To reach Chicago Basin, use the
Approach Page. From your camp in Chicago Basin, hike northeast toward the end of the basin on the great trail -
1. Near 11,200', turn left toward Twin Lakes at a signed junction
-
2. This trail is used to reach Windom, Sunlight, and Eolus. Continue up through the forest (
3) to an area where the trail is a bit difficult to follow over and around some rock slabs -
4. Near 11,400', leave the trees where you have a great view of two streams on the slope below Twin Lakes -
5. Walk to 11,700' and cross the first stream before swinging right and switchbacking up steeper terrain -
6. Continue to the second stream crossing, near 12,300' -
7. Haul a bit higher to reach Twin Lakes, near 12,500' -
8 and
9.
Near the first lake, locate the Eolus trail which splits off to the left and follow it down to the stream
at the end of lake. Cross the stream, walk past some rock slabs and continue west -
10. Traverse around some cliffs to your right until you can see Eolus' summit ahead -
12. Near 13,300', the trail swings left and enters a boulder field. Follow the step-filled, rock trail through the boulder field (
13) until it exits the boulder field near 13,400'. Continue a bit higher to the base of a ledge/ramp
that climbs right out of the basin -
14. There should be a cairn at the entrance. Studying
13 will help you identify this area and find the correct ramp. Turn right and climb northeast on the Class 2 ramp -
15. There are a couple of sections that require careful movement across angled slabs but the difficulty should not exceed Class 2. At the top of the ramp, continue north on easier terrain to reach a flat area, east of the connecting ridge between Eolus and North Eolus.
Your next goal is to gain the Eolus-North Eolus ridge to the west -
16. Locate a notch in the ridge just above a short, steep, green chute. It's best to hit the ridge at or near this notch. While there are several ways to reach the ridge, the most direct approach is to climb the green chute -
17. Some easier terrain is off to the right, which involves zigzagging up angled slabs. After some brief Class 3 climbing, reach the notch
near 13,850' -
18 and
19. Turn left, climb over a bump on the ridge and descend slightly to reach the "Catwalk," a narrow section along the ridge. Most of the Catwalk is Class 2 but there are a few easy Class 3 moves required along the way. Carefully scramble onto the Catwalk and continue toward Eolus -
20 and
21. After the Catwalk, reach easier terrain below the final summit pitch -
22.
The remaining 250+ feet to the summit requires plenty of route-finding and Class 3 scrambling. The northeast ridge is directly above but the easiest route to the summit is by climbing the east face, just left of the ridge. Turn left and traverse under rock walls on the east face -
23. Once you've traversed approx. half way across the face, begin zigzagging up ledges -
24. As you climb higher, the terrain gets steeper, but still Class 3. Even with dry conditions care must be taken on the narrow ledges -
25 and
26. Gain the summit ridge (
27) and scramble over to the top
-
28 and
29.
