Tabeguache Peak

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 6/21/2023, By: Roxandnate
Info: Bluebird skies and warm. East slopes up Shavano in near summer conditions. About 6 very small (less than 10 yards) patches of snow, easy to cross, between tree line and summit. Shavano ridge down to saddle with Tabagauche snow free. Saddle covered with snow but easy to cross in the morning with firm snow and minimal to no postholing. Ascent to Tabagauche ridge contains more extensive snow. We saw one climber ascend below the snow on talus, on the left side of the ridge. We chose to ascend directly up ridge on snow, which was super easy going. My daughter used microspikes but I just kicked in steps in firm but soft snow. Once on the ridge, firm snow to the top. We slid back down on our butts. Fun! 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 6/16/2023, By: ssowalskie
Info: The north side of Tabeguache is still covered in snow, and the south side is mostly snow free. I went up the south side and glissaded down the north side. The saddle between Mount Shavano and Tabeguache Peak has a decent amount of snow, but nothing crazy. The summit is still covered in snow, but ascending/descending Tabeguache was easier than re-summitting Mount Shavano, which was a bit of slog up the talus. Thankfully, much of the north side of Mount Shavano is dry and in summer conditions. Flotation and traction were not needed. Car to car, it took about 7 hours, including time spent on both summits. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2023, By: Mt_DAN
Info: Similar to previous report with a dusting of fresh snow above 12,000. Did fine with poles and mountain boots. Was glad to have an axe and spikes in the pack just in case. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 6/12/2023, By: cloudkicker
Info: 1. APPROACH: 4 snowfields left. 1 at 11,300-11,800, 2 at 12,000-12,300, and 1 just below the saddle at 12,600. You can bypass the last one on steep scree climbers right. The others are short (snowshoes not needed but expect some postholing) 2. START OF RIDGE: Dry from the saddle at 12,600 to the false summit at 13,936. 3. FALSE SUMMIT TO SUMMIT: From 13,936 to the summit, plenty of snow left. Traction and ice axe are recommended. The snow was supportive neve snow for us and we stayed on the ridge crest most of the way, with easy, obvious bypasses of only a couple cornices. The final section of ridge (catwalk) requires a class 3-4 downclimb (dry, solid rock) to reach the class 2 summit pitch. With everything mentioned above, non-mountaineering persons probably should wait a few weeks for the route to dry out. Otherwise, if you have some snow climbing of 13ers or 14ers in your resume, the route is Tabe-gucci with no major obstacles to encounter. The ridge from 13,936 to summit looked intimidating with some legit exposure but it was the most fun part of the day for us. 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 6/11/2023, By: ztweb
Info: The descent from Shavano was almost completely snow free until the lowest point of the saddle between Shav and Tabeguache. Once you hit snow at the saddle, its deep and continuous until the summit of Tabeguache. The final 200' of elevation to the summit was one big cornice, but the snow seemed stable. I found microspikes and an ice axe to be helpful, but you could do it without either. 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 5/27/2023, By: Jason Halladay
Info: Standard route up Shavano to Tabeguache & back is straight forward intermittent snow and rocks. Traction and snowshoes not needed. Plenty of snow around treeline but kicked in steps/track makes it easy. Go early to minimize postholing. 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 11/20/2022, By: Adam_swain
Info: Tabegauche had a little more snow cover on the trail, but nothing significant. Rock hopping mostly super possible. See previous Shavano post for more details. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 9/30/2022, By: frankster
Info: Final 3.6 miles of road are clear, rocky and rutted. Our stock 2016 Jeep Wrangler enjoyed the ride. The route description on 14ers.com is spot on. We were the only hikers on this side of the mountain on this splendid Fall day. Bonus. The first few miles of the trail are becoming a bit overgrown but no issues finding the route. Having gotten our boots sloppy wet two years ago, we brought a second pair of socks/shoes, as parts of the first mile can be sloppy. No issues crossing the feeder creeks to Jennings. We trended along the talus (on hiker's right while ascending) and stayed dry. Fall colors were extraordinary. The stand of ancient Bristlecone Pines are the major bonus of this hike. Once on the ridgecrest, there was a light dusting of snow from the night of Sep 27. It was melting fairly quickly by the time of our descent. We were never tempted to break out our microspikes. The summit and east facing walls looked bone dry, but a thin layer of ice could accumulate on the western exposures (?). 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 7/28/2022, By: MaryinColorado
Info: Nothing notable conditions-wise on 7/27, but judging by cloud cover and frequency of rain observed on 7/28, basin likely received a bunch of rain and could now be a wet, muddy, more-mosquito-y adventure. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 7/22/2022, By: Skier88
Info: Be prepared for areas of unstable rock and scree just before and after making the ridge. Thunderstorms move in early but overall doable conditions. 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 6/20/2022, By: shapovalovm
Info: Went Shavano->Tabegauche->Esprit Point For all practical purposes the trail is completely clear of snow: up Shavano I found a patch of snow so small that it has probably melted by now; Tabegauche has some snow on the ridge leading to the summit, but easily avoidable; no snow on Esprit at all. The road is totally doable by a regular 2WD sedan, just go slow to avoid puncturing your tires. Started at 7:45am, finished by 3:15pm. The wind was pretty bad, especially at the saddles, but otherwise a wonderful day. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2022, By: Amanda Horner
Info: A few small snow patches won't be there much longer. No traction needed. 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 12/22/2021, By: supranihilest
Info: Dry from Shavano to the saddle. Patchy, avoidable snow from the saddle to about 100 feet below Tabeguache's summit, then hard snow or rock hopping to the summit. I wore Gore-Tex trail runners and was happy not to have boots on. Flotation, traction, and ice axe unnecessary. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 12/12/2021, By: alsy_88
Info: Access is blocked about 2.6 miles before trailhead, which brings roundtrip to a little over 13. Snow through Jennings Creek was between 6-12", with waist high in several short crossings once out of tree line. Wind was down right brutal and sustained for 70% of the climb (I actually got knocked over several times on the West Ridge). Once out of the valley and on the ridge, very little snow. 

Route: Via Mt. Shavano
Posted On: 12/4/2021, By: taylorharris50
Info: Near summer conditions in December! No traction. Low wind.