Mt. Hope

Route: South via Sheep Gulch
Posted On: 1/12/2021, By: blazintoes
Info: Made it to Missouri Gulch after digging car out of snow ditch. Hiked 1.6 miles to Sheep Gulch. Saw lots of cat tracks. Torture solo trenching all day with the occasional 10 good firm steps followed by 100 sugar snow steps. Jerry rigged micro spikes up but used crampons down. Sunset summit. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 12/5/2020, By: snacktime
Info: My 4Runner was able to make it to the trailhead with no issues. Snowshoes necessary. We stashed them around 12,600 just above Hope Pass. Micro spikes and ice axe were helpful on the ridge. My partners Adam and Ali created a stunning work of art (aka a gorgeous trench) all the way to the summit. Route from Hope Pass to the summit of Quail looked pretty dry. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 9/16/2020, By: Snow_Dog_frassati
Info: Nearly summer conditions - All snow was avoidable. The majority of the South facing slopes in the sawatch were completely or almost completely snow free. Get em while you still can! 

Route: East Ridge from Quail
Posted On: 8/23/2020, By: madmattd
Info: This was a different route than the standard route from Sheep Gulch. We hiked Quail and Hope from the Columbine Mine area on the East Ridge of Quail (~12,500') (see https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/peakstatus_entry.php?recnum=17867). The final ascent of Hope was through Hope Pass and followed the standard route to the summit. Descent of Quail to Hope Pass is very steep and loose in a stretch. Ascent up Hope wasn't bad overall, much more stable in general. We stuck pretty close to the ridge on the upper half instead of dealing with the gullies and enjoyed simple scrambling (2+/easy 3 at times) with hardly any exposure on mostly-solid talus. Same story on the way down, though we found the use trail that swings ~50' below the first point just above Hope Pass which avoided dealing with scrambling on that lower ridge section. Re ascent of Quail was tedious as expected. Still, we both felt this route from the East seemed nicer than doing the combo from Sheep Gulch, and is ~1000' less climbing. Smoke was pretty thick in the morning, could barely see Belford/Oxford and Elbert. Better in the afternoon and even some blue skies above. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 8/1/2020, By: emgordon_II
Info: Trail from Sheep Gulch to Hope Pass is in great condition. Some water available but flow is low. Ascent of East ridge all dry and easy travel. Descent had more sliding on loose scree and dirt. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2020, By: Unknown
Info: Summer conditions. Great trail up to the saddle split, constant incline and one water source just before the last open switchback. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/12/2020, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Snow is completely avoidable if you stick to the ridge proper (a few Class 2+/low Class 3 moves near the summit, but nothing too intimidating), on which there is now a series of cairns. A hiker on her way down in the morning told us that Hopeful Couloir had questionable-looking snow as early as 6:30; the top was sloppy when we walked past in early afternoon. We left a summit register and pen in the center of the shelter. Pics: Snow near the summit, my partner pointing out the best way up the ridge at ~13,600, cairn above where the faint trail peters out. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/10/2020, By: Flyingfish
Info: Essentially snow free till the crux. There is some lingering snow from the last storm in the ideal gullies to take. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/7/2020, By: dcruz654
Info: Full summer conditions, top to bottom. Any snow is avoidable except for a very small 20' section on the trail as you hit treeline. The route up from Hope Pass is longer and higher than it looks. Left sheep gulch at 12:50pm Hit Hope Pass at 2:50 Summited a little after 4 Back at car at 6:20, 5.5hrs round trip. The wind was gnarly today. I had absolutely no issues at 7am over on Ice Mtn with it, but by the time I hit treeline on the cdt around 230 it was full on. Worst was between 4-5pm, I had to stop and brace repeatedly. Pic 2/3 are of hopeful couloir 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/5/2020, By: arianna2
Info: A little bit of fun glissading left. Pretty sloppy by mid morning but still really fun. The edges a posthole nightmare even early. All snow can be avoided. Quail is dry. The crux area is loose in places. Difficult class 2 accurate. Microspikes helped with the loose dirt areas and coming down since it is all pretty steep. Beautiful views! 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 5/31/2020, By: JakeByk
Info: Mount Hope is in near summer conditions, with the upper route still holding snow in the gulleys. The ridge from Hope Pass to the base of the climb gives lots of opportunity for Class 3 on solid rock. The upper ridge is very loose, memorable of Challenger (shutter). We managed to shave off an hour by completing three glissades from the near top of the ridge. Drop to the right and you'll see the lines. ' We would like to point out that the Roach 13er book doesn't do this peak justice -- it definitely requires Class 3 when the gulleys are filled with snow. It was a blast. Awesome 13er. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 5/26/2020, By: JasonKline
Info: The Colorado Trail from Sheep Gulch to Hope Pass is almost entirely dry. The small amount of snow can be easily traversed or avoided. Hope Pass to Quail is mostly dry. There is a large amount of snow between the final false summit and the true summit (Picture 1) that can be avoided by skirting to the north. Hope Pass to Hope still has a lot of snow (Picture 2). If you traverse the ridge or slightly to the south of the ridge, you can find a convoluted snow-free path except for two places near the summit. The first crossing (Picture 3) is about 30 feet, and the second crossing (Picture 4) is about 15 feet) The crossings are simple, but a slip (especially to the north) could have severe consequences. Traction and ice axe recommended. This route up the Hope ridge took a long time. The snow allowed for a marvelous glissade (Picture 5). You have to look hard at the picture to see it, but I was able to string together glissades pretty much all the way back to the Colorado Trail. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 5/23/2020, By: Danger_D
Info: Trail up to hope pass almost completely clear with maybe 6-7 small snow patches that are easy to navigate. From Hope Pass up the summit ridge there were 2-3 snow patches if you stick to the ridge crest, but they were all small and had a good boot pack. I brought spikes and an ax and never even though about using them. Hopeful Couloir is in with "great snow" according so some skiers that dropped in. The South East face is still holding a ton of snow and you can ski continuously down to about 11,500, but there is one connecting section which might melt out soon. Pic 1: Looking at the SE face on the way up to Hope Pass Pic 2: Looking at the top of Hopeful with a growing cornice. Everyone I saw dropped in lower from where the photo as taken 

Route: Hopeful Couloir
Posted On: 5/8/2020, By: Tim A
Info: Some pics of Hopeful Couloir from Quail today. Cornice still lingering over the route but looks like there's a bypass to climbers left near the top. CT up Sheep Gulch very difficult to follow all the way to Hope Pass given snow coverage near treeline. Below and above treeline mostly dry. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 4/27/2020, By: Randy1983
Info: Went for the Hopeful Couloir, but bailed at Hope Pass due to a cornice on the top of the col. Pretty dry getting to the TH. Might even be accessible for 2wd vehicles. Didn't go further down the road. So no info on Winfield.