Mt. Oso Trip Report 02/25/2011

Report Type	Mini
Peak(s)	Mt. Oso - 13,689 feet
Date Posted	02/25/2011
Modified	02/27/2011
Date Climbed	04/24/2010
Author	Manky

Oso nice-Ski descent of Mt. Oso
Been wanting to get this TR together for a while. This is my first TR on 14ers, so here we go!! After a few recon and ski trips deep into the Weminuche, we finally sussed out a decent ski descent on Mt. Oso. Our goal was the giant snowfield visible from the south that drops right off the top and then curves you around beautifully into upper Roell Creek. Our access point was the Vallecito Creek Trailhead. After a stop at Comida Mexicana at Vallecito for burros, vitamin water and provisions we hit the trail about 1 p.m. First bridge on Vallecito Creek Vallecito trail-finally skinning After a nice dinner and brew at our camp at the mouth of Roell Creek, we slept fairly good despite the long approach. In the morning we set off up Roell Creek with skis and a smile. Roell Creek-Graylock and Thunder behind A million dollar view preceded a very cold day. Alpenglow After cruising up Roell creek and then up a steep portion at treeline, we got higher in the basin above Lost Lake. Peters Peak welcomes us as well as winds that force us to hike in puffy coats. Skinning above lost lake with Peter's Peak behind Point 13,179 that we skied a week prior. Neat couloir off west side of Oso Finally the frozen corn and increase in angle forces us to put the skis on the pack and boot up. Good corn for the climb, but pretty frozen on the descent. Bootpack Bootin it All the way up on the boot pack we had to look at this tiny snowfield that we get to ski on the way down. The huge snowfield A long interesting ridge to the top with a huge drop to climbers right finally put us on the windy summit. Happy summit but cold Andy on top The view up here was awesome despite some clouds around us. San Juans An excellent view of remote neighbor Mt. Irving-hoping to ski this one this year! Mt. Irving Skiing the upper portion of Oso. Skiing the huge snowfield. Skiing Roell creek just above camp. After a cold, varied descent directly from the summit, we reached high camp at the mouth of Roell Creek tired and satisfied. For every great line we ski, we see ten more that we dream of doing. We have not heard of anyone else skiing Mt. Oso, so let us know if you have!! Skiing back down Roell Creek Back at high camp Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Oso nice-Ski descent of Mt. Oso

Been wanting to get this TR together for a while. This is my first TR on 14ers, so here we go!!

After a few recon and ski trips deep into the Weminuche, we finally sussed out a decent ski descent on Mt. Oso. Our goal was the giant snowfield visible from the south that drops right off the top and then curves you around beautifully into upper Roell Creek. Our access point was the Vallecito Creek Trailhead. After a stop at Comida Mexicana at Vallecito for burros, vitamin water and provisions we hit the trail about 1 p.m.

After a nice dinner and brew at our camp at the mouth of Roell Creek, we slept fairly good despite the long approach. In the morning we set off up Roell Creek with skis and a smile.

A million dollar view preceded a very cold day.

After cruising up Roell creek and then up a steep portion at treeline, we got higher in the basin above Lost Lake. Peters Peak welcomes us as well as winds that force us to hike in puffy coats.

Skinning above lost lake with Peter's Peak behind

Point 13,179 that we skied a week prior.

Finally the frozen corn and increase in angle forces us to put the skis on the pack and boot up. Good corn for the climb, but pretty frozen on the descent.

All the way up on the boot pack we had to look at this tiny snowfield that we get to ski on the way down.

A long interesting ridge to the top with a huge drop to climbers right finally put us on the windy summit.

The view up here was awesome despite some clouds around us.

An excellent view of remote neighbor Mt. Irving-hoping to ski this one this year!

Skiing the upper portion of Oso.

Skiing the huge snowfield.

Skiing Roell creek just above camp.

After a cold, varied descent directly from the summit, we reached high camp at the mouth of Roell Creek tired and satisfied. For every great line we ski, we see ten more that we dream of doing. We have not heard of anyone else skiing Mt. Oso, so let us know if you have!!

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

sgladbach	Great Job! 2/26/2011 2:38am I'd love to hear more about the expedition attack. Where, exactly, were you able to park? How was the approach to high-camp? Is it reasonable to continue further up the Vallecito (i.e. Sunlight Creek? )A week ago, you mentioned a carry to high camp. How long did that take; was the snow still broken when you climbed? ”We have not heard of anyone else skiing Mt. Oso, so let us know if you have!! ” No, I haven't. If it has been skied, I'll bet my boots it wasn't during true winter. Looking forward to more TR's on this very remote stuff. Steve
d_baker	cool 2/26/2011 3:07am Nice to see a TR on part of the state, in winter, that probably sees few, if any visitors this time of year!! Awesome! Thanks for posting... (btw...the youtube vid's didn't load)
Manky	Not in winter..... 2/26/2011 3:33am This trip took place last April-see the climb date at the top. Finally figured out the youtube links.
traderaaron	Wow! 2/26/2011 3:41am I know this is a serious effort to get there in the summer, I had to do a double take at first when I saw the date and the fact it was a ski trip. Wow!
Floyd	Nice! 2/26/2011 4:43am Great pictures, but I bet they don't come close to doing THAT scenery justice. Thanks for posting.
d_baker	Re: Not in winter 2/26/2011 12:49pm Oh...still, very cool to see a report from that area! I saw a post of yours a week ago which led me to think, without looking at the above date, that this was recent! Still Awesome!
Manky	sgladbach... 2/27/2011 2:06pm The road is plowed right to the campground where the Vallecito trail head starts. The approach to Roell Creek high camp took about 5-6 hours of skiing (about 11ish miles). We skied Oso the next day and skied all the way back to the truck-a total of around 30 miles in a day and a half. Vallecito creek is an awesome approach for any climbs in this area. It is a very flat trail with gentle gain most of the way. Our carry two weeks ago took about a 10 hour round trip and we cached food around 8 miles near the foot of Mt. Irving. Planning on trying to ski Irving and some other secret projects soon!
PKelley	Nice work! 3/1/2011 10:55pm That is a lot of skinning/hiking to ski a peak. Cool.
SchralpTheGnar	Nice slog 3/3/2011 4:17pm Way to get out there, that must have been an amazing trip. Thanks for posting.
Easy Rider	Tanks for posting 3/13/2011 5:13pm looks like a great trip. Way to get out there!
swbackcountry	Impressive trip, great first. 6/21/2013 4:51am A few pics a report surely don't do an effort like this justice, so hopefully a few words of appreciation help. Great Job, especially for being the first!!

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