Storm King Peak

Route: Stormy Gulch Approach and Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/12/2024, By: supranihilest
Info: Route and approach both totally dry. Stormy Gulch approach is great since it's so short. There's a small cairn marking where you turn off the Vallecito trail then cross the creek underneath a waterfall. We tried to stay a little higher up to ascender's right, the bottom of the drainage is choked with deadfall. Intermittent trails appear higher up. We camped where Otina did in her trip report for Guardian/Silex. The remaining route to access Silex Lake and nearby peaks is obvious and consists of more easy forest, steep dirt to gain the upper basin, then mangled quartzite talus to the saddle south of Storm King. For the route it self, the bottom third of the peak from the saddle is Class 2 (with climber's trail segments) to Class 2+. A few hundred feet up the ridge becomes a lot more difficult. Look for a couple of cairns to climber's left and traverse (Class 3) into the gully there. The gully is steep and full of loose rock so be careful if climbing with a partner. Solid rock (Class 3) to climber's left in the gully makes for a less slip-n-slidey ascent. Another couple hundred feet up the gully and the face opens into a wide mess of loose talus. Climb up and look for a V-shaped notch to gain the summit ridge, which is a Class 2 walk to the top. 

Route: Stormy Gulch
Posted On: 8/25/2023, By: CarpeDM
Info: I'm not sure if we found the best way into Stormy Gulch from the Vallecito trail. Our creek crossing did not agree with the descriptions that I had read elsewhere, but there was a small cairn leading to a downed tree crossing immediately below the waterfall. Getting to and away from the downed tree was cumbersome with a backpack, and we never found a campsite on the far side of the creek -- as I had read elsewhere -- but this was obviously a good place to cross that we weren't the first to use. Then, between some stretches of annoying bushwhacking, we eventually found, then lost, then found again a trail that was sometimes pretty good and which ended with a wonderful campsite in a clearing just below 11,000 feet. After setting up camp, we went for Storm King. This may be the shortest approach for Storm King, but it's certainly not easy. We found only little bits of trail on this one, so it was largely bushwhacking up to the talus. And it is as advertised: a sea of talus. Once at the Peak Nine / Storm King saddle, it became a bit more enjoyable for a while, but this wasn't my favorite mountain. Also, I'm not sure about other options for crossing Trinity Creek, but we had to get up to about 11,300 before we could cross because there was a deep gorge which the creek cascaded through that was impassable below that point. 

Route: South ridge
Posted On: 8/6/2022, By: pbradley14er
Info: Hiked up from a campsite in upper Tenmile drainage to Storm King Peak Eight saddle and took ridge to summit. Summer conditions. No snow present. 

Route: From Lake Silex
Posted On: 9/28/2020, By: WildWanderer
Info: Summer Conditions, with a little bit of snow left over in the approach gully from last winter. 

Route: Standard Route
Posted On: 8/6/2016, By: Grover
Info: I reached the summit of Storm King Peak on Wednesday, before the steady rain hit the Weminuche area. The route is actually well cairned, especially after you gain the Peak 9/Storm King saddle. I added to those cairns to help bolster the route. The route follows the ridge crest, but it does not require to climb on it. It is loose but is mostly Class 2, with some minor Class 3 sections. The final push to the summit via the south gully is very loose, but there is good path you can follow. I would compare it to any gully on South Maroon. If you are headed into this area for SK, Silex or The Guardian, send me a PM and I can help with any specific beta you may want.