Mt. Sherman

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/3/2023, By: dkitchen
Info: Began at 7:00a. Summit at 9:30a. Return to vehicle by 10:45a. Good trip with middle schooler. Trail in good condition. Spikes not necessary but still usable at the saddle and near summit. Glissade down from the saddle was great, though starting to get mushy around 10:00. That snow field will likely be gone within a week. Parking was fairly full. Not surprising for a holiday weekend. Didn't expect to park next to a Tesla from Texas. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/5/2023, By: mattbrill9
Info: Overall trail conditions are very good. There are some snow field crossings at 13,100 ft where microspikes are helpful and snow towards the summit; however, good boot pack to follow. Plenty of snow to glissade! 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: gillardp
Info: Trail in good condition. Could use spikes for a few brief stretches near saddle and summit if super cautious but not needed and most everyone I saw today went without. Not sure what possessed me to use google maps to navigate to trailhead but don't...use directions on this site. Cost me 20 mins having to navigate a true 4x4 road vs. for the most part graded road until the end. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: wolfgangstiller
Info: Climbed Mt. Sherman, to Gemini with a few extra miles thrown in. We carried micro-spikes but never felt they would be useful. No flotation needed. Temperatures were in the high 40s on the summit ridge and the high 50s at the TH although our car said it was 63 when we came down. In-spite of the warmer temperatures and still a few snowfields to cross (just below the ridge and again near the summit) we had no issues with post holing to icy snow. On the way down we had a nice glissade from the summit ridge. This looks like it should still be in good shape for a while. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: jpriske
Info: Summited on 6/23. Left the trailhead by 4:15 and summited by 6:15. Weather was awesome and trail conditions were great. There is still some sections of consistent snow near the final push to gain the ridge as well as the ridge to the summit. I would still recommend spikes and/or poles. I used both but saw many people going without them. Glisading was awesome but be careful. Back to the car by 7:45. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2023, By: Shaller13
Info: Previous conditions report is still accurate to what I saw today Road to the gate is 99% dry Little snow by the mines past the gate on the trail nothing too serious Trail is dry up to the flat spot near some old mining buildings before the incline up to the Sherman/Sheridan saddle. Mostly dry on the trail once you're on the saddle for a couple hundred feet before encountering snow again pretty much the rest of the way to the summit with some spots you can avoid snow I used microspikes below the saddle and on the last 1/4 to 1/2 mile of hiking to the summit. When coming down I used spikes again till I got onto the Sherman/Sheridan saddle. Didn't use spike to go down the last good amount of snow as I glissaded down If you have spikes then bring those. Snow will be present for some time if I had to guess. Flotation devices are not needed unless you plan on getting a late hike in. Started around 0530 and got back to my vehicle around 0900 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/21/2023, By: Willy the Kid
Info: Gist: Overall, the trail is still about 35% snow or ice, so bring some good traction, like microspikes, trekking poles, etc. Also, start early to get good parking and better traction on the snow. It starts to get a bit slippery at around 8-8:30 AM at the lower elevations and 8:30-9:30 AM on the ridge. Quickly, a warning to my fellow Google maps users, don't take Coil Road to the trailhead! Stay on 4 mile creek road, it is quicker and better paved. Anyways, me and my friend were on the trail by 5:15, and it was clear except for some patchy snow for the first mile or so, but we didn't have to don microspikes until a large snowfield around 12900 feet that led up to the Sherman-Sheridan saddle. The microspikes worked well in the frozen hard snow in the early morning. Then, the section of scree up to 13500 feet had no snow. However, when we got to about 13600 feet, the snowy section started as we ascended the ridge. We hiked today because the wind was forecasted to be low, which it was, but most of the time it is very windy. This section is completely covered in snow and relatively narrow, which is why I would absolutely recommend microspikes or trekking poles, like I said. We reached the summit at about 8 AM and descended soon after. When we reached the saddle, we glissaded about down the snowfield using our trekking poles, which worked great in the soft snow. The rest of the hike was warm(~55-60 degrees) and went smoothly. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/17/2023, By: Buckie06
Info: Highly recommend microspikes, still quite a bit of snow on the trail. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/14/2023, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: A warning to other skiers: do not be tempted by the admittedly fantastic continuity of the snow that will compel you to stay more toward the standard route rather than dealing with the skis-on, skis-off of heading to the S. Slopes drainage. The snow does last for a while but ends abruptly near the Hilltop Mine ruins, and while the saddle is filled in, theres plenty of rocks and grass between the base of that slope and the next skiable patch off the main trail, and the plentiful rocks along the ridge mean a decently long schlep with your skis on your pack. Cant comment too meaningfully on the my intended descent route of the South Slopes, as winds and clouds that were higher than forecast (much higher, in the case of the wind, but I was also concerned about how the fog and/or flat light would work against me when I started down a route I hadnt had the chance to assess on the ascent) turned me around embarrassingly close to the summit. Since Ive already tagged the summit but felt it would have been necessary to drop my skis in order to continue on without risking being blown off the ridge, thus leaving without a proper ski descent, I opted to bail and enjoy a solid consolation prize of corn turns below the mine. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 6/14/2023, By: ATthruhikr99
Info: Really nice alternate ascent route via the South Slope. Headed up at 5:30am with micro spikes along the snow field to the north of the upper TH gate. Switched to crampons for some practice as the terrain steepens along the south slope to gain the ridge. This would be an ideal ski line but tough now to try and connect it as the snow is not an uninterrupted line anymore. Made the summit and descended the standard route. Bagged ascending Sheridan which was part of the original plan but weather was moving in from the west. Did a glissade off the ridge and down to the trail and out. Having done both the standard and the south, I much preferred the south along the snow gully. and cold but firm snow all morning. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/10/2023, By: madmattd
Info: Intermittent thin snow from TH to the climb to the saddle off the road. That section is well-filled with snow, and evidence of small wet slides around the area, particularly on the Sheridan side of the saddle. There's some great glissading to be had off the ridge saddle area, many taking advantage of it. Snow was solid in the morning (5:30 start, 7:00 summit), very soft and slushy in the late morning (left summit just before 10 after a visit to Dyer). The upper ridge between the saddle and summit has a few spots that were unnerving some people due to the snow, narrow ridge, and potential for slipping; I highly advise microspikes at a minimum. I also used an ice axe for this section, probably overkill but I had it with me... Snowshoes not necessary. I don't think ski lines off Sherman will be in much longer, and what I saw was patchy to begin with. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 6/11/2023, By: winter_wisher
Info: For the skiers: The SW Ridge report from madmattd is correct in saying that ski lines are getting patchy, but this is primarily at a rocky patch around 13.5k. Other than that, coverage was adequate. Rocks are totally avoidable if you are willing to un-bind and boot down that brief patch. I was able to ride through them, but the line was very thin. In a week or two, booting will probably be mandatory. Below here, snow was great, getting slushy at the bottom. I dropped in around 9:00, and a very icy sun crust above 13.6k made control tricky. Consider dropping in around 9:30 if you want a softer surface at the summit. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2023, By: srtaylor1317
Info: Started at 6:30am (full daylight). You reach snow fairly quickly, and it was crisp and firm. Perfect for microspikes. We went straight up the to the ridge, climber's right of the avalanche debris, and microspikes were great for this slope. This cut off a good chunk of the trail. Weather was perfect. On the return (circa 9am) we took the south slopes, following other steps. The snow was still quite firm, and we glissaded quite a bit of the elevation. By 9:30am (possibly in part because we were at a lower elevation) we were post-holing, and slogged back to the truck. Finished at 10am on the dot. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/4/2023, By: samharrison7
Info: Started from 4WD trailhead at 6am, on summit for about 8am and then went up Mt Sheridan, finally getting down around 10am. It was cloudy and mild overnight and so the snowpack didn't completely freeze, though it was more firm than I expected. The road the the gate (top 4WD TH) is completely free of snow, but soon after there is good coverage. The bowl beneath the Sherman-Sheridan col is still holding lots of snow, including a fair bit of fresh wind-deposited slabs sitting on top of the old, much more solid snowpack. Kicking steps up to the col was fine without traction, though I appreciated an ice axe to get over the cornice (you could have picked a better line to avoid this). I didn't need traction until the final ridge up to the summit, when I put crampons on (microspikes would have been fine, but I didn't have any). The snow was becoming very soft and wet by the time I descended, but sticking to where others had been avoided any significant postholing - flotation definitely not needed today. The glissading opportunities down from the col are good and probably saved a bit of postholing there! Amazingly I managed to catch the summit free of clouds - perfectly timed. It soon got cloudier and wetter. 

Route: South Slope
Posted On: 6/1/2023, By: JulieHay
Info: Skied Mt. Sherman today. Road is open to the gate. I put my skis on next to my vehicle and headed up the South Slope. Only took off my skis once to go over rock. Maybe a 75-125 foot section around 13,500'. Skinned the rest of the way up. Skied from the summit, took off skis for the short section of rock and headed back to the car. The snow was great for skinning (started just before 7am) and skiing down (off the summit at 9am). It was a little cloudy today, so an earlier start might be helpful if you go on a sunny morning. If you wanna ski this route, I'd get to it soon. The rock section is just gonna get longer by the day. Lots of solar effects. Be careful on the narrower areas of snow, I caught a rock or two.