10/19/2019 Route: West Ridge Posted On: 10/19/2019, By: osprey Info: The Zapata Trail and the trail up to the West Ridge was dry. There was very little old snow on the talus below the summit. The Sangre range looked like the recent snow storm missed it. The Crestones were frosted in the morning but most of the snow had melted off by afternoon. |
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9/6/2019 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/7/2019, By: durkan Info: Approached from Lily Lakes and the south ridge and descended from California's north ridge and then the eastern slopes. Somewhat occasionally, an actual trail presents itself up on the ridges. There does seem to be a trail on the southern slopes after Lily Lakes, but I found it best to avoid that slopfest and stay on larger talus. Had to evacuate California as soon as I touched it due to incoming storms. All in all: great day in the Sangres! |
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6/23/2019 Route: West Ridge from Zapata Posted On: 6/24/2019, By: SurfNTurf Info: Road to the TH is entirely dry and 2WD accessible, but know that it's about as rough as 2WD roads get. Take it slow unless you're wearing a mouthpiece. Trail was snow-free to treeline, then we were on a dusting of snow all the way to the top. It'll melt well before next weekend. The only significant snow you should plan was on the final 200 feet of the summit ridge; beware the east-facing cornices on the far side of the summit. No traction, axes or snowshoes necessary. We descended a snow gully on the north side of the peak to avoid about 1,000 feet of loose talus. This short detour saved a huge chunk of time, not to mention our ankles. Spikes and/or an ax wouldn't have hurt here, especially if you're less comfortable on snow. |
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6/15/2019 Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/16/2019, By: angry Info: Completely dry from TH to above 12K. Two very small snowfields to cross and then dry again until the last 50ft to summit. Felt like summer. Do not need flotation or traction. Blanca group looked bare too. |
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3/4/2019 Route: West face Posted On: 3/4/2019, By: Hjelmstadlt Info: It's a rare opportunity when there is enough snow in the Sangres to ski a peak car to car without ever taking your skis off. With avy danger as bad as it was California Peak was the obvious choice due to its gentle nature compared to the rest of the range. I started at 9:00 about half a mile below the standard parking lot because my little car couldn't get through the fresh 6 inches of snow that fell the night before. Trail was completely covered with snow and didn't look as though anyone had been up there for a while so I punched in a nice skin track all the way to the top. Snow was thin on south facing slopes and had to avoid a couple rocks but other then that it was deep enough to ski up and down the trail without much concern of scraping up the skis. Snow was VERY deep and soft from around 10,000 to Treeline and was probably the most difficult part of the route. Once above treeline everything was wind scoured or well packed and the only issue was navigating around all the rocks on the West ridge. The west face had about a foot of fresh surfy powder and wasn't thick enough to form a dangerous storm slab, just sloughed from time to time. At the bottom of the California Gulch drainage I did witness two natural slab avalanches on a northwest slope but it is easy to stay well clear of any terrain traps or avalanche terrain. Got back to the car at 5:00 making it a 8 hour day and was just over 8 miles round trip. |
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7/22/2018 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 7/22/2018, By: dwoodward13 Info: Summer conditions. Trail became thin in the meadow as mentioned in various trip reports, but not horrible even in the dark. There are several cairns here to help guide you back into the trees. Otherwise no navigation issues if you are remotely paying attention. Once on the ridge, just a long grassy stroll to the summit. Awesome views of the Dunes and the rest of the Sangres complete with a heard of Bighorns! |
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6/14/2018 Route: Zapata Falls Posted On: 6/16/2018, By: JasonKline Info: Summer conditions. Ice axe and microspikes unnecessary. |
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4/15/2018 Route: North Ridge Posted On: 4/15/2018, By: LetsGoMets Info: Ascended the North Ridge of California from Lower Huerfano TH as described by Roach in his 13ers guide. Route is not on the dot com. Trail to the pond clear of snow. Minimal snow on the bushwack from the pond to the ridge around 11,700 feet. Intermittent snow on the entire ridge to the summit. Did not use flotation or traction all day. |
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1/6/2018 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 1/7/2018, By: mike14 Info: A lot of ice along the trail below tree line. Wore micro spikes most of the way. Above tree line was mostly clear. No flotation required in the snowy spots. |
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10/20/2017 Route: North Slopes Posted On: 10/22/2017, By: Grover Info: Great route. Very straightforward. No issues at this time. There is hardly any snow on this route, and, where there is snow - on the broad grassy slopes - is easily avoidable. The snow storm that just hit the Elk & Sawatch mountains was not a factor in the Sangre's. |
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6/24/2017 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/26/2017, By: zdero1 Info: Summer conditions |
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6/18/2017 Route: Zapata Posted On: 6/19/2017, By: csprang Info: Summer conditions from Zapata to California summit. |
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5/28/2017 Route: west ridge Posted On: 5/31/2017, By: wondering_hough Info: The west ridge route from Zapata falls is dry until just above treeline. I and my two buddies completed the route in 8 hours and got a few short glissades in. |
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4/10/2017 Route: West Ridge from Zapata Falls Posted On: 4/11/2017, By: cloudkicker Info: The S. Zapata Lakes trail to the N. Fork South Zapata junction is about 70% bare. The snow that is along that trail was a non factor on the way up. From the trail junction, we booted up to the bottom of California Gulch and found evidence of slides on the inside of California's West Ridge (Northern aspects). Pinwheels, rollerballs, streaks down the side of the ridge as far as the eye could see. We opted to gain the ridge as early as possible to avoid entering avalanche territory. Totally unnecessary but I chose to wear snowshoes through the steep timber covered section of the ridge. My partners used spikes nearly the whole way up with no issues. I myself switched to spikes when we (finally) reached treeline. The temps were 25-35 degrees all day. In the morning, the snow was crusted over and held relatively well all the way up to the summit. On our descent however the sun and warmth turned the snow soft. By treeline it was all sugar. The plunge stepping was good on our knees but the postholing into hidden rocks... not so good. Wet slides were a definite concern and we were glad we gained the ridge early (safest option this side of the peak, this time of year) rather than dilly dicking up the gulch into the danger zone. On the main trail back down to Zapata Falls, the thin patches of snow we encountered had iced over. Some of those patches were in narrow, treacherous places where one could easily slip and topple off the side. Watch your step! |
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12/22/2016 Route: West Ridge from Zapata Falls Posted On: 12/29/2016, By: Dad Mike Info: -started out at 7:45am from the Zapata Falls th -it was snowing pretty hard when I left Alamosa, but had no problem getting up to the parking lot -trail up to Zapata Lake is easy to follow -I turned off to catch California's West Ridge around 10,500', up a talus field...turns out this was too early...I should have waited to cross Califonia Creek and head up the drainage -I only used my snowshoes for a short section through the trees...could have gone without them -weather got progressively worse throughout the day...white-out conditions above treeline -I knew there were a lot of false summits on this route, but when you can't see more than a couple hundred feet, they seem endless...actually thought I was having a sick dream where I would never reach the summit -summited at 11:30am...conditions were a little scary...blinding snow and a 30 - 40 mph wind...I had a thin layer of ice on everything I was wearing, including my goggles...my ipod and gps both stopped working...my tracks were covered immediately...I stopped for 5 minutes on the summit to collect myself and take a couple pictures...when I went to head back down, I couldn't tell which way to go..luckily my phone was still working and I was able to follow my strava track -the hike back down the ridge was interesting...walk straight for a few minutes with very little visability and fists balled in mittens, stop and check strava, correct course, repeat -as I got back near treeline, the clouds started to break a little and I could finally see where I was going -followed my track back down the ridge to Cali Creek and then found my way down to the Zapata Lake Trail -made a quick tourist stop at Zapata Falls to admire the ice and then back to the jeep for the long ridge home -the storm dropped 3 - 5 inches on my ascent track and it started snowing hard again on my drive home...so I doubt there will be anything left of it -7:45am - 2pm, 9.5 miles, 4800 feet |
