Mt. Lindsey

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/19/2025, By: Pedro F
Info: There were about a dozen folks working towards the summit yesterday, of which prob 3/4 were using the ridge route. It sure seemed like a number of us ended up not staying high enough pre the headwall and somehow ended up partway down the gully immediately below the headwall. Or maybe we were on route and we'd just misinterpreted the expectation of it? At any rate, we all had the "fun" of doing a bit of gully navigating that we'd all been trying to avoid by taking the ridge route in the first place. Either way, I'd recommend trying to get as much elevation as you're comfortable with pre the headwall. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2025, By: ColoNativeGal
Info: Summer conditions. If you track your mileage you'll be able to figure out the Lilly Lake sign in the dark pretty easily, 1 mile from the start of the TH signs. From there we knew the river crossing was next and we went across the log jam. On the way back we used the rocks, which was faster in the light, but the log jam worked in the dark. As previously stated, it's a little confusing in the dark through the trees, but as long as you keep an eye on your gpx and have studied the route you'll figure it out. Gorgeous valley and wildflowers. We followed the gully trail and then turned right and went up towards the ridge. If you look at picture 12 in the gully route description, the bottom of the second arrow is where we turned right to make our way up to the head wall. Stay climbers right in that alley it's more stable than the middle or left. You'll find some nice easy class 2+/3 "ledges" that will take you up to a level area where it's easy to traverse over to the head wall. From there it's a choose your own adventure. You can pick easy or spicy. We stayed in the middle. Once we reached the upper part, you choose if you want to pop over the side and stay more class 3 or go up the class 4 "chimney", similar to what is described in photo 5 of the ridge route description. We popped over the side and then it was pretty straight forward class 3 all the way up to the false summit. The "exposure" described there in other reports is not that big of exposure IMO. We chose to take the gully back down just for speed and less route finding. It was faster, although super loose, but easy to manage and we got down quickly. Great day! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/14/2025, By: amderr22
Info: There was some early morning snow/sleet on the trail just below and above treeline but most melted away by afternoon. The gully is snow-free and we heard plenty of rockfall from it (Better avoided). The ridge is snow-free and solid. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/13/2025, By: AurumSun13
Info: Like others have stated getting through the woods in the dark was tough even with Alltrails and other gps going. There's just so many sidetracks to get diverted on! I didn't even catch the Lily Lake sign until on my way back to the car. For the river crossing, note there's a fairly stable log jam that you can walk across if you're careful. Conditions were great: warm, no snow, no wind, and sunny skies. Lots of folks were out there offering beta and having a great time. Like 99% of those on the trail, my buddy & I both took the ridge route up. The rock is pretty stable along the spine, which we followed pretty much all the way up & down. When we hit the crux wall I went up the middle route and my friend did the right side route that 14ers.com says are class 4. On the way down though we took the class 3 route down the crux for safety/speed. It's pretty much a gradient from left to right of class 3 -> 4 but also loose rock -> stable slab in the same direction. Pick whatever route would suit your abilities and test your holds and you should be A-ok. On the funnier side ... don't leave your poles at the saddle before climbing like my friend & I! Those rascal marmots will chew through them as we learned the hard way. We thought we were being smart by leaving them behind so they wouldn't get snagged going up the crux. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/12/2025, By: MaryinColorado
Info: Waiver process is easy! Please don't forget to do it. :)) Camp spots before the TH are glorious! Nice sites, worked out well for our group of five (two tents, three car campers). Next: navigating in the dark. The trail starts out easy enough to follow. Notably, you HAVE to know about the Lily Lake junction. The big wood sign is perfectly hidden behind a tree, so it would be exceptionally easy to keep following obvious trail to the right, i.e., so easy to go the wrong way. We knew about the junction but were puzzled at lack of sign - until we saw it behind the tree. Then we found the faint "trail" going to the left. I assume, from there, whatever more distinct trail may have existed before got overgrown during the closure. So we had the GPX track up constantly. The darkness makes a lot of spots seem like "the right way to go". We found navigation to be a little challenging in this regard. Other thing to note is confusion around the river crossing. I think I counted three different social trails that perhaps hope to take you to a better crossing spot, but the big stack of logs IS the crossing spot. The logs are pretty stable. Route-finding was much easier once we made the turn to head up through the forest next to the boulder field. Route for the rest of the way to the saddle is obvious from there. From saddle, the class 2 portion has obvious trail through it. When things got more challenging, it was good to get up close to ridge proper. The crux was interesting! I agree with the prior conditions update that it really felt like an overall easy class 4, not class 3. Even though me and two others opted for the class 3 crux option, for example, the route to get up to that felt vertical enough to be class 4, and for that very reason I downclimbed it face-in on the descent. Overall, ridge route is great if you're comfy with class 3/4. I didn't like the looks of the gully even a little, so was happy we opted for the ridge. We tried our best not to kick rocks down and think we did a splendid job of that, but the handful that escaped us creates extra worry because of the route below. We were extra vigilant when we could visibly see two hikers below us, for example. But even if we had no visual, we still followed verbal rockfall protocol, anyway. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2025, By: blonde_dinosaur
Info: Want to echo a lot of what marcusmartin said. It is really easy to get off trail within the first 1.5 miles in the dark in the morning because there are a lot of social trails so keep checking your gpx. The water crossing is solid with a bunch of logs. The approach trail is absolutely bursting with wildflowers (especially Columbines!) and is a delight along the stream, especially coming down because you are mostly in the shade. At this point of the year I would say taking the gully route would be a hazard given how many rocks were being kicked into the gully from climbers above on the ridge. I think this route should be rated Easy Class 4 because the route finding on the headwall to get to the class 3 option is quite tricky and most climbers will end up taking a class 4 route up. If you are a competent class 3/4 climber, I would stay high on the ridge (or just below) until you get to the pointy feature on the ridge (displayed in photo 7 of the route description) and then scramble down the pointy feature to the gully with the headwall and climb the class 4 route up. If you stay on ridge proper past the pointy feature you will get into easy 5th class climbing. We stayed between 20-40 ft below the ridge on the approach and it was loose garbage, many regrets. We saw someone kick a microwave size boulder down. The ridge proper is the right move. The rock on the ridge and headwall is pretty solid, but still test every hold. The climbing is fun and the route is beautiful. 

Route: Northwest Gully
Posted On: 7/7/2025, By: jennkmho
Info: There’s plenty of car camping available near the trailhead. The drive in was easier than expected — I’m a very average driver in a VW Atlas with 8" clearance, and I had no trouble at all. No ruts or large boulders; I was expecting worse. I found the road to G&T to be rougher. The first part of the trail goes through the forest, and route finding was a bit tricky in the dark. Fallen logs obscure the trail in spots, making it hard to tell where it continues. At the river crossing, there’s a set of rocks you can use to get across without getting your shoes wet. There’s no snow in the gully, but it looked loose and sketchy, so I didn’t even consider going that way. Don’t follow the ridge all the way to the headwall — you’ll end up having to downclimb. Instead, traverse across the ridge aiming for the base of the headwall. I found the route finding on the headwall straightforward and had no issues. I went up just a couple of feet to the left of the main crack. The vert was tougher than I expected. The first 1.5 miles are flat, so nearly all the elevation gain is packed into the remaining 2.65 miles. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/6/2025, By: marcusmartin
Info: I have a stock 4Runner, and there was no problem getting to the 4WD TH. For most of the 22 miles in, the road in is dry, smooth and fast. For the last 2 miles, perhaps one of the easiest 4WD roads I’ve done. I think good 2WD vehicles can make it to the 4WD TH. We saw several Subarus parked at the 4WD TH. Plenty (maybe 15 or more?) of parking spots and places to camp at the TH. We arrived around 8pm to camp and had no problem. The great news: no mosquitoes! Make sure you have your route line established in your device. I had the route in two different apps (Garmin and AllTrails) and still had difficulties. After crossing the creek at mile 1.2 near the Lily Lake junction, the trail becomes confusing. I won’t try to describe it in detail. Many hikers were searching for the correct route even with the GPS line. The trail spits and goes in different directions, sometimes converging, but sometimes not. There are down trees crossing the trail(s); it’s hard to figure out which way to go. Generally, stay hiker’s left on the ascent until the trail becomes more clear and established, which it eventually does. I’m glad we did this section in the light because it would be very difficult in the dark with headlamps. Once you get to the NW Ridge at 13,200 feet you will realize you are in for a major challenge to summit. If weather is looming or you question your skills, I suggest turning around here because the “hike” up/down from here is long and difficult. Don’t take the gully, even though it will tempt you. Loose, large rocks will rain down on you. The NW Ridge Crux Headwall is difficult. It is tough to find the “correct” line. We ended up on the Spine – Class 4. Many of the climbers above were giving cues to the ones below on the line to take. They advised up to go straight up the middle and we did. Just do your best through this section. People were trying to find the “left” route around the Spine but it was not clear how to do that. Make sure you have a helmet and good climbing gloves. Go slow. Make sure each hand/foot placement is solid before putting your weight down. I found that most of the hand/footholds on the Spine section were solid. It was grueling but rewarding to finish the NW Ridge Crux Headwall. This was my 35th 14er. I found this hike took much longer (and was much harder) than I anticipated. Fortunately, we picked a weather day that was clear, stable and not windy the entire day. You do not want to be descending the NW Ridge or Crux Headwall in bad weather or trying to hurry to beat incoming weather. My advice is to plan accordingly. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/6/2025, By: DorothyK
Info: No snow whatsoever. Stream crossing over logs (or fording if you want) about 1 mile from the TH. Area of overgrown vegetation and fallen logs 2 miles in. Some route-finding and loose rock on the ridge route (can't imagine how horrible the gully route must be). Trinchera ranch (owners of property where Lindsey sits) has a QR code to sign the waiver at the saddle (and yes there is reception). 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/2/2025, By: skweiler17
Info: Got my Subaru Outback all the way to the end of the road without much fanfare. Two other outback’s already there. Road severity is overblown in my opinion. Do the ridge. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/23/2025, By: Istoodupthere
Info: Combined with Iron Nipple. Summer conditions. The ridge is the way to go. Wouldn’t want to deal with that loose rock in the gully. Class 3 crux route isn’t a big deal but I did struggle at first to find the correct route. I got off route there and back near the 1st river crossing. The lily lake sign is hidden behind 2 trees so it was near impossible to see in the dark. Route through the woods was fairly easy to follow, even in dark as long as you’re concentrating. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/21/2025, By: Kbrown321
Info: Summer conditions, any snow was fully avoidable. NW gully was still holding snow. Very very windy on the ridge in line with today’s forecast 

Route: Northwest Gully
Posted On: 6/21/2025, By: Ariella6
Info: My lost pack was retrieved! Thank you trail angel! 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/18/2025, By: Ariella6
Info: Will start with road in. It is not that bad if you know how to pick your lines. Its rough but not as bad as many we have done. I have a 2014 honda pilot with 8 inches of clearance. We stopped .4 miles before the trailhead but walking it i realized we could have easily gone to the parking lot. There was multiple pulls offs along the route. The last 2 miles are the roughest. If you dont have some clearance you will likely need to park at the spot 2 miles before the trailhead. The river crossing, was very iced over this morning. Be sure to have poles just in case. It took a little manuevering on it. It was dry on the way out so we opted to go over the logs again but if it hadn't been we were going to just cross in the water and take off our shoes. The trail in the trees be sure to have not only the 14ers pictures downloaded but would also download the map from all trails. This kept us on route. There were lots of goat trails. Lots of down trees where people have rerouted around them. It seemed like it could honestly be easy to get lost. The all trails was accurate through the trees. you will need a paid subscription to have it downloaded before you go. If you dont have it predownloaded it generally wont work when there is no service. The trail was predominantly dry. There was a few patches of snow but they were avoidable. Be sure to sign the waiver. My friend had a hard copy of hers and I had mine screenshotted on my phone just in case someone asked to see it. The routes are not really marked. All trails takes you via the gully route. Which the ridge and gully overlap for quite aways. The crux - the middle route was the most solid. Be sure to study the pictures beforehand so you have an idea of where you need and want to go. We looked at the route on the left and it looked pretty sketch. not great handholds and drop offs. Beyond the crux to the false summit there is not really a trail..... you are just climbing boulders. This was my 37th 14er and my friends 27th. We both hike a lot and I am also a trail runner and do a fair amount of indoor climbing. From the bottom of the crux up to the top and back to the bottom of the crux took us 3 hours. You will need to be able to utilize some route finding skills. From the false summit to the summit, there is a trail. ALSO I lost my bright green backpack along the route today. It was as we were downclimbing from the ridge to where you go the top of the crux, it went rolling down. possibly all the way down to the gully trail. If anyone happens to find it and could just save and hike out the hat, gloves, neck gaiter, phone bank charger and cloth on front it would be greatly appreciated...... ariellanetanya@gmail.com Dont do any dangerous moves though to retrieve it, its not worth it but if you happen to find it along your route would sure appreciate it. 

Route: Northwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2025, By: Ethan
Info: Road in wasn’t as bad as I expected. Would still recommend 4WD and a solid amount of clearance. I camped at the trailhead and the views were spectacular. Trail to the ridge line was in good condition and quite steep through the trees. Patches of snow in the trees but easily passable without gators or spikes. On the ridge, the gully was still too snowed in to justify taking it over the ridge. The ridge was fun and technical. The leftward route through the crux (green) is definitely the easiest way to go. Had a friend go right and it quickly turned to class 4 moves (red). That being said the rock was great. Very solid with plenty of hand and foot holds. Overall great day and one of my favorite climbs so far!