West Spanish Peak

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/24/2020, By: jasayrevt
Info: The route is entirely snow-free at this juncture. So, go get it and enjoy those views 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/19/2020, By: JakeByk
Info: Summer conditions, trailhead totally accessible. Beautiful route, 4 hours car to car. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/27/2020, By: lled
Info: Summer conditions, no traction needed. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/18/2020, By: jrs1965
Info: No change from the 2020-05-10 CR. Great conditions. Bathroom locked-up at the TH. I thought you had to pay to use the TH, no self-pay station to be found. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/10/2020, By: Intheclouds
Info: Basically summer conditions all patches of snow left are avoidable. Awesome views from the summit one of my favorite so far but that scramble to the top really makes you work for it 😂 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/9/2020, By: Flyingfish
Info: Dry except for a few patches of snow in the trees. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/3/2020, By: angry
Info: Trail is well defined and mostly dry. Traction/flotation unnecessary. A few snow patches that can be avoided. Started hiking at 12:45pm, back to car at 6pm. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/26/2020, By: Original_Bieber
Info: The 6 mile road from HWY 12 to the parking lot/camp ground was plowed enough for 1 lane of traffic, muddy in spots but passable in a 2WD van. Trail was mostly clear with small section of snow but hard packed enough where snow shoes or micro spikes where not needed. From tree line to summit small section of snow but primarily an upward hike in the steep scree field, about a mile. Round trip 8 miles total time 5 hours. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/6/2020, By: rivrrapids
Info: Started from Cuchara Pass-road past overlook impassable. First mile of road is snow. Road is then dry for 1.5 miles or so. Used snowshoes rest of way to ridge. Snow is pretty consolidated. Past tree line ridge is dry. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 3/31/2020, By: spaceman_mort
Info: I approached from the north from the Wahatoya Trail. Below treeline, north through east facing aspects are holding a significant amount of snow and my snowshoes were punching through over knee deep. Above treeline, the terrain is mostly dry, or at least its easy to find bare ground. From the ridgeline to the summit from the east has snow drifts that are mostly only a couple feet deep and I was either able to walk to the side of them or on top for areas where the snow was firm. See my trip report for details on the route. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/9/2020, By: bludwig
Info: Cordova Pass road is still under a lot of snow, we made it about .2 miles up even in a Jeep. We made it around the top of treeline before turning because it was late already. If you go from Cordova pass, expect about 20 miles and deep snow passed the trailhead. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 3/7/2020, By: Sbenfield
Info: Started from the turnoff at the pass, would be very difficult to make it far past the turnoff in most cars at all given the snow. Once at the regular trailhead, it is difficult to follow the trail and very easy to lose lots of time for postholing. Overall, ran out of time and didn't summit, but enjoyable day either way . The peak itself looks mostly dry 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 1/28/2020, By: SarahT
Info: The Cordova Pass road winter closure is about 3.5 miles below the pass. I followed an old sled track for the remainder of the way. Beyond that the snow was fairly deep and sugary and made for slow going. I stayed high over minor bumps, gaining and losing several hundred feet along the way rather than sidehilling in deep powder along the trail (which wasn't discernible anyway). Above treeline I followed the standard route which was pretty much dry as a bone. About 14mi/4000ft RT. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 11/17/2019, By: BobbyFinn
Info: From Cordova Pass. Trail in the trees is a mix of dry and packed down snow. Some spots are icy, but we didn't use micro spikes and didn't feel the need - Icy spots are avoidable. We didn't bring and felt no need for gaiters or flotation. Above treeline, 99% snow free. The trail is easy to follow. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/16/2019, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: If not for the chill above 13,000' and the wind piling onto it along the ridge, I'd have thought I was hiking on a bluebird August day. The ski jacket was overkill below 13k, though it did come in handy on the summit - if you're planning to spend some time up there (which I highly recommend...super cool views of volcanic activity past as well as neighboring peaks and what I believe is the defunct Cuchara Mountain Resort!), bring an extra layer that packs away easily. I saw exactly one other person the whole day and managed to time my departure from Denver so that I mostly avoided the mess between Castle Rock and Monument (required leaving before 6, which isn't a bad idea anyway, given how far away WSP is). Not a challenging hike, but a good workout for the lungs and leg muscles just the same, and great for those who like peace and quiet with some obvious geology on display. :)