Culebra Peak

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2018, By: WildWanderer
Info: Summer conditions for both Culebra and Red Mountain. NEW CHECK IN AND CHECK OUT PROCEDURES started today. Carlos has his sons working with him this summer, and they're helping check people in (very nice young gentlemen, just like their father). To check out you sign out at the office and you're given a code to unlock/lock the gate. Also, I had a rather husky cinnamon bear run in front of me as I drove back down the 4WD road on my way out. Not something I usually see mid-afternoon. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/17/2018, By: DevonK
Info: FYI: If you are using GPS to get there, Google Maps takes you to the wrong location. Follow the typed directions from 14ers.com to get to the north gate where they let you in. It is summer conditions on the peak. As has been stated in previous reports the new owners are very responsive. I got an immediate response to my email and hiked the mountain 2 days later. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2018, By: jonandmalia
Info: Perfect day on Culebra. The folks at Cielo Visa were super. All snow is avoidable (just a little going up to ridge). Don't follow Waze or Google Map directions to the place, you'll end up at the wrong gate. If the gate you arrive at doesn't look like the picture, you're at the wrong one ( I know because I was lol, plus some others). 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/10/2018, By: desertdog
Info: I had been out of action for 5 weeks. My climbing partner called, and said lets go get Culebra Red Mountain to get you going again! Its was the perfect easy climb. Great weather and a beautiful day. Although you could see fire smoke in the distance, it had had had little effect on the air quality. No snow to speak of. The support at the ranch is so much better these days. We made our reservations with two days notice. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/3/2018, By: DrNoe
Info: Up on Culebra Peak today. Had to deal with grapple, snow, wind, and static electricity surging through arms and top of head as nasty weather moved in mid-morning. Moved down quickly. Snow on the route was completely avoidable. The folks at Cielo Vista Ranch were super hospitable. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/27/2018, By: Gatsby
Info: Some mud and moisture in the bogs directly above the parking lots - all of it can be avoided by following the creek up (east) for ~80 yards, then taking a right to gain the north slopes. Some snow patches persist here, but all can be avoided - no traction necessary. From the top of the north slopes to the summit of Culebra, it is full summer conditions. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/19/2018, By: mtnklmbr
Info: Beautiful day on Culebra and Red Mountain! Windy up high. Can easily drive to the 4WD trailhead in a high clearance vehicle. Some snow is left for short glissades down the slope, but you can easily miss it all on the route. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/21/2018, By: Moogie737
Info: The road from the ranch HQ was completely dry. One steep section of the road prior to Fourway defeated a Honda CR-V but otherwise all of the other vehicles made it to the 4WD TH. We made it to Culebra Peak, Red Mountain and even Punta Serpiente without stepping on snow. However, there were still patches of lingering snow close to the eastern edges of saddle areas. Winds on our day were steady at 15-20 mph. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/13/2018, By: BenThom11
Info: Super windy day, but climbed Culebra and Red mtn with only a few steps on snow. No need for traction or floatation. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/7/2018, By: mtn_clmbr
Info: Car camped at the gate Saturday night. Hiked on Sunday 5-6. Any vehicle with decent clearance can make it past 4-way to 4wd lot. You'll encounter a little bit of snow on the way up to the large cairn, which should hold your weight but can mostly hike on rock/dirt staying to the right. Later in the day the snow was turning mushy on our way down. The ridge up is mostly clear. Started at 7a and back to car at 12p. you wont need snowshoes, but I would pack microspikes as there were a few small ice patches. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/6/2018, By: ryefinegan
Info: Road was clear past four-way. We parked nearly at the normal trailhead which made for a quick morning. We used microspikes much of the day but never needed floatation. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/30/2018, By: nmill64
Info: We Hiked Culebra on Sunday and were able to drive to the 4-way no problem in a Rav-4. Some people drove further up, but were not able to get too much higher and one guy had to reverse back down, so for now I would recommend stopping at the 4-way unless Carlos tells you otherwise! Our group had some that brought snow shoes and some skis, one face on the shoulder still ski-able for about 1,000 feet. Those that brought Snow shoes did not need them although there were some snow crossings that caused some deep post-holing. Extremely windy ridge, but otherwise easy navigation with all avoidable snow. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/16/2018, By: alyannkar
Info: Like the trip reports from the day before, Culebra and the surrounding Spanish Peaks received a TON of snow. Carlos had us begin at Ranch HQ. Honestly, this is for the best. The road is thawing and is a complete mess of mud. You can clearly see where trucks and ATVs have gotten stuck or had a rough time on the road. On the peak, snow ranges from hardly any to a couple inches and even several feet. There is so much wind deposited snow. Like the posters from the previous day, watch out for wind slabs forming. On the ridge, snow was anywhere from ankle to waist deep. Snowshoes may be helpful, but the snow is so powdery that you should still expect to post hole. Microspikes also may be helpful early in the morning and on the ridge. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/15/2018, By: Kcmartinez22
Info: All the snow in the Sangres is on Culebra...geesh. Started at the Ranch at 6. There is a ton of snow on the peak. I shoed all the way up the road to the large cairn and then wore my microspikes to the summit. You could get away with boots on the road, but heading up to the cairn from the TH you'd be miserable. I post holed even in snow shoes. The ridge traverse has knee to waist deep snow in a couple of spots. I had to crawl over a couple of them because the snow was so deep. The snow definitely adds a challenge on that ridge. It was a 13 Hour day, and we didn't spend any time in the summit but to take a couple of pictures. Beautiful day and peak. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/16/2018, By: benlen
Info: Culebra was a winter wonderland on Saturday. Very cold. The recent snow storm in the Sangres dropped some serious snow into the Spanish Peaks, even while further north at Humboldt on Sunday was practically bone dry and I was in hiking boots. Night and day difference between the two. Be prepared to start your hike at Ranch HQ, and be prepared for a long day. I was on AT skis and broke trail through 3 inches to in some places more than a foot of wind deposited snow. Be on the look out for wind slabs forming. I was in a group of two that included a snowshoer also. It took me about 12-13 hours to complete the hike, and her a bit longer. There was a lot of unconsolidated powder snow on the peak as well which made for tough going. I didn't ski so much as use the skis as a mode of transport. Also want to give a shoutout to the manager Carlos. Carlos was awesome, and used his truck to drive us up part of the road, shaving off at least a mile of the trip. Right now the ranch isn't allowing personal cars to go beyond HQ, and I can see why. Carlos' Toyota Tundra was spinning out in snow and mud. Moral of the story: Be nice to Carlos! He'll try and help you out and shave some of that mileage off the road. Also make sure to get the code to the ranch gate from him before you leave in the AM––it'll allow you to leave the ranch after 6pm if necessary. I was able to skin out a long distance on the road back to the ranch, but the snow lower down was rapidly melting. If temps remain high and no more snow falls, it won't be a fun skin up next weekend. You may be better off taking something like snowshoes so you don't have to walk in ski boots.