La Plata Peak

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/27/2023, By: enoki
Info: One stretch of snow covering the trail on the ridge. Easily avoidable with some rock hopping to climber's right. Did seem to cause some confusion since you lose cairns. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: amlynczak
Info: As advertised, the Ellingwood Ridge is a slog. Set off at 3 am and gained the ridge by sunrise. Summited in 9 hours and back to the car in 11 hours. Tried to stick to the ridge as much as possible which definitely added some time. There are a few patches of snow left near the summit, but nothing requiring traction. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: haileyraskovic
Info: We started around 6am because the forecast was clear all day. There was not as many mosquitos as I would have anticipated given all of the water so that was a plus because I had forgotten to put on bug spray; it really was a nonissue though! The trail was dry all the way to the basin and most of the way to the rock face, with the exception of a few muddy/marshy areas that we were able to rock hop through. We didn't think the rock face was as rough as we were anticipating based off other trip reports (definitely easier going up than coming down though lol but we were still able to make it down without poles or butt-scooching). The wild flowers are popping the whole way up and we saw a ton of pika but hardly any marmots. We followed the cairns to the left up the scree but we went a bit too far left and ended up adding some distance through the scree it seemed, but no major issues there. There is a couple snowfields around 14k but nothing crazy and all avoidable except one which was really short and we didn't posthole in). After spending a while at the summit we made our way down & stayed more towards the other side of the scree and it was definitely more straight forward and felt a bit shorter too! Bluebird day so the descent was really toasty (I brought 3.5L of water and finished it before the end). Lots of running water earlier on in the trail if you need to filter. Neither of us have done the standard route for La Plata but the SW ridge was SOO pretty I'm really glad we chose to go this way! Definitely one of my favorite hikes I've done, and easily my favorite 14er to date (this only makes #6 for me though)! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: bagelbattalion
Info: 99% summer conditions. There is a snowfield that slightly covers part of the trail towards the end, but you can skirt it with a little extra time with light scrambling. Little loose in spots so trekking poles recommended for way down. Fun and tough trail, great views! 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: colin j
Info: 98% summer conditions. Some snow right before East La Plata makes the finish pretty funky; otherwise a long, tiring day (12.5 hrs car to car). Saw two other parties on the ridge. To add some beta, most descriptions suggest bypasses on the left; I found going climber's right at 39.05190, -106.46885 (avoids notch with leap of faith) and 39.04235, -106.46468 (avoids committing headwall) was way better than the left side. 

Route: Ellingwood Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: wintersage
Info: There was just enough snow on the climbers left side of the ridge and just before the summit to cause a nuisance but overall we had summer conditions. We stuck mostly to ridge direct or close to it to get a little more technical climbing experience but the route could certainly be kept at class 3 by staying lower or with careful route finding. Sunny bluebird day overall 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: glenhanderson
Info: Arrived at TH just after 7am on a Monday and only 1 parking spot left! There's only room for about 10 cars and then some overflow on side of road. Paved road all the way. Wasn't too busy overall today. There were storms and clouds threatening today and the forecast got a bit worse overnight. Luckily it didn't impact us too much. It rained briefly as we were driving near the TH. Heard from an early summitter that several of them huddled under rocks on the summit due to early thunderstorm which we avoided by sleeping in, if you call 5am sleeping in :) No snow gear required on this trail. There are a few minor snow crossings but they are well defined and short. Trail is in good shape. 2.5+ miles of the trail is nice dirt path, not too rocky, not big steps. There are some steep rocky sections and the upper part requires the usual boulder hopping. By about 9:30 another storm was brewing with precip and thunder. Luckily it stayed a ridge or two over, closer to Elbert. We got some high winds and 5 mins of rain and snow. But it moved through quickly and we made it up and down with decent weather. By the time we returned to the TH, it was hot and sunny. Made it to the summit in about 3:15. There's a sign with elevation at the summit for celebration photo. Great views of surrounding mountains and valleys, enhanced by the unsettled weather. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: leo_hermacinski
Info: Trails mostly dry and dusty. Remaining snowfields either trenched out or avoidable by scrambling. No need for traction/micro spikes at all. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: mtn14
Info: I saw a guy pushing over cairns near the snow fields around 13.5k. I called him out, so hopefully he stopped after that (He responded Whatever. You can see the trail.). I did a terrible job rebuilding the two I saw, so just pay extra attention to the route around 13.5k. Please respect - those cairns are life savers! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/6/2023, By: harryschmach
Info: Trail is ever so slightly wet above the river crossings. Careful on the last switchback stretch before the saddle as the middle has a section that has (I'm guessing) partially washed out with a tumble downslope if you lose your footing. Snow is mixed on 3 parts of the trail: 1) End of the saddle into the scree - easily manageable, 2) between scree and the trail section that wraps around the true west side to summit approach - advise micro spikes if you're not comfortable using the class 2 scree to bypass, 3) pre summit - flat and solid, don't let the summit view break your focus. All in all, great conditions with some considerations recommended for the loose dirt and sun-warmed slick snow. I saw a Lynx today and tons of pika. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: sabviv
Info: The trail is pretty dry and well maintained, only a few small snow crossings left higher up the ridge and at the summit. With a 4:30am start and 8:45am summit we didn't posthole either way. Grabbed the last primary parking spot (that was not down the adjacent dirt road leading to the trailhead) and cars continued to pour in after us so the area filled up quickly! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: fdgonzalez
Info: Close to summer conditions today. Small section of snow around 12k feet, but no postholing and microspikes were not needed. Theres more snow at 13k ft, but if you stay to the climbers right you can avoid it and scramble up rocks instead. Summit still has some snow. Great opportunities to glissade down. Saw lots of marmots. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: PJ88
Info: Similar to the other recent condition reports. First gulley was still holding snow. Ridge to summit is still covered. Was supportive on the way up. I did post hole a couple times on my way down at about 9am. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: WildRover80
Info: Made the summit this morning. There was some snow, but I did not need my micros all day. It was pretty windy and a little brisk, but a beautiful day overall! 

Route: North Face
Posted On: 6/26/2023, By: mcosby
Info: Bush-whacked up into the basin (the route as noted basically just trudges through the forest until tree line). The basin was dry so lots of talus hopping. The couloirs were all full, but a fair bit of recent avy debris made me take a right hand alternate chute and join the standard route at ~13,000 on the ridge. From there it was all snow on the ridge to the summit. Very pleasant peak!