Mt. of the Holy Cross

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 9/17/2012, By: krs1
Info: Did a quick lap (6.5hrs) of the Tour de Holy Cross...Utilized the Halo Ridge for the ascent and the North Ridge for the descent. Everything was dry as of 8PM last night. Was hoping to see some snow in the Cross Couloir, but still dry. The aspens on Tigiwon Rd. were pretty close to prime. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 9/14/2012, By: desertdog
Info: We climbed Holy Cross and descended Halo Ridge route yesterday in perfect conditions. There was no snow on the mountain, which was interesting because because many of the other peaks in the Sawatch got some the day before. The folks at CFI have been hard at work, and the trail up to the summit was almost a walk up. Taking the Halo Ridge Route down provided some adventure, and is well worth including in your climb. This route down will add significant time. We left the HC summit at 10am and reached the Notch Shelter at around 1:30pm. We found sticking to the top and a little right of the ridge line was better than dropping too far down into the basin. I must admit Halo Ridge took much longer than we thought it would. Our start time was 4:30am and we finished around 5pm. A great day in the mountains! 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/26/2012, By: Rcizzle
Info: The Northern Sawatch/Holy Cross Range has been dueshhhhed (new word for a lot of rain) as well as most White River NF. As a result Stage II restrictions have been lifted in WRNF. There was significant amount of puddle action. Should have little to no effect on hiking depending of your shoe preference. The up coming drying trend "should" change that. In other MOTHC news the CFI has been working hard on the route above 12K. The newly installed stone steps made the mountain climbing experience on MOTHC much more pleasurable. I dubbed it the "Staircase to Heaven". The CFI crew made progress up to roughly 12,600 by my best estimation and informed me they plan to go up to the "final summit push" wherever that is. After passing their work zone the remaining climb was not near as pleasurable it had been. Routefinding for broken trail segments is slightly difficult to the summit. Happy climbing. RC 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/19/2012, By: mspalding
Info: The trail is well marked to the Angelica Couloir. CFI has added orange and yellow plastic markers among the rocks along the ridge. The final slope has some cairns and most of the trail is near the edge. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/16/2012, By: ezabielski
Info: Route was in extremely good shape after rain the night before. River crossing can be done without getting wet if you‘re careful not to slip. I would not consider this a class 3 scramble unless you really try to make it class 3. I didn‘t have to use my hands in most places. Poles were helpful for steep up and down sections on the main trail. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 7/3/2012, By: tanyaco4
Info: The trail was dry throughout and a very hot day. I really think this trail should be rated a class 3 the scrambles to the top are very steep and it‘s at least 2000 ft in vertical gain over the scrambles. Spent a long time climbing with all fours, I never carried poles but think its a good idea on this hike. This is a very long, strenuous hike to complete in one day. I would recommend camping at cross creek and completing it in 2 days. Beautiful hike it took us 12 hrs roundtrip to complete after a 30 min break at the summit. We were lucky there wasn‘t any storms. I hiked Longs Peak two summer‘s ago and this hike ranks up there with that one but not nearly as technical however the boulder field is a challenge. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 6/25/2012, By: altidude
Info: Both the Halo Ridge and Standard Route are snow free, several fallen trees below treeline on the Notch Mountain approach. The Cross Couloir is "in" other than being dry at the base, at least two parties ascended the couloir yesterday 6/24. The Angelica Couloir looked like it was in great shape and several people were ascending it 6/24. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 6/23/2012, By: Johnson
Info: Tigiwon open and appeared as though with careful driving a Honda Civic can make it to the TH. Hiked North Ridge up Holy Cross. Dry all the way. Mosquito‘s from hell at Cross Creek. Hiked Halo Ridge counter-clockwise. Dry all the way. Spiders were only about 8" in diameter so no big deal. Trail from Notch Mt. Shelter back the the TH was in great shape. Just some sappy fallen trees to negotiate. Cross Couloir had a bit of snow but very anemic. One part of this report is false. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 6/6/2012, By: madbuck
Info: I know Tigiwon is opening soon but there‘s not much info otherwise... I did not climb it, but here‘s a recent view of Halo Ridge from the South (Whitney Pk summit). 

Route: Cross Couloir
Posted On: 4/22/2012, By: Cool Hand Luke
Info: Cross Couloir was too soft for comfort, felt more like winter snow than spring. I exited at 8:15 and would not have wanted to be in the couloir much later than that. Good snow coverage right now that looks like it will hold, I would wait a few weeks before trying this one. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 4/22/2012, By: Cool Hand Luke
Info: Road is mostly clear now to Halfmoon TH. Fall Creek is a mix of dirt and snow, snowshoes are definitely needed. The turnoff to Notch Mountain Shelter is clearly visible, but the trail is hard to follow after this point. Notch Mountain Shelter is not locked and I was able to clear most of the drift to get the door open. If you take an avy shovel you could clear significantly more from inside, definitely room for people to camp. I used snowshoes up until Pt. 13,831 and stashed them on the summit and just booted it to HC. It was a pain to snowshoe the ridge, but I found out the hard way it was much faster than post-holing. The ridge is in great shape, but catches sun all day. Mid-morning on the snow was softening up, so I stuck as high to the ridge as possible. Also, be aware of cornices! The snow makes the trip very long. From the shelter it took me 5 hours to the summit with generous breaks, back to the shelter took about 3.5. I never used my axe on the ridge, but poles helped tremendously. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 10/24/2011, By: Uffda
Info: Hiked the standard route yesterday (Sunday). Trail was dry or (if snowy) well packed all the way to the summit. Traction was not necessary but would have been nice on the descent. There was some damage to Tigwon from the logging activity but it should be passable to most cars if driven carefully. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 10/21/2011, By: danernst
Info: Tigiwon is open and easily passable in a 4wd. There is anywhere from 3 to 6" of snow on the lower trail. In areas, the drifts were knee high. Once across East Cross Creek, the snow became more of a problem. We were the first ones up since the snowfall on Monday, and had to break trail, with lots of post-holing. Easiest was to step on the exposed rocks at the sides of the trail. Followed this method just about the rest of the way up. On the rock-covered ridges and slopes, stepping on only the exposed rock was critical. In between rocks, the accumulated snow hid whatever was beneath, whether rocks or nothing, and we occasionally plunged up to our waists in snow and got feet wedged between hidden rocks. The extra effort involved in hiking in the snow was considerable, as compared to the many fourteeners we‘ve done on bare ground. In combination with the ascent of Half Moon Pass on the way out, it was a long and grueling day, but definitely worth it, and very memorable. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 8/21/2011, By: shep
Info: Completed Mt. of the Holy Cross via North Ridge on Saturday 8/20. Biked the 8 miles up to the trailhead with baby bike trailer in about 2:20 the night before. The ride in was harder than I thought it was going to be. I am not sure the trailer was better than just putting your gear on your back. The road was in good shape except for some short sections where it is a little torn up due to logging activity. Summited in 4 hours from standard trailhead. Trip down took 3:30. This a great hike and very scenic. No other people on the mountain today. 

Route: Halo Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2011, By: Exiled Michigander
Info: Trip report to follow (hopefully by this Friday--work permitting). For now, here is an update on conditions for the Halo Ridge/Orbital route: Tigiwon Road: As most of you know, Tigiwon Road is closed. This will add around 15 miles round-trip to any hike from the Half Moon trailhead. BRING MOSQUITO REPELLENT! I was eaten alive by wave after wave of the little vampires. Consider taking a mountain bike to the trailhead. I saw a few hikers who did this--pretty smart way to make Tigiwon Road go by faster. Fall Creek Trail: A bit muddy in spots, but otherwise in good shape. Creek crossings very doable. Notch Mountain Trail: Excellent shape. Be sure to fill up on water at treeline. Halo Ridge: Solid rock. Nearly all snow can be avoided. The only snow field I had to cross was just above the Teardrop Couloir. I would still recommend an ice axe in case you get off route though. North Ridge: Great shape. East Cross Creek: I amazingly stayed dry crossing it, although it is a bit tricky. After a heavy rain it would be hard to cross without getting wet up to one‘s knees. Bring extra socks. Half Moon Trail: Some mud, but generally in good shape. Image 1: A calendar shot of the Cross from Notch Mountain. Image 2: Close-up of the Cross Couloir. Image 3: Teardrop Couloir Image 4: Angelica Couloir.