7/3/2021 Route: Chicago Basin Approach Posted On: 7/9/2021, By: swesleyc7 Info: Confirming: Summer conditions at peak of Sunlight. No snow on trail to Chicago Basin. Minor snow fields located at Twin Lakes. Otherwise, ascent from Twin Lakes to Sunlight summit is entirely free of snow as the summit is getting copious sun. Geographic changes to trail (i.e. rock-fall, etc.) unremarkable. Weather excellent at this time of year with rain likely after noon, as expected. Attached photo shows Twin Lakes, taken from the summit. Climb on! |
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6/20/2021 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/25/2021, By: Will_Quillman Info: Summer Conditions on the standard south face route. Did not use traction or gaiters. Class 4 seems a bit overrated on this route, but that is just my opinion. We started from higher up in the basin around 5 am Sunday morning, took us 3 hours to reach the summit and then we headed over to Windom. Submitted a trip report for Windom too. |
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10/5/2020 Route: Purgatory Flats Posted On: 10/8/2020, By: mickknu16 Info: Bluebird week in Chicago basin! Incredible conditions for October, no traction needed. The winds of Aeolus cleared the smoke out this week for us, but it rolled in this morning thick as we were packing out. Small fire at Purgatory was a big cause. Fall colors are in full swing. Get it while it's clear! Windom is still holding snow in some spots, but all are easily passable. |
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9/15/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 9/15/2020, By: shsdawg58 Info: The Chicago Basin 14ers are open for business. I summited all peaks without traction or ice tools. Go get it! |
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9/15/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 9/15/2020, By: shsdawg58 Info: The Chicago Basin 14ers are open for business. I summited all peaks without traction or ice tools. Go get it! |
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8/22/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 8/24/2020, By: jryor121 Info: Continued from: https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/peakstatus_entry.php?recnum=17888 After coming down Elous's, we made it back to the Twin Lakes by 8:30 AM, and began our slog up to Sunlight's summit. The rocks up the south face are very loose for a good couple hundred feet. I would recommend sticking to the right side of the gulley until just near the saddle, when it's easier to cross on less loose rocks. After getting to the saddle, the rest of the climb was fine. On the descent, stuck to the same side of the face that we went up, making the descent much easier as we continued on towards Windom. https://www.strava.com/activities/3955220004 |
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8/21/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 8/22/2020, By: Clint the climber Info: Sunlight is a great little climb! The summit block is unique, the exposer is overhyped. |
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8/14/2020 Route: West Ridge Posted On: 8/16/2020, By: IsaacD Info: Climbed all 5 Chicago Basin 14ers. Summer conditions all around. Pro tip: don't leave anything that has sweat on it in the basin between peaks. We left some climbing shoes, helmets, and headlamps down in the basin after our ascent of Sunlight Spire and came back to find helmets and shoes were chewed by marmots. Headlamp and one climbing shoe were completely gone. |
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8/8/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 8/11/2020, By: nathanpt1 Info: Completed all four 14ers around Twin Lakes on standard routes. Beautiful day, wild flowers are out, and the weather held, did experience a short burst of graupel top of Windom. Lost a mens medium black Exofficio rain jacket on Sunlight, i suspect the block over the chimney scrapped it off my pack, please contact me if found. |
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7/14/2020 Route: Ridge Direct Posted On: 7/15/2020, By: Unknown Info: Gained the saddle from Windom around the "bowl" to avoid snow, gained ridge direct class 5+, took it over past the "hole" and up the summit block. Descended standard where I encountered CFI steps on the bottom of the scree slope |
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7/11/2020 Route: South Face Posted On: 7/13/2020, By: Sbenfield Info: Summer |
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7/8/2020 Route: Chicago Basin Approach Posted On: 7/11/2020, By: s mckinney10 Info: Hiked in from the Purgatory trailhead. Everything was in full summer conditions. There are a couple small snowfields to cross, but no traction is required for the ascent or descent. Lots of marmots and goats in the basin and around the twin lakes. |
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7/3/2020 Route: Elous, N Elous, Windom and Sunlight Posted On: 7/6/2020, By: hjellmre Info: Route for all four peaks is almost entirely snow free. Four minor snow fields to pass over, the most significant being in the connector between Sunlight and Windom. No traction needed. |
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10/5/2019 Route: South Face Posted On: 10/6/2019, By: TieDye Info: Sunlight: S Face still totally dry. Windom: Fresh snow dustings are starting to stick around on the portions of the trail on the NW Face which lie in the northern shadow. Was fine without traction but watch your step. These snow dustings are accumulating on the NW Face and on top of the leftover snowfields. Went straight up a snowfield to the W Ridge instead of dropping all the way down. Fine in trail runners in the afternoon. Eolus: Similar to Windom, fresh snow dustings are starting to stick around on the ESE Face where the trail drops down from the ridge. No traction necessary around 6 PM. Watch your step. N Eolus: Totally dry. The snowfields from this past winter aren't going anywhere. All manageable without equipment at the times I was on them (times listed for reference). Everything else dry (approach, catwalk, whatever doesn't get caught in shadows all day). Still overwhelmingly summer conditions. Get it while you can! Overnighters said it got down to 17 F at whatever elevation that is Friday night into Saturday. Purgatory TH - 710 AM Animas River bridge at Wilderness border - 930 AM Twin Lakes - 1200 PM (15 minute lunch) Sunlight - 215 PM Windom - 400 PM Twin Lakes - 510 PM Eolus - 635 PM N Eolus - 705 PM Twin Lakes - 800 PM Animas River bridge at Wilderness border - 1045 PM Purgatory TH - 240 AM 41 mi, 11.1k vert, 19:30 TH to TH |
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9/6/2019 Route: South Face Posted On: 9/9/2019, By: bludwig Info: This will be a copy/paste for all four of the Chicago Basin peaks: There is some snow by Twin Lakes on the route to Windom/Sunlight, it is hard and no traction required. The flies/mosquitoes are pretty bad and pretty aggressive. Although, the cold nights may start killing them off. Because of the very unpredictable weather in the Weminuche, I wanted to include my rough split times between the mountains so you can determine how to break them up. Doing all four in a day can be very difficult due to the temperamental weather. Order: Windom, Sunlight, Eolus, North Eolus. I recommend doing North last since it is very easy to bail out on if needed and recommend Windom first because route finding in the dark is straight forward. From campsite (11,000 feet) to Windom: 2.5 hours Windom to Sunlight: 1.5 hours Sunlight summit to Eolus turnoff: 1 hour Catwalk turnoff to Eolus: 40 minutes Eolus summit to catwalk turn: 40 minutes Catwalk to North Eolus summit: 7 minutes North Eolus summit to campsite: ~2 hours |
