North Star Mountain

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 10/29/2018, By: kingshimmers
Info: Road from Hoosier pass to the 4WD parking area is snow free. Patchy snow of questionable depth and thin ice on the southeast shoulder all the way to the ridge. Snowshoes were unnecessary and would be hard to use with all the exposed rock, though there is enough snow for some not-too-deep postholing in places. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 8/12/2018, By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: Parked high-up on the 4WD road. Did this for sunrise, and it was easy to follow in the dark. Keep going up and down the bumps to the summit on the long ridge. 

Route: Polaris Couloir
Posted On: 5/28/2018, By: chiploomis
Info: Likely done for the season 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 4/25/2018, By: koeffling
Info: Pretty good snow coverage from Hoosier pass. It warmed up quite a bit, even before noon on my descent. I saw some faint ski tracks but there are some shallow snow areas and hidden rocks here and there, but mostly you can get from start of the ridge to car on skis. I stopped before the summit due to a snow crossing on the ridge, was by myself but if someone else was there I probably would have gone for it. Views of Q attached. I wore snowshoes most of the day but I'm not sure it was necessary. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 11/25/2017, By: Grover
Info: The standard route is in great shape as this posting. The road/trail from the Hoosier Pass parking lot up to the the gates is at first hard packed snow, then the exposed parts of the road have minimal snow coverage. To gain the SE shoulder, the hike gets back into the snow, but I did not use/need flotation. The summer trail that stays south of the ridge is easily visible and you can move quickly on that section to the middle of the ridge. The ridge is spicy since it is narrow in sections and there is snow around and on the rocks. VERY WINDY all day. (Oohh, a summit in the Tenmile/Mosquito Range was really windy? Geeez, that's weird.) I used microspikes for all traction needs (and trekking poles). Brought crampons and ice ax with me, but did not switch over to them. I saw tracks of other climbers that did wear crampons. Choose what you feel comfortable with. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 7/2/2017, By: summitkate
Info: Pretty much summer conditions. Was able to summit without spikes. There are still a few small snow fields on the ridge, but can be easily avoided. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 6/12/2017, By: jennincolorado
Info: Started at 0730. The trail is not bad on the road. There is snow but you can walk around it easily enough by staying on the trail. It is melting fast with running water coming down - fast. Once you turn L to head up the peak and off of the road, the snow was very soft. Good snow. Some post-holing up to knees when you get close to a rock mound or bushes, but the rest of the route before the ridge is in decent condition. Easy to make steps & get up with spikes. My boyfriend had mountaineering boots and didn't even use spikes most of the time. On the side of the ridge (we opted to stay Left of the ridge in the beginning due to more snow on the Right), there are several snow fields that are easily passable with spikes. It's melting fast. There are several talus fields that you can walk into if you stay down low and down want to walk through the snow fields. On the ridge proper it was about 1030-11am and it was a slick, slushy mess. We turned back at 13400 / 13614 due to the conditions. Too slick to risk it. Will be back later in the summer for a summit or repeat in better snow conditions. We were the only ones hiking North Star on this day, but of course on the way back down to the road near Hoosier Pass we saw a ton of people just strolling around. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 3/6/2017, By: ajlavigne
Info: Route was almost entirely snow-covered from the parking lot to the summit (NW end of ridge) other than a short distance on a small hill before the main ascent. Softer snow conditions made for ankle to knee-deep post-holing along several spots on the route. No icy spots. Did not carry or use flotation, but wore micros and used an ice axe/1-pole combo for the majority of the ridge. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 12/5/2016, By: timf
Info: The snow is patchy in spots and a good part of the road is mostly clear to the summit ridge with only ankle deep snow. Summit ridge is snowy and icy with only the beginning of a cornice forming near the beginning stretch where the ridge narrows. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 3/21/2016, By: sumer
Info: We attempted Northstar Mtn on 03-20-2015. We wore snowshoes the whole way. While returning we saw a few people in microspikes and they were not happy. It was mostly because the snow we got on March 16 and 17th. In near future it might change but I'd suggest taking both. After the false summit 1 when were moving towards false summit 2, the snow felt very soft and fragile. Looking at the angle on false summit #2, we decided to turn around. According to our GPS, we had come 3.45 miles and had 0.8 or so miles remaining to reach the summit. We started at 6:00AM from the TH and were at the point where we turned around, at 10:30. We were back at the trailhead again at 1:00PM. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 2/27/2016, By: fakejox
Info: Ascended North Star Mtn today from Hoosier Pass. We used snowshoes to gain the initial ridge leading to Pt 12214, but in retrospect they were probably not necessary (save for the quick ascent up the "sledding hill")--for the most part, crosswinds across the ridge have left the snow crusty and amenable to microspikes. From the Pt 12214-North Star saddle to the summit, I'd estimate that 80% of the route can be hiked on exposed rock. Atop the ridge, microspikes and an ice axe will suffice nicely. Super fun ridgewalk! 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 1/4/2016, By: Trotter
Info: Well trenched to about quarter mile of real summit. Snowshoes are not needed until the middle part of the route, starting at the gate. You could get by without snowshoes, but will be plunge stepping knee deep a lot. Once on ridge, snowshoes aren‘t really needed but micro spikes or chains would be good. Lots of exposed rock. The trenched route stays perfectly centered on the ridge, lots of exposure each side. No wind, beautiful day. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 12/27/2015, By: AlexeyD
Info: Well-worn track still in place along the summer trail up to the saddle just west of point 12, 214'. Not quite enough snow yet to pose any substantial avy hazard along the traverse - though that will likely change after the next major storm. From there, 3 of us began putting in a trench, and made it to the second false summit before limitations of time and energy made us turn around. Conditions along the ridge varied from easy walking on wind slab, to awkward snow-covered rock and occasional sections of very loose, waist-deep snow (even with snowshoes) that made progress very slow-going and laborious. Absolutely gorgeous day in the mountains with cold temperatures but light winds and clear skies and stunning views of snow-plastered mountains all around. Go get it before the next snowfall covers our tracks! Pics coming shortly. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 12/11/2015, By: bmcqueen
Info: Carried snowshoes to 13,200‘, but never needed. Wore spikes where the ridge narrows - mostly hard packed. 

Route: Southeast Shoulder
Posted On: 11/29/2015, By: MTGOAT72
Info: Soft powder to wind pack. Snowshoes were helpful to the main ridge, then micro spikes. The ridge was time consuming as the snow would go to sugar powder to wind pack off and on. Brought the axe for the ridge which I would recommend.