5/19/2024 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 5/19/2024, By: artemavovk Info: some tesla drove all the way past the second creek crossing on the road; after that there's big patches of snow, but you can get get up to treeline without flotation; with some creativity you can get continuous snow from the last gully to treeline; and a few sharky turns off the summit; |
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12/30/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 12/30/2023, By: supranihilest Info: Our crew of five re-established the trench. No signs of unstable snow, even on the steeper stuff. Gully to summit plateau basically dry. Flotation needed from 4WD trailhead to south ridge's eastern slopes, not useful above. Microspikes useful for ascent to ridge crest then summit but not strictly necessary. Crampons overkill. Ice axe not necessary either, some might like one for peace of mind but poles would work as well or better. |
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12/22/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 12/23/2023, By: astranko Info: Judd (CaptainSuburbia) and I summited 12/22. This probably won't be terribly relevant given the snow over the holidays. We booted up a trench from the 2wd to 4wd trailhead. At the 4wd trailhead we switched into snowshoes and followed a decent trench to treeline. We ascended the south facing steep slope that the summer trail goes up and plowed our way across the basin until the gentle south ridge. There was one spooky-ish section right at 13.4k where there was a deep slab that rolled into both the east and west side of the south ridge. Look out for that if attempting later. The 3rd class and 2nd class ways to get onto the summit plateau were both low-snow/snow free. From there to the summit was easy going. The snow overall was pretty thin and variable. The deeper snow was very layered and was a little spooky. I didn't see any recent slide activity, but it doesn't seem like a good base for the snow that is coming. I had a very difficult day due to a respiratory illness I apparently wasn't over. Big and public thanks to Judd for being such a spectacular partner. |
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12/16/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 12/17/2023, By: awestra Info: Summitted Uncompahgre yesterday 12/16, started from Nellie Creek 2WD TH (road to which was well-plowed). Road to 4WD trailhead and most of the route were snowed-in. We put in a snowshoe trench from 2WD TH to above 12k'. On the upper mountain, the ridgelines were mostly scoured. Overall a pretty awesome day |
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11/12/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 11/13/2023, By: kriddle Info: The route definitely has plenty of snow down low, but it's much less of an issue once you reach the ridge. There was very little snow above ~13,400 ft. Despite a late start (~10am), we were able to make it relatively easily with no flotation. An earlier start would obviously benefit from firmer snow. We brought traction but never felt the need to pull the spikes out due to the soft snow. Gaiters and waterproof footwear are a must due to inevitable postholing though. The biggest challenge right now is the thick sheets of ice on the road up Nellie Creek. I'll post a trailhead update as well. |
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10/8/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/9/2023, By: alex_herbert Info: Hiked Sunday 10/8/23 from the 2WD. Route is snow free to ~12800. From there to the summit there was intermittent snow, but nothing deep. Snow was well frozen on the way up in the early morning, but the trail up high was pretty muddy and slushy coming down at 11. Until more snow comes gaiters would be unnecessary and I didn't feel the need to use spikes, but I did like having poles. Currently the steeper variation in photo #11 is snow/ ice free. For anyone looking for good fall colors, this route was spectacular along the road. The aspens along the road made the extra miles feel worth it. Having hiked the road, I am not surprised that the occasional Subaru + skilled driver gets to the 4WD trailhead, but I wouldn't really have any desire to try this road without extra clearance and 4wd. Definitely a few risky spots for the AWD SUV types. |
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10/3/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 10/5/2023, By: denverfromdenver Info: Was able to make it up to the upper TH in a GX470 as was a 2wd Tacoma. Seems like above 11k' the area got anywhere between 2-6". Trail was 100% snow covered and was anywhere between 1-12+" from drifting, but was easy to follow the entire way up. Snowshoes would've been overkill, but gaiters would've been a nice to have. The crux ledges before the summit were snow covered, but not icy, so we didn't use traction (but I would bring spikes). Hot sun in the afternoon was melting things off quickly, but it sure seemed wintery up there. |
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9/23/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/23/2023, By: katielyons Info: Trail is completely dry, but the north faces of peaks to the south are looking somewhat snowy starting at about 13k. UN 13,158 also looked mostly snow-free. |
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9/17/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/18/2023, By: bdloftin77 Info: Dry!! Most peaks south of Henson Creek appeared to have a decent amount of snow, notably Redcloud and Sunshine. |
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9/16/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/17/2023, By: Riverxyz11 Info: Snow was completely gone yesterday. Except at the crux of the route. Maybe some spikes in case has turned into ice from the hikers traffic. I did both Uncompahgre and Wetterhorn same day and they are both snow clear. Nellie Creek road to upper trailhead needs at least 8 inches clearance and good maneuvering. Toyota 4Runners are popular there. |
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9/10/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/12/2023, By: Eagle Eye Info: There were a lot of trail crews up here to work on the route Sunday 9/10, digging holes and putting in big logs. The large flats area a little below the upper TH was quiet but very full of campers and vehicles in the wee hours ~ 4 am. I set out about 4:45 am and found great conditions and a great summer trail. Up higher where a couple of route choices are shown (Photo 11 in the route description) I went up on the steeper, "before the rock tower" line and returned on the "past the rock tower" line. Both are good, the before line is way more solid whereas the after line is partially on a scree slope. I missed sunrise but had the summit to myself at about 7:15 am. I didn't see anyone coming up for a long time when descending. Closer to tree line, many trail crews were now working and wanted me to test a few newly placed logs when coming down. A great day and I'll update the Nellie Creek Trailhead conditions too. happy trails, Mike Via |
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8/2/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 8/21/2023, By: jr0ch Info: Beautiful, summer conditions. Hike your hearts away. |
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7/22/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: Madeline1104 Info: Summer conditions besides one short snowfield to cross, spikes not needed. We also took the steeper line up (photo 11 in the route description) and it was pretty stable. Lots of wildflowers on the trail! |
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7/16/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: nmjameswilson Info: Summer conditions like the previous report but I wanted to add info about the boulder on Nellie Creek. The boulder is still on the road but two Tundras including mine were able to get around it. |
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7/15/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: hsfedina Info: Summer conditions save 3 short snow fields that posed no issue. |
