| 31 Updates | Route | Info | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/12/2022 West Ridge from Guanella Pass |
West Ridge from Guanella Pass | Road has a very nice bootpack but I'd still recommend gaiters from here on for the occasional off-track posthole. The "shortcut" for the second switchback isn't trenched now. The trail through the willow marsh has a decent bootpack except for where the moose have destroyed it. Moose tracks abound everywhere here even on the road. No moose for me today tho :( There is a packed down snowshoe trench shooting off the main trail just past the first large pond, will attach picture of location. It goes over the hills in the marsh to the northeast and continues on to a small kidney-shaped pond just west of the low-angle Scott Gomer drainage at 11,860 ft elevation. I ran into this trench after branching off from the summer Sawtooth return trail. The person who made the trench apparently climbed the boulders to gain the drainage above so I followed. The drainage slope northeast of the creek is snow-covered, it has a hard crust that supported me at times but I mostly punched through to mid-calf. I crossed the beautiful frozen Scott Gomer Creek with microspikes, the snow on the banks has a thick windblown crust that held me but the creek is still very slick. The northwest facing slope on the other side of the creek and the slopes onwards to Evans W ridge has light patches of crusty snow and avoidable snowfields. The trail through the boulderfield on the ridge has small snowdrifts at some points but they're mostly avoidable. Summit is clear of snow. Will attach pictures of the Sawtooth. Looked super loaded on the east side. The big steep gully that holds the Sawtooth return trail looked bare for the most part. I did not see a trench going between the gully and the main trail. Great day for my 10th total winter 14er. Perfect weather and not too strenuous of a hike. Scott Gomer creek in the drainage had an incredible glacial blue color to the ice. What a wonderful & peaceful time snowshoeing through the middle of the frozen willow ponds after dark under moonlight too. | 12 | 10 | ||
| 1/7/2022 East Ridge |
East Ridge | Completed the summit this time!! 4WD road and Rainbow trail have a solid hardpack trench in. The east ridge from Rainbow up to 10.6k elevation has a hardpack trench as well, if you step off you'll end up in knee to mid-thigh drifts. I had to break trail up the steeper hill below treeline from just above 10.6k to 11.8k. Snow was calf to mid-thigh deep w snowshoes. Tried my best to move efficiently and find shallower snow. Large hardpack windblown drifts and bare patches at treeline. Ridge above treeline is pretty much bare. The winds were ferocious here—Mountain forecast had a 20-30mph wind forecast blowing to the east but I felt 40-50 gusts even on the north side of the ridge. Wind wasn't as bad up on false summit so I continued to the true summit. Top of the ridge is bare with some rime ice and small snowdrifts below. Incredible winter views of the Crestones & rest of the Sangres from the top. | 9 | 7 | ||
| 12/28/2021 East Ridge |
East Ridge | Made it to 10,600 ft on the east ridge, just before it gets a bit steeper. I wondered if there would only be light snow off trail below treeline considering the lack of snow on the Front Range so far this winter but I was wrong. The road is filled in with snow just before you hit the trees and required snowshoes past 9250 ft. A recent trench made for an easy trek up the road to the Rainbow Trail junction. I broke trail from there where the snow was ankle to calf deep in snowshoes. Several downed trees over the trail. Once atop the ridge, I found that it held windblown drifts that sunk down calf to knee deep. Made for much slower going than anticipated so I turned back. I wasn't able to tell the condition of the snow on the ridge above treeline, not sure if it's hardpack or more deep snow. | 7 | 4 | ||
| 12/21/2021 Northwest Ridge |
Northwest Ridge | First calendar winter ascent down! Road to TH was clear of snow until about 2/3 of the way in until the point where the wilderness registry/info signs are and the road narrows. Several stretches of light snow on the road from there to TH, no worries for any 2WD. Trail from TH to the old cabin had 2-4 inches of loose snow, more in the old avalanche path. Shoutout to the 2 people who summitted yesterday and left some nice packed steps to follow. Trail from old cabin to the base of Belford climb had a mix of bare ground, hard pack snow and postholed drifts. The east-facing aspects of Missouri's north ridge & the west-facing ridge of Peck's Peak didn't have any loaded snow at all, only a few facets closer to Missouri seemed like they had any slide chance. NW ridge up Belford was windblown leaving hardpack snow and bare ground for the steep climb up. It was a lot steeper than I anticipated, I used the rest step technique to maintain a good pace. Used spikes for the entire climb up until the summit block. Winds were forecast at 15-30 mph blowing towards the east/northeast, only felt strong winds just past the old cabin, down from the NW gully, and around Belford summit. I didn't go over to Oxford but the ridge there looked bare. The Missouri standard route even looked feasible as well without too much risk given the very light snow on the east face of the ridge. Elkhead pass trail is drifted in from the trail junction, snowshoes would be helpful. I went up and down the NW ridge. Crazy how the snow levels looked like late October. Lots of snow forecast for the next week, might make the road impassable after the storm. | 9 | |||
| 10/23/2021 West Slopes |
West Slopes | Many patches of ice on the trail up but it's not hard to navigate around/through them even without spikes. Be careful during the large creek crossing when the road splits off to the east at the Baldwin Creek area, the small stepping rocks in the stream were iced over in the morning and didn't hold any traction. Trail was drifted over around 12,500 but there were already postholes to follow. Trail had clear areas to hike thru easily past that section. Fun class 3 ridge climbs available just before the summit push. Gorgeous views all around! | 6 | |||
| 9/5/2021 Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky |
Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky | Mainly want to comment on the descent gully after Evans and the willow marsh. I hear a lot of griping about these features online but from our experience they were way overblown and some of the most beautiful parts of the trail. There was only one small part of the gully near the beginning that was steep and loose but the rest of it is stepped and has plenty of solid rock to tread on. Some parts of the gully look volcanic and the cliffs below look painted by rainbows. There's also a small stream in the gully where you can easily access and filter water. The trail thru the willow marsh is def muddy which fills the whole trail at times. But there's enough features to navigate around the worst parts like common trails, rocks, and grabbing on to the willow branches and walking along the side of the trail. I only briefly slipped into the mud once only bc I didn't wait for my partner to pass completely thru one mud hole first. Also, if the trail seems to split shoot left—the water collects downhill to the right. It really was cool to walk thru their marsh and see the whole valley unfold with the Sawtooth looming behind us. I'm very glad I didn't get a ride back at Evans or go up the loose and steep path back up Bierstadt. This standard Sawtooth descent only required a little extra maneuvering and it sure was worth it!! | 4 |
