5/29/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 5/31/2023, By: Edrizzle Info: Hiked on 5/29/23. Started from the trailhead around 7. Reached the peak a little before 9, back down to the car around 10:15. Very little snow below 13k. Used spikes and poles for the final hike up the ridge. Snow felt very firm/solid early in the AM. |
|
5/27/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 5/27/2023, By: eastonc12 Info: Started at 6:50am, down by 10:00am. Road was fine clear to gate. Very little snow (and only in patches) up until the final push to the ridge. Didnt don microspikes until reaching the ridge crest. Sticking to the ridge proper limits postholing greatly on the last 900 of ascent. Able to glissade a couple times on the way down. Very doable right now. |
|
5/27/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 5/27/2023, By: winter_wisher Info: Already saw a post for SW ridge, but this one is for skiers taking the snow route. Continuous snow is present from the summit all the way down to the upper gate @12.0k, except for a ~200-ft stretch around 13.6k that is easy to boot across when you head down. I used crampons (microspikes would also work) to get through a steep bit since my skins were slipping, but I didn't need them for long. All around great day; corn snow showed up as I reached the summit. |
|
5/25/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 5/25/2023, By: 14er101 Info: Was able to drive to about 100 yards from the gate. How much snow you encounter is entirely up to you until 13k, snowdrift is still very prevalent between Sheridan and Sherman, the upper ridge of Sherman has some snow but is all well booted. No need for flotation or traction unless you want it! Added on Gemini as well, quick little trip and windblown. |
|
5/25/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 5/25/2023, By: Discoverado Info: Some postholing, but not terrible. Spikes were much appreciated, though. |
|
5/20/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 5/21/2023, By: kcovingt1 Info: Went up and down south slopes on splitoards. Drove to about 11,700 in a Malibu but you could go further. Put on skins when we left the road and didnt take off until the summit. A few rock bands need maneuvering but we didnt have to unstrap. Beautiful day! |
|
5/14/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 5/15/2023, By: JJProwe Info: Hiked up the Southwest Ridge route and came down the South Slopes. Deviated slightly from the summer route to avoid the cornice on the Sheridan-Sherman saddle. Some postholing required on and near the ridgeline; given the wet snow conditions, having proper traction and an axe would be smart. Went down the South Slopes route and the snow was a wet mess and definitely a suffer fest below 13k'. Road up was in decent shape and made it 0.25 miles from the gate. |
|
5/13/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 5/15/2023, By: Zleisure Info: Went up ridges adjacent to the south slope route to Sherman, then ridge to Sheridan, down Sheridan E face to connect with trail, and back to main road at mine past the gate. It's melting fast. Float required. It never got below freezing so even at 6am it was soft near the start. Up higher ~13,000' it was harder and I did just fine in snowshoes as it was somewhat soft. By 10am coming back through snow areas, it was so slushy I was postholing even with snowshoes in spots. |
|
5/9/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 5/11/2023, By: mountainmike21 Info: Parked at about 11,500ft but could have gone up the road to about 11,700. Took the South slope and started about 0430. Mostly traveled up snow and microspikes or crampons would be recommended if starting early. Made the summit and was able to board down from summit to ~13500 or so. Hiked through a few rocks to 13,200ish and boarded all the way back to the road. Great conditions |
|
5/8/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 5/8/2023, By: wmagnuson7 Info: I arrived at 6:45 a.m. and parked at 11,700 feet or so, perhaps 0.3 miles from the gate. I brought snowshoes, but did not need them, but would recommend either poles or traction (microspikes would be fine). The trail was in great condition and it was a gorgeous day. God bless. |
|
5/3/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 5/3/2023, By: mbnat Info: Climbed and skied both Sherman and Sheridan on 5/3/2023. The road was clear much further than I expected, and I parked at about 11600'. You probably could go further (and one other group did go quite a bit further) since it's not bad all the way to the gate. But, it was frozen slush in the AM and I didn't want to risk getting stuck leaving in the afternoon so didn't mind the little extra walking. From my parking spot, I was able to skin to the top of Sherman via the South Slopes continuously. The road was very thin up to the gate, so probably only a few days left where that section is skiable (but once its not, it'll be a much easier drive!). It's also sketchy between about 13400 and 13600, but there was a way through! On the way down though, I took my skis off and walked this short section to save my edges. Other than that, great coverage still at the very top, and in the gully from about 12k to 13.4k. I was very early since I could drive further than expected, so the descent was not very fun and rock solid at 8:30AM. Skied back down to the gate, then took the standard route back up to the Sherman/Sheridan saddle, and went up the northeast ridge to the summit of Sheridan. Again was able to skin the entire way, except the top maybe 50' which is melted out. The cornice isn't really bad this year, and there is a fairly easy place to gain the ridge without going under a giant cornice. Descended Sheridan at 11AM with excellent corn conditions. There was a solid freeze overnight, and it was cloudy until about 8AM, so prime time was maybe a little later than usual. |
|
4/29/2023 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 4/30/2023, By: Abowser7 Info: Summited Sherman on 4/29. You can easily make it to the "park here or get stuck signs," but I was able to make it to about .75 miles from the trailhead before there was a lot of snowdrift. Started at 8:00am, summited at 12:00, snowboarded down. Beautiful conditions, very doable. |
|
4/27/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 4/28/2023, By: Kcook Info: Made it to the trailhead in 4WD vehicle. I imagine that has changed after last nights snowfall, however. I would encourage flotation; we didnt have crampons, but would have been useful around 13k. Intensely windy day which ultimately kept us from summiting; though with a bit more grit, it would have been possible. |
|
4/23/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 4/24/2023, By: tbontempi Info: Snow is pretty deep down low. 4WD car with snow tires can make it to the trailhead. Snow not continuous the entire way, up but still good coverage on the bottom 3/4 and at the summit. All but a a couple hundred feet would be skiable if you take the right line. Skis or snowshoes are pretty necessary still. |
|
4/22/2023 Route: South Slope Posted On: 4/26/2023, By: Wesley Lozano Info: Drove to the winter trailhead and decided to backtrack about 1/4 mile before starting the hike to avoid getting stuck in the snow. Entire route was covered in snow, with some dry patches in certain areas of the road. The entire route was snowshoe-able, and I wouldn't have gone without them. Snow was nice and stable, in fact would have been absolutely perfect conditions for skiing (so good I was sad I didn't bring mine for this trip). Visibility was limited most of the day, with very high winds (felt like 70+ mph) when we reached around 13,600'. At this point we had to turn back due to lack of visibility and the winds blasting us with snow. All in all, despite not reaching the summit, was a beautiful climb. Not another soul in sight, and our footprints were the only ones on the mountain this day. |
