chicago Basin, Vestal, the Trinities, Fuller, Vermillion, Golden Horn and other nearby peaks that were basking in the sun's early morning glow. An epic ride I'll never forget shared with a couple of great partners. |
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9/18/2022 Route: standard Posted On: 9/20/2022, By: zootloopz Info: centennial finisher! mind blowing views. Don't skip this one. Good service up top. Route finding isn't too bad. Lots of optional class 4. |
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1/29/2022 Route: Northeast ramp Posted On: 1/30/2022, By: blazintoes Info: DadMike and I think this climb was harder than Jagged in winter, or we're getting soft in our old age. However this climb with this team was absolutely amazing. Mike trenched the week prior and came out with no summit so Justin and I backpacked in Friday afternoon from Silverton via train tracks then onto Elk Creek and to the beaver ponds. Mike arrived at 0500 Saturday to again day trip. We got to Arrows ramp by 0800, had a gear change and entered the ramp at the hourglass to find pretty good crampon snow. We stopped at the bergschrund 100' up to discuss snow quality and all agreed it was good. The ramp faces northeast but gets morning sun because of its parabolic curve. The ramp is steep and steepens the higher you go. The snow was supportive yet sticky with sections of bullet proof and thin over layers of rock and slab. We climbed the snowy ramp ~1500 and veered right to access the class 4/5 rocky ramp with its thin layer of snow. The first rock climbing section was heady and we all decided we would rappel that on the descent. The north ramp was more involved than Mike and I remember from our summer climbs. There are two dihedrals with the first more slabby and the second more 5th class. The final section eased back to 4th class. The summit was stunning! We 3 were a bit shell shocked and spotted each other's descent choice then got to the final point of the ridge and set up a natural protection anchor then rapped 100' back to the snow ramp. We front pointed the first 500' then plunge stepped the rest. Mikes approach to Vestal basin was on point and follows the path of least resistance but this is still a gnarly approach and has several avy traps along the 11,000' contour. We wore avy beacons. Also the approach along Elk Creek has a couple avy prone sections at 2 miles and also a couple downed trees. Overall this was a wonderful climb with a great team and we sure hope those LiDAR maps are telling the truth. |
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8/30/2021 Route: Northeast Face Posted On: 9/3/2021, By: JasonKline Info: Entire route from Vestal Basin is free of snow and ice. It's starting to get chilly at night. The Colorado Trail is in great shape, but there's decent deadfall from the Colorado Trail to Vestal Basin. |
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7/4/2021 Route: NE Face Posted On: 7/5/2021, By: Laxer04 Info: Summer conditions. No snow on route whatsoever. NE Face route is well cairned and easy to follow. There must have been 20+ people on Wham, just a few others on Arrow. The trail to Vestal Basin from the Colorado Trail is in rough shape. Countless downed trees, rugged terrain |
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8/15/2020 Route: Northeast Face Posted On: 8/18/2020, By: supranihilest Info: Trail from Molas Pass to the D&SNGRR tracks and then to Elk Creek Trailhead is in great shape. Once heading up Elk Creek there are three avalanche debris piles, each one getting larger as you go upstream. There are plastic flags to follow through the debris. Past that there's plenty of deadfall all the way up to Vestal Basin. Arrow's northeast face is dry and easier than it looks, just go up the massive ramp on either slab or on loose trail segments. Near the top the scrambling begins and there's plenty of cairns to follow to the summit at Class 3. Do not try to go down Arrow's south face, it's vertical or nearly vertical. |
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9/8/2019 Route: NE Face Posted On: 9/10/2019, By: angry Info: Little break in the rain allowed a summit. Route is in great shape other than wet slabs on the descent and willows that will soak your clothing. |
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7/20/2018 Route: Standard Posted On: 7/20/2018, By: illusion7il Info: Back down and up Molas pass again today. Once you make the transition to the 2nd ramp carins mark the way making route finding a breeze. No summit register. No people. I kept looking over for people on the wham and none there either. Not even a tent in the area. Weather went pretty much as forecasted. Hit the summit at 9 under mostly cloudy skies, partly sunny at 10, dark clouds at 11, thunder at noon and storms at 2pm. |
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6/6/2018 Route: Standard Posted On: 6/7/2018, By: brerrabbit Info: Did Vestal and Arrow from Molas Pass. A few downed trees on the route but not as bad as expected from TRs. No snow crossing is required, my partner did use her axe for a glissade down the Vestal-Arrow saddle but I took some scree and it was manageable. Ice axe and microspikes are not required as I never used mine. There is snow in both the couloirs for the upper Arrow route but the rib goes nicely. |
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9/8/2016 Route: Standard Posted On: 9/10/2016, By: TravelingMatt Info: See report for Vestal for approach to base of mountain. Pic shows route up Arrow. After entering the upper ramp after the split, the route is sustained Class 3 on solid rock and marked with cairns. Once gaining the north ridge, a cairned route stays below the ridge and leads to the east ridge and finally the summit. I rate this route stiff Class 3, but definitely 3 and not 4. |
