Mt. Hope

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 5/23/2026, By: cougar
Info: Summer conditions. Small patches of snow melting and easily bypassed. 

Route: Hopeful Couloir
Posted On: 5/9/2026, By: Geckser
Info: Arthurspiderman and I skied the Hopeful Couloir on Mount Hope. It was the first time for both of us on the line and it is a good one!

We started from Sheep Gulch at 7:30 and it was dry enough we made it up to the summit without switching from trail runners. East ridge did have some snow but it was generally avoidable with some time on the rocks.

Medium windy day on the summit but it was warm enough the snow was able to soften somewhat by 10:15 when we dropped. Start was steep but the line mellowed out quickly. Great coverage until 12,000 where we swapped to trailrunners and started back up to Hope Pass.

We made good time down the amazing trail along Sheep gulch and we were back to the car a bit before noon. Nice day, beautiful line and good trail conditions. 

Route: East Ridge to Hopeful Couloir
Posted On: 4/19/2026, By: slawrence2011
Info: Started from Willis Gulch at 8 AM, very cold weather gave me all day to work with. Dry til around 10K, intermittent til 11K, then skiable/skinnable from there or a little above. I was forced to transition to skins around 11,5 as I was sinking below ankles in soft (but not wet) snow, and to transition back to hiking boots at the East ridge since trying to do that in ski boots was tedious. Mix of snow and was mostly able to rock hop the ridge. The final bit to the true summit from the false summit is not continuous snow, but false summit is at 13,8. Summited at 3:15. It looked like it would be possible to make a high entrance into the couloir from the high side beyond the cornice (skiers left), but without being able to see it, I backed down and entered low where the tracks were on skiers right. Dropped in around 4. Great snow conditions, was able to find mostly powder by following the tracks, going to either side resulted in crusty conditions. Skied down to 11K, but last 200 feet was tedious. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 4/10/2026, By: rivrrapids
Info: Snow starts around 11k then is consistent up to saddle. Didn't use traction or floatation. Hopeful couloir is in, saw 2 sets of ski tracks in it. East ridge has some snow but is mostly avoidable. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 3/31/2026, By: pcsongei
Info: Summited Mount Hope from Sheep Gulch. Trail is pretty much free of snow to the pass. Despite being very steep at the bottom it is really a beautiful trail. The ridge to the summit is also mostly free of snow but definitely keep an eye on it as you go, there were some large snowfields that are easily avoided if you pick the right route. Didn't see anyone else out there today 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 3/31/2026, By: Ryan987
Info: Summited Quail mountain, not hope but posting a photo in case it helps anyone. Trail to hope pass is 99% clear but the eastern ridge looks to be still in 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 12/31/2025, By: syrupgravy
Info: More snow than expected. Put in a trench up Sheep Gulch to Hope Pass, and did a fair bit of postholing. Decent amount of snow in the basin on the south side of the pass, post holed shin to knee height (deepest near treeline). The ridge climb was kind of sketchy on this faceted snow with no purchase. Ended up staying right on the final pitch to stay on rocks and ended right near the Hopeful Couloir entry. Summit and false summit basically snow free. Ended up descending and plunge-stepping down the east face and this was so much better than going back down the ridge. Would NOT recommend that way if avy conditions change (it was low with no listed problems for my hike). I found it knee deep and stable, a few firm wind slabs in there, but nothing moved at all. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/30/2025, By: CaptainSuburbia
Info: I took the southeast ridge from Sheep Gulch to the summit of Hope leaving the trail after 1.5 miles to gain the ridge. There was no snow below treeline. The ridge had some snow, but it was either avoidable or not an issue. I then descended a mostly dry east ridge to Hope Pass and climbed Quail. The main trail up was snow covered and icy at times. Some short sections of deeper snow from the false summit to summit. On descent I found a more south facing trail that was mostly melted. Hope Pass to trailhead was dry. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 9/1/2025, By: notidealbutfine
Info: Camped along CR 390 after finishing Grizzly/Garfield the day before. Feeling lazy and started late again due to good weather and a short day. Got started around 7:00AM at the Sheep Gulch TH. The trail to Hope Pass (which is the Colorado Trail/CDT) is extremely easy to follow and in perfect condition, especially for trail running. From the saddle, the route is really straight forward class 2 hiking up Hope's East Ridge, even though there is no trail. You can keep it really easy by hiking on the south side of the ridge, though I decided to spice it up and stay on the ridge crest for some class 3 fun. Fantastically huge summit, no winds, and not a single other person climbing Hope today. Really happy with the two routes I picked for dealing with the crowds this Labor Day weekend. Just a mile down the Sheep Gulch TH, easily 80+ cars parked at the Missouri Gulch TH (and lining both sides of the road since the parking lot was overloaded) to climb the Belford Group. Maybe I just dislike crowds but... why don't we climb more 13ers? Hope was a fantastically easy and beautiful route that I'd pick ANY day over Missouri, and I LOVE the Belford Group!! 7.16 miles / 3,907' gain / 3 hours, 38 minutes 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/29/2025, By: blonde_dinosaur
Info: Summer conditions - no snow gear needed. The last 900 ft to the summit are extremely loose. Going further looker’s left to larger boulders is more stable. Would not be a bad idea to bring a helmet if you’re going in a group. 

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 (started later than I should have) and there was a sizeable cornice at the top. 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. >45 degree slope 

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.