Gilpin Peak

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/30/2024, By: zootloopz
Info: Got this one done but take it from me, it was not a fun route. Basically Teakettle without solid scrambling at the top. Do Gilpin with stable snow if you can. 

Route: NW Gully
Posted On: 6/19/2024, By: Kiefer
Info: Minor & inconsequential snow patches in lower Yankee Boy. Apron still holding plenty of snow. Mornings, it's surprisingly solid. Afternoon, the first couple inches are soft on a "softened" base. Not the best cramponing snow, but it works. Ascended a weird combo of the NW Gully & standard summer trail. Skip the plate rock & stay on the snow. Descended the gully direct. Afternoon snow isn't ideal for plunge-stepping. But again, enough heel weight/force works ok. Summit ridge is snow free. 

Route: Northeast Slopes Standard
Posted On: 5/25/2024, By: supranihilest
Info: This route dry sucks pretty hard due to steep, loose dinner plates so snow cover is quite nice. You don't have to do the whole ridge from Blue Lakes Pass, especially with snow. The route is generally pretty obvious, just go up the steep open northeast slope. Snow gets up to probably 50 degrees before the obvious massive cornice hanging over the slope. Bypassing the cornice on either side is nearly vertical and quite exhilarating. Two axes would be vastly more secure but two of us did it with just one axe in both directions. It's much more in your face climbing down it and a fall would be very difficult to arrest due to how steep it is and how fast you'd gain speed. Once past the cornice the angle relents and the snow becomes patchy. We kept our crampons anyway and tried to link snow as much as possible. We reversed our route into upper Yankee Boy and to Wrights Lake then followed the road back to the trailhead. My partners fared better on skis. I was postholing pretty bad lower down in snowshoes. Gear: helmet, crampons, at least one axe (a second would be very nice for climbing up and down the cornice). 

Route: N. gully / NW ridge
Posted On: 7/31/2023, By: ryanrunsultras
Info: There is a small amount of snow on the route that is easy bypassed. No spikes or ice axe neccessary. Every rock you touch will probably move, take care if traveling with partners. 

Route: Yankee Boy
Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: 9patrickmurphy
Info: Climbed the couloir off the ridge from Blue Lakes Pass. Clouds this morning kept the snow a bit firmer, but it was oddly soft at the top which made for very tedious step-kicking at the very top. The cornice is avoidable to the right, as usual. The very top of the couloir felt like 50 degrees to me, and the super soft snow did not help. Snow was firm underneath so no safety issues, just tedious. Somebody please go poach my booter, I spent a lot of work on it. Ridge is patchy snow to the summit, class 2. Airy summit stroll if you stick to the ridge. The North couloir would require a rappel at the moment as the cornice is monstrous. Slide debris might deter you if that's not enough. It took my 3 hours to summit from the upper trailhead. Best corn I've had all season when I dropped in at 9:30. I was back to my car in 15 minutes. Killer day. 

Route: N. Face
Posted On: 5/8/2023, By: Wentzl
Info: Here are photos of the N Face of Gilpin for anyone crazy enough to ski it. There were tracks visible, though they don't show well in the photos. 

Route: From Yankee Boy Basin
Posted On: 9/27/2022, By: dwoodward13
Info: YBB Road->Cirque->Gilpin-YBB Road. Left the road where a stream comes in near 11.5k' and hiked up mostly grass to the base of the gully coming off the Kismet/Cirque saddle. There is a pretty well defined trail in the gully up to the saddle. A pretty easy stroll from the top of the gully to Cirque with a few small cliff bands to negotiate. The most stable/enjoyable peak in the Basin IMO. We descended back down and linked up with the road, walking it to the Sneffels TH. We hiked a little up the Sneffels trail, then cut off toward Gilpin in a route that looked best to us. We ascended up to the ridge on a nice grass section. From there we made our way over lose talus/dirt up to Gilpin's summit ridge. As the TRs suggest, its best to hug all the outcroppings as best as possible for the most stable talus. There are use trails. Easy stroll from the top of the ridge to the summit. Descended back to the Wrights Lake spur then back to the car. 

Route: Yankee Boy Basin
Posted On: 7/20/2022, By: JasonKline
Info: Summer conditions. Not as loose if you can follow the trail from the Sneffels saddle, but it gets bad if you lose the trail. 

Route: NE Couloir
Posted On: 6/2/2022, By: Grover
Info: Keeping the updates on Gilpin Pk. moving along. First off, a big thank you to Wentzl who posted a close-up view of Gilpin in his conditions report on Mt. Sneffels yesterday. Super clutch timing to see an image of the basin and peak less than 12 hours before heading up. NE Couloir is still in good shape for those considering it this weekend. However, the whole basin is suffering from suncups though. I elected to go right at the top of the couloir, as that side was easier to put steps in with sun hit, compared to the exit on the left of the cornice, which was noticeably icy in the shade. Once on the ridge, it is dry, as others have stated recently. The very summit of Gilpin does have snow on it. Ski's/Board's: There is plenty of snow in the basin still, if you are looking to get in some June laps. Might be like going over highway rumble strips though. Gear: Poles and spikes in the morning to get to the apron of the couloir. Crampons, ice ax and helmet for the couloir itself. 

Route: North Central Couloir
Posted On: 5/31/2022, By: slawrence2011
Info: Thanks so much "Funsizetiff" for the awesome beta! Since I was already in Ouray, I ended up going for this one. I never found the "NE slopes Couloir" you took, as I assumed I would hit that before I hit the North Central. After running into your friend at the TH on the way down, I understand this route is actually right of the N Central Couloir, not left like I had assumed. Would this make it the "NW slopes couloir"? Anyway, conditions were perfect for climbing the right leg of the N Central couloir, the top got very thin, and I had to go far left to get my crampons deep enough. I thought downclimbing it would be tough, but move by move, not too bad. Great ski down - a couple high consequence jump turns, then easy money through the abundant small rocks popping out. 

Route: NE Couloir
Posted On: 5/28/2022, By: funsizetiff
Info: Climbed Gilpin this morning via the NE slopes couloir. Was able to drive to 11,580' on the YBB road with a 4Runner, would not want to take a vehicle any higher right now. Took Wrights Lake trail where it splits from the YBB road to the base of the couloir. Trail has some dry sections, but is mostly snow covered. The couloir itself stays in the high 30/low 40 degree range, and was sheltered from the wind today. It has small suncups in the middle but smooth at the bottom. Had we brought our snowboards we would have been able to ride from the top of the couloir to within 100 yards of the truck. Corniced at the top, we exited to the left which was the steepest part of the climb. Dry from top of couloir to summit, a nice trail through the talus. On descent, we took the gully next to Wrights Lake trail and were able to stay on snow all the way to the junction of Wrights and YBB road. North Central couloir, which we did not climb, has a large cornice over climber's left and center exits but the right branch is doable. Included pictures for anyone interested. 

Route: Yankee Boy Basin
Posted On: 7/3/2021, By: MC.Ikema
Info: Small cornice (6-10 ft high) blocking the gully to the summit ridge. No traction used, however, a hard freeze would've made it challenging to cross. Warm temps will probably melt out the right side in the next two weeks. 

Route: North Couloir
Posted On: 6/3/2021, By: desertdog
Info: We left Yankee Boy TH at 3am and got to the bottom of the couloir a little before 5am. The couloir is in good shape, but there is plenty of evidence of rock fall. In addition there is a large cornice at the top, which can be avoided by taking the right arm of the couloir. The last quarter of the climb is 55 to 60 degrees. I definitely would not begin climbing this any later than we did. We descended what we thought was the summer route, which is snow covered. Snowshoes not needed for the approach. You may want to bring a second tool for the upper part of the couloir. 

Route: Traverse from Sneffels
Posted On: 10/12/2020, By: bkcheck
Info: Made a failed attempt at the ridge traverse from Blue Lakes Pass to Gilpin. Immediately before you arrive at the Gilpin-Sneffels col (just to the north of the col), there is a rock pinnacle with a sharp drop on the west side, and a steep, exposed, loose climb on the east side. Couldn't find any stable handholds through here and I would rate the climbing a stiff 4 or low 5, so I bailed. My advice is to follow the commonly recommended route and just drop a few hundred feet down along the Blue Lakes trail before aiming for the col -- you're not saving any time traversing the ridge anyway. 

Route: From Yankee Boy Basin
Posted On: 7/4/2020, By: WildWanderer
Info: Mostly dry, with a few minor exceptions. I used microspikes to cross a few areas of snow below the ridge, and at the top of the gully I used an ice axe and crampons to get over the snow. I would not have been able to summit without an ice axe/crampons, but a couple who summited after me felt comfortable climbing on the rocks above the snow, so it's doable without traction to someone with a higher risk tolerance. Otherwise, summer conditions in the basin.