11/8/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 11/11/2013, By: Hiro Info: Trail is covered in icy snow off and on from the trailhead to just below (lower) Chicago Lake. Yak or other light traction device might be desired by some, but can be done in tennis shoes if needed (I would avoid rubbers which get hard and slippery when cold). From about 11k' just below Lower Chicago Lake, there are sheets of ice on the trail, crampons are pretty much required, especially if you are descending. Above Chicago Lakes to Summit Lake, rocks and dirt dominate with much snow as well. I wished I had put on my gaiters for this section (it's that deep sometimes), but not difficult or dangerous - and crampons were not required up at elevation. We did not go above Summit Lake on this route due to the high wind. Side note - the road from the summit is basically clear - you could carry your bike up there and ride it down the road. |
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9/28/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 9/29/2013, By: csprang Info: Anywhere from 1-4" of snow is present from Chicago lakes up to the summit. Small spots of ice but no micro spikes or crampons needed. |
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9/18/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 9/19/2013, By: sergeisorkin Info: Everything is still dry up there, with the exception of the North-ish face. |
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7/26/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 7/27/2013, By: jefwerner Info: We ascended Evans after traversing from Bierstadt via the Sawtooth. The Sawtooth was clear of snow and well cairned (but never rely on cairns to get you through). After hiking up to Evans‘ summit, we returned to Guanella Pass via the West Slopes and headed down Gomer‘s Gully. The gully trail was steep, but in pretty good condition. Once you get to the valley floor there are several very wet sections, but you should be able to pick your way through without getting too wet. The trail is somewhat braided in sections, but the side spurs seem to come back to the main trail. |
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6/30/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 6/30/2013, By: thebeave7 Info: The section through the willows down low is the standard bushwack, and is very damp. You would do best to not try to keep your feet dry. The scree gully leading up between Spalding and the Sawtooth is snow free and easy footing. The stream is currently flowing almost all the way to the top of the gully. Snow is a non-factor on Spalding or on the traverse over to Mt Evans. The Sawtooth is also snow free, and all snow on the Bierstadt side can be bypassed. |
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6/15/2013 Route: Northeast Face from Chicago Creek Posted On: 6/15/2013, By: pklotzbach Info: Climbed Mount Evans from Chicago Creek. The Chicago Creek Trail only has a couple of minor snow patches left, which are all easily avoidable. There is a bit of mud between Chicago Lake #1 and #2, but once your boots get muddy, it‘s pretty fun :-) All the snow on the Northeast Face is avoidable if you so desire. All that‘s to say, it‘s pretty much summer conditions, so go get it! By the way, if you‘re in to wildflowers, they will be pretty nice in about 7-14 days. I saw lots of wildflowers that were getting ready to go but hadn‘t quite bloomed yet. |
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6/15/2013 Route: Bierstadt and the Sawtooth Posted On: 6/17/2013, By: Jasonicfederation Info: Several cousins and I hiked the Mt. Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans route on Saturday, returning back to Guanella Pass through Evans‘ West Ridge and Gomer‘s Gulley. For our post-sunrise departure, we joined the usual summer Saturday morning crowds ascending Bierstadt. After summiting Bierstadt mid-morning, we descended down the northeast ridge toward the Bierstadt-Sawtooth saddle. The largest snowfield of the day began soon after, and was roughly a couple hundred yards across (Image #1). As long as we stepped carefully, there was not much of an issue with post-holing. Ascending the Sawtooth, there were several patches of snow in some of the steeper sections, but was fairly firm and not much of a problem. There was one patch in particular on the west side, shortly before beginning the ‘exit ramp‘ from the Sawtooth, that seemed like it might be tough to negotiate without an axe (which we did not bring), but really wasn‘t as bad as it looked once we got to it. The trail along the south side of Evans‘ west ridge had a good dozen or so snow crossings, but even by mid-afternoon wasn‘t enough to be a post-holing hazard or necessitate microspikes. Image #4 is a rather low-quality cell phone picture, but shows a wider angle look back at the snow along Bierstadt and the east side of the Sawtooth, taken from Evans‘ west ridge. For the return trip, Gomer‘s Gulley was nearly snow-free, but of course this time of year the trail along the beaver ponds and willows near Scott Gomer Creek were rather muddy in numerous places. We brought microspikes, but never needed them at any point. Post-holing was nearly non-existant (with a few notable exceptions). Carrying axes may have sped up the transition across a few of the larger snow fields (another party on this route used them), but probably not have been a huge benefit. If you descend through the Scott Gomer Creek basin, be prepared for mud and some boggy conditions that are at times difficult to avoid. |
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2/8/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 2/16/2013, By: adam79 Info: Road was clear all the way to Guanella camprground. The snow was packed all the way to just below the Bierstadt TH. Creek was frozen and i would recommend staying on the creek as much as possible if you do not have snow shoes. We post holed most of the way until we hit the frozen creek between the trees. The gully was clear and not to difficult to climb. My hiking partner bailed at about 12,500 due to fatigue. I made it to 14,0012 before bailing to extremely high winds that were not forecasted. P.S. I‘m working in evergreen and can see Evans from the jobsite. There is a lot more snow on the summit as of 2/14/2013. There was no snow on the summit, the day of my hike. |
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1/5/2013 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 1/6/2013, By: RWSchaffer Info: The road was closed at Guanella Pass Campground with packed snow to the summit of Guanella Pass. The Bierstadt trail was bootpacked to the point where I left it for Evans. At this point, snowshoes became desirable. The swampy area around Scott Gomer Creek was mostly frozen, but beware of any ice without snow on it; it is still receiving liquid water and will become slushy during the day. I climbed slopes to the left of the creek that runs northwest of Spalding and then traversed Spalding‘s northwest and southwest slopes rather than climbing the creek that runs between Evans and Spalding as in the route description. The slopes around Spalding and Evans had thin snow cover. The cairned route along Evans‘s west ridge was almost dry. I didn‘t do the Sawtooth Ridge, but include a picture for anyone who is interested. I did not use additional traction, and used an ice axe only because I prefer it to trekking poles. |
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11/3/2012 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 11/3/2012, By: Corn Info: The trails through the willows had some ice, which started to melt a little in the afternoon. Once you get above the lakes and into the gully it‘s clear sailing to the summit |
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10/13/2012 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 10/15/2012, By: tim_m1 Info: Climbed Saturday, but did not summit. Areas down low until you reach the trough are very marshy / muddy. Be very careful not to get wet. Trough has snow about ankle deep in most places and the area above the trough around 13,200 is snow covered. Temperature at 13,200 Saturday was high 20‘s with 30-40 mph winds. |
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9/25/2012 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 9/25/2012, By: jmartin830129 Info: This peak received about 1" of snow on the peak. route was muddy as normal some spots knee deep |
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9/22/2012 Route: West Ridge from Guanella Pass Posted On: 9/22/2012, By: tjerasdave Info: Summer conditions, no snow on route. Spend the extra time to bag West Evans; it had great views. |
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6/18/2012 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 6/18/2012, By: lafutura Info: like previously reported, mud is a big issue. i didn‘t have any special equipment with me - all i brought was a sense of humor and it was all fine. no question that unless you have some pretty tall boots you will end up with mud inside your shoes. also be prepared to do a lot of bushwhacking to initially find a trail. a sense of humor serves you well here too. other than that, weather was perfect and there were no special trail conditions to be concerned with (once you were out of the bog, of course). |
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6/5/2012 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 6/7/2012, By: MTGOAT72 Info: After leaving the trail there is a consistent mud bog till reaching the gully. Bring gaiters. Excellent after that, route up the gully is in great shape. http://coloradoascents.blogspot.com/2012/06/mount-evans.html |
