Sunshine Peak

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 7/13/2024, By: marcusmartin
Info: The Hard Rock 100 aid station was at the Silver Creek/Gizzly Gulch TH when we arrived at 5:30am. Race participants were running with lights on CR 30. Don't underestimate the hike up to Redcloud and over to Sunlight. Starting around the Redclould saddle at 13,000' the trail is often hard to find, and it is very loose large, medium and small rocks and dirt. Very dangerous on the descent. Perhaps the most difficult descent of the 32 14ers I have summitted. Most hikers were using poles. I was very glad to have them. No snow or downed trees on the trail. The total RT effort was 7.5 hrs. And I only took one 10 minute break on Redcloud and a 20 minute break on Sunshine. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 7/14/2024, By: Kalerado
Info: I did the loop going up Redcloud trail, and down Sunshine NW ridge through the valley below Sun Dog, rather than back over Redcloud. The trail up Redcloud is very straight forward until just above the 1st saddle. Loose rocks and lots of trail variations. Take it slow and steady to avoid slipping or rolling an ankle. Coming down Sunshine, there is a short gully that is steep and loose. Whether going up or down, I would recommend a helmet for anyone taking this route. Rocks are very easy to kick loose and they will roll. Coming down, follow the cairns to the top of the gully. At the top of the gully is a rock outcropping that splits it in half. Start off by staying to the right side, where the dirt is a little more firm, and use the rocks on the left to stabilize. Once you get below this outcropping, cross over to the left side, and again, use the rock wall on the left to steady yourself down. There is good footing and holds along the wall. Be mindful of anyone above or below for falling rocks. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 7/8/2024, By: AndrewJCraigie
Info: Dry, but windy, especially going up Redcloud. Going down Redcloud was a bit of a pain due to all the small, loose rocks. Slipped on my butt a few times. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 7/7/2024, By: NicolaKeerknah
Info: Trail is completely dry. A bit windy on the ridge line between Redcloud and Sunshine. At the top of Sunshine it was warm and we experienced little to no wind. Ascent up Sunshine itself required minimal trail finding; you could see the general path the entire way from Redcloud. I would suggest to stay high left as you go up the last pitch to Sunshine where the talus seemed a bit more secure. Backtracked to Redcloud for the standard route descent; maybe recommend poles for the descent if you are someone who prefers extra stability. NOTE for NW FACE-Some people returned to Grizzly Gulch TH using the Northwest Face trail to descend. At the TH it was reported that the "loop to go down" or the Northwest Face descent had a lot of scree on the face and at times it felt like they were "skiing" down. They mentioned they did need to do minimal route finding on the face and in the gully. DOG OWNERS: HIGHLY recommend booties for the this trail as it is LONG and with a lot of scree/talus. My 8yr old dog's hind paws were rubbed raw in spots, as was another pup's when I inquired with them. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 6/17/2024, By: RWenz
Info: Summer conditions. A few patches of snow going up Redcloud that can be easily avoided. Little to no snow along the saddle. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 6/16/2024, By: mholloway987
Info: The traverse from Redcloud and back is in good, 90% summer condition, a few snow fields covering the trail in places but fairly easy to get through or around. Check out the very cool needle ice up there under the dirt! 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 6/9/2024, By: buzzlightbeer
Info: Trail is in solid shape and required way less route finding (approximately none) than expected. No snow until the last 30 ft of vertical with a large block hiding the summit. Justified hauling the microspikes and axe, but probably not necessary. Solitude is nice. Apple watch said 10.2 round-trip, Suunto 11.5. Both probably biased high, but expect more than 7. 

Route: Northwest Face
Posted On: 6/10/2024, By: FlipFlap55
Info: Went up Sunshine NW Face and traversed ridge all the way to UN 13820. The scree slope on the NW Face is melted out in the upper third, but wasn't especially difficult with microspikes. From Sunshine to Redcloud there was ~50 steps in snow with steps already kicked in. From the Redcloud saddle to UN 13820 there were a few short (>50 step) snow crossings, but otherwise dry. There is still a good bit of snow in the Silver Creek Basin below the saddle, but most areas have steps kicked in. I was able to glissade down part of the remaining snow, but it's melting fast! 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 6/1/2024, By: stickmann
Info: There are several snow crossings up to the basin and the basin is mostly full of snow but didnt require flotation today. The trail on Redclouds face still has snow and taking the social ridge trail seems safer until it melts. Traverse to Sunshine is mostly snow free except one ridge bump, a short traverse, and the last 50 feet or so. It looks snowy from afar but you can mostly stay on rock. Soft snow by 9:30am, even up high. I didnt use any traction but found a pole helpful for a few snowy sections. 

Route: Northwest Face
Posted On: 5/6/2024, By: AlpineSplit
Info: Northwest face is not in ski condition, but it is possible to ski the east face/ridge connecting Redcloud. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 12/22/2023, By: shapovalovm
Info: More animal poop than snow maybe until 11200. But don't let it fool you, snow starts and becomes deep enough to be miserable without snowshoes by maybe 11500. I know because I tried* (maybe until 12200) and it wasn't fun. Wore snowshoes to both summits and back to 11500 and I think they were useful/necessary. Getting out of the trees at 11800 and onto the ridge at 12100 was a little spooky going solo. Without snowshoes you can feel breaking the underlaying hard layer is of snow. It's not super loaded and the angle is probably not steep enough for an avalanche, but still made me a little anxious. No oomphimg or anything though and, also, snowshoes definitely help to stay on top of hard layers without breaking them at this point. Sunshine -> Redcloud to the lowest point has plenty of snow. I stuck to the ridge proper (don't want to take any chances solo), which was very laborious till the lowest point. Then it's pretty easy. On the way back I cut maybe 300 feet below Sunshine. The cornice above starts forming but not nearly has enough snow to be problematic yet. Road/parking: road is well plowed, almost entirely dry and is accessible by any car. You can bring your Lambo if you have one. If you have an SUV you can probably park inside the campground. I didn't want to risk it in my ultra all-terrain vehicle (Accord) and parked outside. Overall a great day! Saw a herd of bighorns and not a single person over the entire day: started at 7:30am, finished at 4:30pm. * I'm very stubborn when it gets to putting snowshoes on/off 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 10/9/2023, By: wildschut
Info: Not summer conditions. Maybe in a week if the sun continues??? We did not use microspikes or gators. However we had hiking poles. If you dont have poles i would carry spikes. I strongly suggest no trail runners or sandals.At 12,850 you have 4-10 inches of snow there are some solid postholes you can follow but they became mud slush nastiness on the way down. Still totally doable as long as the snow holds off 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 10/2/2023, By: two lunches
Info: nothing much to report. there was snow, but it didn't stop my hiking companion from donning sandals for the entire trek. microspikes encouraged from saddle to peaks and back. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 9/29/2023, By: colocollegeguy
Info: Intermittent snow after the first saddle on Redcloud. Descent was rough with the snow by the afternoon so definitely try to get started as early as possible. I forgot my microspikes in the car, and my trail runners held up great in the morning, but I was missing them by the afternoon slush. Poles helped a ton for most of the hike. Hopefully the snow forecast this weekend covers more of the trail. The half and half was a bit exhausting. 

Route: Via Redcloud Peak
Posted On: 9/29/2023, By: Ajs336
Info: A decent amount of snow along the trail both up to redcloud and sunshine. We were very happy to have our yak tracks and poles. It would have been a lot of sliding around without them.