Posthole Sufferfest: Memorial Day Weekend 2020
(San Luis Peak via the West Willow Creek approach)

I haven't been one for writing trip reports, as I think they should contribute something valuable or unique in order to be justified. Hopefully this provides value for someone down the road who is curious about what this route might look like in May (because we sure were flying blind). There have been many great trip reports and information written about San Luis Peak, but very few are about the nonstandard South Ridge route, and none (at least that I could find) were during the spring. As we would learn the hard way, just because a recent conditions report for the standard NE Ridge route says "full summer conditions" doesn't mean that you should leave the snowshoes at home if you go for the nonstandard route; in fact, the two approaches looked like entirely different worlds from the summit.

My wife Taylor and I decided on the S Ridge route for two reasons. If you are reading this, you might be thinking the same:

1) We like the seclusion of nonstandard routes and opt for this option whenever makes sense (it's also less mileage, which can be a plus for some folks)
2) We figured "South" ridge means more sun exposure, and therefore less snow in the spring, as is to be expected in the northern hemisphere.

If the conditions report for the NE Ridge says "full summer conditions" it only makes sense the south side would be the same, right? Negative, Ghostrider. We overlooked the fact that this route crosses two different basins, with aspects covering the Northern half of the compass rose. As backcountry skiers, we spend all winter chasing cold pow on northern aspects, so I'm not sure how I didn't piece it together that the north aspects on this route would hold snow later in the year. But alas, it made for some great type 2 fun with my wife and dog...

The 503 was open all the way the Equity Mine. This road has been known to close in the spring due to excessive runoff, so I called the Creede Chamber of Commerce to confirm that the road was open prior to making the 4+ hour trip from home. Above the mine, the road got a bit dicey with some snow drifts and muddy spots, but was manageable with a good vehicle and careful driving. Beyond the creek crossing at 8.2 miles, things got pretty hairy. I would not recommend proceeding past the crossing until you are sure it is dry. There were tire tracks on the other side, so I figured I'd go for it. After further inspection, I realized that they were UTV tracks and I was presumably the first passenger vehicle up that far this year. About 100 yards from the trailhead, there was a deceptively deep mud bog but I was able to get through with some throttle love (I later learned that early the next morning, there was a Dodge Ram who had gotten buried in thick mud up to their headlights in that spot).

We had a later start than usual, since the weather forecast looked great and we were blissfully unaware that timing the snow was a factor. We left the TH around 8:20 am and ascended up to the first rocky point. True to the character of the road, the trail was also a muddy mess, but the snow was negligible. We made sure to walk through the mud, not around it, as to not widen the beautiful singletrack trail. There aren't many of these left :) In several spots, the trail completely disappears, which really added to the remote feeling of this peak and route.

Just before cresting the hill, we encountered another party who had already turned around. They said something to the effect of "We took one look into the basin and decided to turn around. We got too late of a start. Plus there's avalanche debris." I smiled, nodded, and wished them well on their short journey back to the trailhead, thinking to myself that they were crazy and wondered if they knew there needed to be snow for an avalanche to happen. When we crested the hill, we realized their concerns were warranted as we looked into the first basin.

While the slide wasn't alarmingly recent, I would recommend being aware of what's above you on this section, as the slide covered a good portion of the trail.

It became apparent that we were in for a long afternoon of postholing if we decided to continue on, so it was time to take a break and reevaluate. We agreed that, while we'd be miserable on the way out, our objective risk was still minimal so we pressed on. At this point, we ran into another party (this time with proper equipment and snowshoes) who had decided to turn around too.

The snow was still somewhat supportive at this point, but around 11 am, it started to become unsupportive (even with a hard 21 degree freeze the night before)

Once we were into the second basin, I stopped taking as many photos, as my efforts were acutely focused on walking delicately and anticipating the next posthole.

Taylor donned her Microspikes since she was still staying on top of the snow, but I opted to leave mine off since they weren't going to help my case. After walking/postholing across the longer and snowier second basin, we gained the ridge and had a pleasant, albeit windy, walk up to the summit.

The two photos above were taken in the exact same spot on the ridge, just 180 degrees apart. I've lived and played in the Colorado mountains all my life, and I don't think I've ever see this dramatic of a difference in snowpack one ridge apart. Maybe rainshadow effect? I don't know, but it was like two different worlds were divided by San Luis' South Ridge.

We shared the summit with Eric from St. Louis, who had summited this peak via the same route for his first 14er summit! Eric, if you're reading this, congrats on a strong effort and well-earned first 14er!

Overall, this route made for some great type 2 fun (if that's your sort of thing). If you're looking to add some spice to one of the least difficult 14ers, this is a great way to do it. However, for most, this would be a completely undesirable route during the spring, especially when there is most likely a drier alternative on the opposite side. This is not one that we will be eager to repeat in the same conditions.

We were thankful for our microspikes, Gore-Tex gaiters (MVP of the trip), and waterproof boots. The snow was too sporadic for skis to have made sense, and it was too rotten for snowshoes to have been of much help in the afternoon. You might be able to get ahead of the melting with a super early start, but there aren't a whole lot of ways to avoid this being a miserable day of postholing if you choose to do it the same way we did.

Thanks for reading! Hope this helped someone. See you guys out there!

Jace

Garmin Stats:
Total Time: 8 hr 18 min
Moving Time: 7 hr 20 min
Mileage: 11.5 RT
Vertical Gain: 4,049'
Calories: 4,873 cal (earned our pizza on this one)