Wilson Peak

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/23/2015, By: ilium
Info: The route is dry until shortly below the cabin. Plan on crossing 4-5 small snow fields. I kick stepped with trail runners. Beyond the saddle the trail is dry. Micro spikes an axe and a helmet would most definitely be sufficient. Snow is a little soft on the early afternoon. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/5/2015, By: aliciaf
Info: Trail from Rock of Ages TH to treeline is 100% snow free. There are a few (3?) snowfields blocking the road from here to the cabin, but all are easy to cross. From the cabin to the first saddle, it is still almost continuous snow. We did not use microspikes until the traverse under the ridge to the saddle, but many following us managed in trail runners and plain boots using our steps. Majority of the snowfields in this section were fairly firm & stable around 8:30am when we crossed them; however, we did posthole thigh-waist deep in a few spots. Remaining route from 13,000 ft and above is almost all snow free. There are some spots with snow to cross along the upper route to the false summit, but no spikes necessary. The downclimb off the false summit still holds some snow, but is mostly avoidable with careful route finding. Final climb up to true summit is snow free. For our descent, we glissaded shortly after we got off the saddle to Silver Pick Basin. It eliminated the need to traverse back across the softening snow. Items to bring for any attempt in the near future: microspikes for traversing snow fields; gaitors for inevitable postholing (an extra change of socks isn‘t a bad idea); ice axe for a fun glissade down to the basin. Weather: Thunderstorms seen in the distance at 5:30am, with approaching storms from the northwest. Waited at treeline as the sun rose to see them dissipate on radar. Thunderclouds building on summit at 10:15am. Didn‘t spend too long up there. Back to car at 2:15pm just as the skies opened and rain poured down (along with thunder and lightening almost directly above the trailhead). 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2015, By: Urban Snowshoer
Info: Although the lower part is mostly melted out, there is still continuous snow between the stone cabin and the Rock of Ages Saddle--this snow is rotten and postholing is almost a given. However, the snow above the Rock of Ages saddle is intermittent and fairly manageable. 

Route: Rock of Ages Approach
Posted On: 6/21/2015, By: bmcqueen
Info: Climbed Wilson Peak from Rock of Ages TH this AM. Carried slow (I mean snow) shoes and actually had to put them on about 12,500 in the basin and wore them up to the saddle. Even at 8:15 AM, basin was slushy. Most of W ridge is dry, but there are some snowfields that have to be crossed on the east side approach. On descent, I bypassed most of the snowfields up high as I was worried about wet slides after they baked all morning. A bit trickier on the rock, but worth it. There is some snow in the crux section about 13,900. I donned crampons for this stretch on ascent and descent to be safe. Glissaded down from rock of ages saddle in an attempt to get off the higher angle snow as quickly as I could. 

Route: Rock of Ages Approach
Posted On: 5/22/2015, By: WillRobnett
Info: Road was in good shape within 2 miles of the TH. Storm layer and drift snow immediately after the last turn. Coverage on the remaining 2 mile except for the a short stretch of the incline after crossing Big Bear Creek. Creek crossing is an ice bridge, no water passing. The Rock of Ages Approach is chest high snow swimming within a quarter mile of the TH. I did not climb Wilson Peak that day, scouting the TH at sunset. Met a group of skiers that skied center straight from the top of Wilson Peak. They found a 5 foot rock band in the descent where they had to sidestep. 

Route: Coors line
Posted On: 4/2/2015, By: moneymike
Info: I know that there are at least a few people interested in skiing the Coors line on Wilson Peak soon. I got a picture of it a day after I skied Mt. Wilson and South Wilson (I hope to get a tr up soon), and I thought I‘d share with everyone. I skied the Coors line back in 2011 in much better snow conditions and still got my tips and tails hung up on rocks in the narrow steep exit. However, there is a bail out option half way down that takes a descending traverse to skiers left. I think I will wait for some more snow before going for seconds. Hope this helps. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/10/2014, By: RobertKay
Info: I climbed Wilson Peak today in beautiful weather. There was a lot of rain over the past 72 hours and it has washed away the Rock of Ages trail in three places along the final section. You can cross them, just be careful. There was a little snow beginning about 12,500' and it was melting by the time I was descending. Further up the peak the snow ranged from 1 to 6 inches deep depending on how it had drifted. It only became an issue from the false summit to the true summit. I had microspikes but would have preferred crampons. I went very slowly, testing every step and handhold before relying on them. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/28/2014, By: uber_franz
Info: From RoA trailhead... Snow line was about 12,500‘. 3rd class pitch after saddle with Gladstone was dicey so I took the 2nd class option. Made it to 13,900‘ false summit - see photo below. The 3rd class last pitch was covered with 2-3" of fresh snow. With deadly exposure I decided to bail and save it for another trip. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/9/2014, By: Jim Davies
Info: No snow on the route anywhere above Rock of Ages saddle. A bit of inconsequential snow to cross on the Silver Pick approach near the rock house. No gear needed. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2014, By: WSN
Info: Climbed Wilson Peak on 07/05. Several snow fields to cross below ROA saddle. One or two snow fields on the way from ROA saddle to Wilson summit. In early morning, snow was relatively hard, so traction device might be helpful. Later around noon, snow was soft enough for easy kick steps. Some one made to summit with no gear other than a pair of sneakers. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2014, By: tvicari
Info: Two snow crossings necessary around 13,800 or so. The first one can be done on the safe flat ridge. The second requires a traverse on a moderate slope. 

Route: Rock of Ages Approach
Posted On: 6/28/2014, By: marcstrawser
Info: Nobody had recently done a report, there is still a lot of snow in ROA above treeline. It was definitely find your own way to the saddle, and on the way down you can still glissade from about 20' below the saddle down into the basin. Definitely made a mistake trying to summit at night, didn't make it before the sun set so turned around before the false summit at ~13,600' where you cross another long, steep snow crossing. There were several crossings after the saddle, not avoidable due to it running from ridge to basin or because the ridge is full of cornices. Wouldn't consider doing this route without traction and an axe right now. 

Route: NW face
Posted On: 5/29/2014, By: realhillboarding
Info: I was up in Silver Pick on Monday and Tuesday (5/26-27). The road is snowed in and blocked by downed trees 2.2 miles from the trailhead. There great snow coverage in the upper basin, skins went on 1/4 mile from the trailhead (after hiking the 2.2 miles on the road) and stayed on for most of the ascent, but it was getting thin in spots and melting fast, so by now you will probably need to hike the first 1/2 mile. We had to bail 100‘ from the summit because of a single move we weren‘t comfortable with making (3rd class covered with 6" of loose, unconsolidated snow and ice-covered handholds in a no-fall area), but someone had made the move and made the summit prior to us that same day, so it‘s just a matter of your skill and risk acceptance. It seemed like this upper crux pitch was only covered with new snow, so it will probably melt out quickly. It was a pretty good ski down, although there were several wet slide debris fields to navigate around. The north faces of mt wilson and el diente looked like they were almost exclusively slide debris fields, so not great skiing over there. I‘ll add pics once I get them uploaded... 

Route: 
Posted On: 5/23/2014, By: freeinthehills
Info: patches of rocks. can climb N. facing couloir and slopes to summer route on W. ridge rock to the top but snow options to the west with minimal rock traversing 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/30/2013, By: jrb6907
Info: From ROA TH snow has accumulated (dusting to 6") over much of the trail from ~11K up. There was a lot of melting down low on my descent. The downclimb off the false summit and ascent back to the summit ridge was pretty sporty. I used microspikes and spent considerable time feeling for footholds through areas of soft drift snow up to 18". Melting and refreezing could create additional challenges but this section gets very little direct sun. Downclimbing the class 3 ledges around 13.2K was sketchy due to slushy conditions but if the forecast holds the ledges will likely be dry soon. It was a beautiful snow climb.