Mt. Hope

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2025, By: sehessler92
Info: Beautiful peak! All snow can be avoided minus a small bit in the more technical area. A good amount of post holing in said snow at 6:30 this morning. To avoid post holing on the descent I scooted on my butt. Aside from the snow, everything else is dry. Hopeful couloir still holds some snow. Did see a skier ski down it. Some picture below which I know none of them are really helpful lol 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2025, By: BillMiddlebrook
Info: From Sheep Gulch TH, the route is dry to 13k. We had to cross a couple of short snow sections up higher, including one as we followed the ridge past the top of Hopeful Couloir. We did not feel the need to break out our microspikes and axe. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: cloudkicker
Info: I climbed Quail from Sheep Gulch and got a good look at Hope. The route from Sheep Gulch TH to Hope Pass is almost fully in summer condition other than a mildly sketchy snow crossing around 12,300 which may give some people pause (poles recommended). Looks like the standard route (especially around the crux) still has some snow. Spikes and other snow equipment probably necessary. Hopeful Couloir looks filled in still but with signs of a large avy recently, possibly shedding a cornice. The rightmost exit of Hopeful is still corniced but the one left of it is not. I spotted two climbers carrying skis approach the couloir around 10am but by the time I left Quail they seemed to have bailed due to soft snow. So the bottom half of Hopeful has ski tracks but not the top half. Willis Gulch approach looks like way more of a slog right now than Sheep, lots of snow left between 11k and 12,5 on that side. 

Route: Hopeful Couloir
Posted On: 5/3/2025, By: Joey_parm
Info: For the fellow booters / snowshoers: Wouldn't recommend snowshoes for the approach (Sheep Gulch). It's quite dry and there are plenty of posthole footprints to step into where there are snow patches up high. Conditions up the couloir were good until about just under 100 vertical feet from the top where I couldn't get good traction for some reason (maybe too late? ~1030am). So I skirted climbers left for some mixed climbing action on the rock face. After hitting the summit, I glissaded over 1,000 ft down the SE slopes in 3 sections. Very cautiously initially...it is steep at first. Find my butt tracks and enjoy. 

Route: Hopeful Couloir
Posted On: 5/2/2025, By: andlours
Info: Climbed Hope from Sheep Gulch today. Ascended the East Ridge route and descended the Hopeful Couloir. Patchy snow starts on the trail around 11k, but it's not nearly enough to skin on until you enter the upper basin closer to 12k. I chose to wear trail runners all the way until 13k where I transitioned to boots and crampons. I dropped into the couloir around 9:30, but I could have waited a little longer for things to soften up. Lower section down to the lake skied fantastically. I was able to skin back up to hope pass. From there I ascended Quail, skied the Quail's tail and 12 PM (perfect timing) and was able to descend on snow until 11.5k. All the lines are in, but I'm thinking the Quail's Tail won't be continuous pretty soon. 

Route: Willis Gulch to Hopeful Couloir
Posted On: 4/5/2025, By: artemavovk
Info: You can bootpack for a couple of miles, basically until the second bridge. Skinned from there until the apron - there's a semi-frozen trench that seems to have been made before the recent storm(s). Couloir is loaded with powder all the way up. The climber's right side of the couloir has some wet slides. In steeper sections you can punch through to a solid layer of basically ice - I would almost recommend crampons: especially for the top out, unless you go left at the last junction. Cornice is a concern. Skiing down: the main drop had some powder but all that slid and left me on a bunch of ice, the alternative drop in as it holds good powder. The rest of the couloir is orgasmically glorious powder all the way down. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 10/1/2024, By: sccm
Info: Route is dry all the way to summit. Fall colors were stunning! 

Route: East ridge via Willis gulch
Posted On: 9/28/2024, By: Rampaging Baloths
Info: No snow on the route. Colors on independence pass are peak and are starting to wane. Missouri gulch area looks fired up too. Did quail as well and registered 5600 feet. Great day! 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 9/24/2024, By: Ryspriggs92
Info: Snow free on trail, some patches after the pass 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 9/13/2024, By: Smurgu
Info: Started from Sheep Gulch. Trail was perfect until Hope pass- then unmarked and lots of scrambling- definitely class 2 for this portion. Very windy today but sunny the entire day. Fun hike- not crowded. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 8/4/2024, By: cdgibbons
Info: Hope & Quail from Willis Gulch. Summer conditions. I ended up staying pretty close to the ridge from 13,400' to 13,700'; there are cairned routes both there and in the gully of probably comparable difficulty. No other people on either peak; pretty consistent activity on the trail to Hope Pass; CT throughhikers, Collegiate West loop hikers, and a number of people training for Leadville. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/2/2024, By: vertical_volume
Info: Climbed Hope via the East Ridge, starting from Sheep Gulch and skied Hopeful; We took trail runners to 13.7k then switched to skins for the last portion to the summit. Dropped Hopeful around 10 am, really good corn but a tad heavy and the cornice was beginning to shed. 9-9:30 seems like the best way to go with a good freeze and clear morning similar to what we had today. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/1/2024, By: SCinthehouse
Info: Great conditions on E side of Hope and Hopeful Couloir-- Hopeful is all filled in still with minimal wet slide debris. Plenty soft in Hopeful by 9:30 AM. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 10/8/2023, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Dry as long as you avoid getting creative by wandering over to the north side of the ridge. I had forgotten just how much looseness there is from about halfway up the ridge to just below the false summit - microspikes are a non-necessity for snow or ice but might be helpful to some for managing the sections of loose dirt. Still a few leaves clinging to the aspens, but I imagine they will not be around for much longer. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 10/2/2023, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Climbed Mount Hope today - was hoping to also tag Quail Mountain but we were stormed off of the summit with 60mph wind gusts, heavy snow with whiteout conditions, along with thunder and lightning - guess I will just have to go back next fall! Absolutely stunning fall colors today but not sure how long they will last after the heavy snowfall and wind we received today. Started snowing on the summit at 12:30 and did not stop at all. Rained basically the entire drive home, looks like a lot of the surrounding peaks also got a good amount of snow.