Redcloud Peak Trip Report 06/19/2022

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Redcloud Peak - 14,037 feet Sunshine Peak - 14,004 feet Handies Peak - 14,058 feet Wetterhorn Peak - 14,021 feet
Date Posted	06/19/2022
Modified	08/29/2022
Date Climbed	10/17/2021
Author	csf-lhiver

Lake City Dreaming
Ever since spending a week in the San Juans last October (2021) to knock out some 14ers, I felt a trip report would be great to add about our experience. Just never found the time or right moment to write about it. New adventures got in the way. In September of 2021 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a bit of an adventure before the years end. I was texting a friend who happened to be getting things setup for a weeklong adventure in Lake City to get some 14ers. That seemed fun enough, so I set my sights to Lake City and the peaks down there. We knew it'd be a big adventure, so we started getting the peaks in mind we wanted to do. Redcloud and Sunshine seemed like obvious ones as we could knock out two easier ones quickly. Then Handies as it's right beside those and short depending on how close we could get. Then we were left with Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre, once the trip got closer we were realizing we may not have the energy to get both of those on top of the others we already had planned so it would be a decision to make once getting there. San Luis was talked about but we never committed to that one as it was out of the way of Lake City and the general direction the 3 of us were splitting out from after this adventure. 1 week out from the trip SNOW! and lots of it! Reports started coming in of a winter snow storm rolling through Colorado, with the San Juans getting the most snow. That made me happy inside as snowy peaks are a favorite, but also made the trip uncertain in a lot of things. Will we need snow shoes? Can we get the Subaru to the trailhead of Handies/Wetterhorn/Uncompahgre (that was before we realized a Subaru isn't the best for the Nellie Creek trailhead). But that added a layer of excitement to the trip. If anything, we'd just go down there and kick it for a week in Lake City as neither of us had been there before. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Scouting Redcloud/Sunshine/Handies - 2021.10.16 Due to the snow that fell recently, we chose to go out the evening before to see how the trailheads were looking. Which to our surprise wasn't as bad as we were expecting. When we got to Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch, we ran into a couple hikers who just back from attempting Redcloud. They mentioned they chose to leave the snowshoes in the car because they thought the route would be dry, but the snow had been blown into the bowl in the back before you start gaining the ridge to Redcloud which is where they stopped and turned around. With that information in mind we chose to get the peaks from the East Ridge of Sunshine via Mill Creek as the ridge to get to Sunshine from that direction was free of snow for the most part. We decided to go ahead and see how far we could get to the American Basin trailhead while we were at this trailhead. Surprisingly got very far as well, maybe 50 feet from the real trailhead. Once seeing the conditions were looking great for the following week, we went back to the cabin to rest up and get peaks the next day! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Had to pay a toll to get to Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch TH Sneaking some views in Eyeing our ascent for the next day Sunshine and Redcloud - 2021.10.17 Full of energy, bears falling out of dumpsters (when getting ready to leave the cabin in the morning I startled a bear digging through a dumpster, he startled me also), and ready to go, we kicked off our adventure via the East Ridge to Sunshine with a traverse to Redcloud. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Early sunshine (pun intended) peaking over the mountains Coming around the final push to Sunshine Gaining the summit of Sunshine Warning between Sunshine and Redcloud to not shortcut back to the trailhead On our way to Redcloud, I fell for the false summit right before this view on this one Mountain spotting, great views of the Elk Range as well as rest of the San Juans. Just an ad for beef jerky, beards, and cool green sun hoodies -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Handies - 2021.10.18 This peak was a tough day. Not because of any technical challenge this poses, not because of length, but because of how mentally and physically exhausted I was from the day prior. It put things into perspective about how much more conditioning I need to do to reach some higher goals I have set for myself. Though with that, it still holds the best views I've seen on top of a 14er. Seeing the beautiful snow scattered all over the San Juans was mesmerizing. Since the route was shorter and we knew we could get to within 50 feet or so of the trailhead we slept in a bit longer but still woke up early so we could eat, get ready, and drive to the TH in time. Strava has the start time as 6:51 AM. We all felt pretty exhausted from Sunshine and Redcloud the day prior. I just remember it being really quite in the car on the way to the trailhead. Personally, I expected I'd pass out and never get out of the car. I brought my sleeping bag with me cause I kind of expected I'd end up sleeping while they went for the peak. However, the forces of the world drug my tired ass out of the vehicle and we all got ready, put on our snowshoes, and just started hiking. Not speaking much, just putting one foot in front of the other. Think it's fair to say we were all just going through the motions on this one. Which was the success of this I believe, don't think too much, just do it. Well deserved sleep was had after this peak. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Snowshoe time. Beautiful basin Where it started getting hard with lots of trench building to the saddle between a 13er to the right and Handies to the left Some moments had solid snow Star Wars Hoth vibes Windy at the summit Plumped down on the summit for a well deserved admiration of the world around us -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rest Day(s) - 2021.10.19 - 20th Time to rest. The 19th we hung out at a cafe and looked up routes for additional stuff to do on the 20th. The 19th we decided to go check out Matterhorn Creek (TH for Wetterhorn) and Nellie Creek (TH for Uncompahgre). Realizing we aren't making it far in a Subaru up Nellie Creek we opted to have no part of the road hiking involved in that, and committed to Wetterhorn. We got to the 0.7 miles below the real TH and decided that was good enough. The 20th I didn't think I could physically go up a flight of stairs so decided to continue to rest. One person chose to go for a smaller hike, and the other person decided to slay it some more by grabbing a 13er (forgot the name of the 13er). Now the last big day is upon us, but little did we know, another 14er seeker was amongst us. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Wetterhorn - 2021.10.21 We were all pretty tired from the events of the past week. So weren't sure how we'd be on this one. Turning around was a strong option if snow wasn't right. We didn't want another Handies. But luckily, the predictions of one of the climbers was accurate in that that area wouldn't have much snow (the more you educate yourself and look at weather patterns). The hike in was for the most part dry. Once we were at the base for the ascent is when snow and a bit of postholing started happening. Navigating the rocks mentioned in photo 5 of the Southwest Ridge route was interesting, we couldn't see the cairns and weren't too positive on the best way through that area since any step could be a posthole and rock hopping the whole thing wasn't possible. But we made it happen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The moon on the way into this one was surreal. Not pictured below, but the moon hit a corner perfectly in one spot above treeline that I swore it was a hikers headlamp in the distance, it was bright. Looking at Wetterhorn Looking back the way we came. Some fun plunge stepping took place on our way back down that part to the right Picking our own adventure by gaining the ridge a bit earlier Me doing my best marmot impression No snow in this section was a nice addition Just ignore that idiot on the right. Didn't want to come down from this summit. Awesome views. You could see the La Sal Mountains (not pictured). Headed down from a successful summit What about that mention of the other 14er seeker? Later that evening I found out the adventurer kalestew was on Uncompahgre Peak at the same time we were on the summit of Wetterhorn and she just happened to get us in her pic (if you zoom in really close). I scanned through my photos but couldn't find any of Uncompahgre that may have had her group in it. Photo of Wetterhorn by kalestew from the top of Uncompahgre. Looking on a couple more adventures Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Lake City Dreaming

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Ever since spending a week in the San Juans last October (2021) to knock out some 14ers, I felt a trip report would be great to add about our experience. Just never found the time or right moment to write about it. New adventures got in the way.

In September of 2021 I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for a bit of an adventure before the years end. I was texting a friend who happened to be getting things setup for a weeklong adventure in Lake City to get some 14ers. That seemed fun enough, so I set my sights to Lake City and the peaks down there.

We knew it'd be a big adventure, so we started getting the peaks in mind we wanted to do. Redcloud and Sunshine seemed like obvious ones as we could knock out two easier ones quickly. Then Handies as it's right beside those and short depending on how close we could get. Then we were left with Wetterhorn and Uncompahgre, once the trip got closer we were realizing we may not have the energy to get both of those on top of the others we already had planned so it would be a decision to make once getting there. San Luis was talked about but we never committed to that one as it was out of the way of Lake City and the general direction the 3 of us were splitting out from after this adventure.

1 week out from the trip

SNOW! and lots of it! Reports started coming in of a winter snow storm rolling through Colorado, with the San Juans getting the most snow. That made me happy inside as snowy peaks are a favorite, but also made the trip uncertain in a lot of things. Will we need snow shoes? Can we get the Subaru to the trailhead of Handies/Wetterhorn/Uncompahgre (that was before we realized a Subaru isn't the best for the Nellie Creek trailhead). But that added a layer of excitement to the trip. If anything, we'd just go down there and kick it for a week in Lake City as neither of us had been there before.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scouting Redcloud/Sunshine/Handies - 2021.10.16

Due to the snow that fell recently, we chose to go out the evening before to see how the trailheads were looking. Which to our surprise wasn't as bad as we were expecting. When we got to Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch, we ran into a couple hikers who just back from attempting Redcloud. They mentioned they chose to leave the snowshoes in the car because they thought the route would be dry, but the snow had been blown into the bowl in the back before you start gaining the ridge to Redcloud which is where they stopped and turned around. With that information in mind we chose to get the peaks from the East Ridge of Sunshine via Mill Creek as the ridge to get to Sunshine from that direction was free of snow for the most part. We decided to go ahead and see how far we could get to the American Basin trailhead while we were at this trailhead. Surprisingly got very far as well, maybe 50 feet from the real trailhead. Once seeing the conditions were looking great for the following week, we went back to the cabin to rest up and get peaks the next day!

Had to pay a toll to get to Silver Crk/Grizzly Gulch TH

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Sneaking some views in

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Eyeing our ascent for the next day

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Sunshine and Redcloud - 2021.10.17

Full of energy, bears falling out of dumpsters (when getting ready to leave the cabin in the morning I startled a bear digging through a dumpster, he startled me also), and ready to go, we kicked off our adventure via the East Ridge to Sunshine with a traverse to Redcloud.

Early sunshine (pun intended) peaking over the mountains

Coming around the final push to Sunshine

Gaining the summit of Sunshine

Warning between Sunshine and Redcloud to not shortcut back to the trailhead

On our way to Redcloud, I fell for the false summit right before this view on this one

Mountain spotting, great views of the Elk Range as well as rest of the San Juans.

Just an ad for beef jerky, beards, and cool green sun hoodies

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Handies - 2021.10.18

This peak was a tough day. Not because of any technical challenge this poses, not because of length, but because of how mentally and physically exhausted I was from the day prior. It put things into perspective about how much more conditioning I need to do to reach some higher goals I have set for myself. Though with that, it still holds the best views I've seen on top of a 14er. Seeing the beautiful snow scattered all over the San Juans was mesmerizing.

Since the route was shorter and we knew we could get to within 50 feet or so of the trailhead we slept in a bit longer but still woke up early so we could eat, get ready, and drive to the TH in time. Strava has the start time as 6:51 AM. We all felt pretty exhausted from Sunshine and Redcloud the day prior. I just remember it being really quite in the car on the way to the trailhead. Personally, I expected I'd pass out and never get out of the car. I brought my sleeping bag with me cause I kind of expected I'd end up sleeping while they went for the peak. However, the forces of the world drug my tired ass out of the vehicle and we all got ready, put on our snowshoes, and just started hiking. Not speaking much, just putting one foot in front of the other. Think it's fair to say we were all just going through the motions on this one. Which was the success of this I believe, don't think too much, just do it. Well deserved sleep was had after this peak.

Snowshoe time. Beautiful basin

Where it started getting hard with lots of trench building to the saddle between a 13er to the right and Handies to the left

Some moments had solid snow

Star Wars Hoth vibes

Windy at the summit

Plumped down on the summit for a well deserved admiration of the world around us

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rest Day(s) - 2021.10.19 - 20th

Time to rest. The 19th we hung out at a cafe and looked up routes for additional stuff to do on the 20th. The 19th we decided to go check out Matterhorn Creek (TH for Wetterhorn) and Nellie Creek (TH for Uncompahgre). Realizing we aren't making it far in a Subaru up Nellie Creek we opted to have no part of the road hiking involved in that, and committed to Wetterhorn. We got to the 0.7 miles below the real TH and decided that was good enough. The 20th I didn't think I could physically go up a flight of stairs so decided to continue to rest. One person chose to go for a smaller hike, and the other person decided to slay it some more by grabbing a 13er (forgot the name of the 13er). Now the last big day is upon us, but little did we know, another 14er seeker was amongst us.

Wetterhorn - 2021.10.21

We were all pretty tired from the events of the past week. So weren't sure how we'd be on this one. Turning around was a strong option if snow wasn't right. We didn't want another Handies. But luckily, the predictions of one of the climbers was accurate in that that area wouldn't have much snow (the more you educate yourself and look at weather patterns). The hike in was for the most part dry. Once we were at the base for the ascent is when snow and a bit of postholing started happening. Navigating the rocks mentioned in photo 5 of the Southwest Ridge route was interesting, we couldn't see the cairns and weren't too positive on the best way through that area since any step could be a posthole and rock hopping the whole thing wasn't possible. But we made it happen.

The moon on the way into this one was surreal. Not pictured below, but the moon hit a corner perfectly in one spot above treeline that I swore it was a hikers headlamp in the distance, it was bright.

Looking at Wetterhorn

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Looking back the way we came. Some fun plunge stepping took place on our way back down that part to the right

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Picking our own adventure by gaining the ridge a bit earlier

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Me doing my best marmot impression

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No snow in this section was a nice addition

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Just ignore that idiot on the right. Didn't want to come down from this summit. Awesome views. You could see the La Sal Mountains (not pictured).

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Headed down from a successful summit

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What about that mention of the other 14er seeker?

Later that evening I found out the adventurer kalestew was on Uncompahgre Peak at the same time we were on the summit of Wetterhorn and she just happened to get us in her pic (if you zoom in really close). I scanned through my photos but couldn't find any of Uncompahgre that may have had her group in it.

Photo of Wetterhorn by kalestew from the top of Uncompahgre.

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Looking on a couple more adventures

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Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

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