Mt. Edwards

Route: Guanelland Traverse
Posted On: 6/15/2021, By: Lordofthegnar
Info: Did the traverse from Loveland Pass to Guanella Pass with two friends. My buddy Calvin is an awesome videographer and made this about the trek - gives you a good idea of the conditions: https://youtu.be/oi1ky6twY1w Left a car at Guanella, then camped at Herman Gulch Trailhead, and then drove the quick 12 min up to Loveland pass to start the hike around 2:30am. Hardly any snow on the entire route from Cupid, to Grizzly, to Torreys, Grays, Mt. Edwards, and Argentine Peak. A little bit of snow on the down climb off Argentine as well as the descent from Square Top. Got a little muddy on the final segment from Square Top to Guanella as well. We took our time resting at each peak and finished around 3:45pm. Was getting hot under the sun. This is a long trek with little defined trail on much of it and you're above 13k most of the time, so bring plenty of food and water. I probably went through 3.25-3.5L and a crap ton of snacks. The ridge from Grays to Mt. Edwards was my favorite. Can keep it to class 2 but you can get some Class 3, and maybe even some Class 4 on one section if you want (but you can totally bypass this section). Have fun! Spikes and ice axe were entirely unnecessary and didn't need gaiters as well. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/13/2021, By: wintersage
Info: There are several (~5) snow-filled gullies along the trail after 12k ft that are sloped and require an ice axe and traction to cross. I used microspikes but the snow is very hard and slick requires you to dig footholds in order to safely cross. There is one vertical slab of snow that either requires you to go much further up the rocks and around it, or you have to dig holds in it with an axe to climb it (third picture, you can see the ice-axe carved footholds). The summit itself is mostly dry. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/6/2021, By: CairnColorado
Info: It looks doable from the trailhead & you can likely keep your feet dry through the willows but the trail gets lost in the snow. There is a bridge to cross Peru Creek. In the trees, there are areas the trail is still under snow but you can still see the trail. The snow gets deep, there will be post holing if not starting early enough (it's already getting warm by 7:45am). Poles & micro spikes can help through the icy/hard snow but flotation is necessary right now. Possibly even an ice axe. I turned back at around 11,700 ft because I didn't have snowshoes. With a late start, I started post holing in the trees & got thigh deep (I'm 5'2” for reference). There was a fella with an ice axe & micro spikes that turned back somewhere around 12,000 ft in elevation, not far past the turn to begin the west slopes. He said the snow was slick & the angle got steep, he didn't want to risk it. Looking up the mountain, I believe he turned around at the first gully that's seen on picture 7 on route photos. It does look dicey. I would imagine the gully near 12,800 ft would be equally as dicey. It's possible one can work their way around the snow, but keep in mind that can be time consuming. Thunderstorms were in the forecast today & I wouldn't have made it up & down in the softening snow before it rolled in if I had to work my way around the snow or posthole. I think a couple more weeks will get most of the snow out of the way. 

Route: Edwardian Couloir
Posted On: 5/2/2021, By: Justin9
Info: Peru creek rd skiable from within 100 yards of parking area. Not enough snow to ski off summit but couloir is in good condition. 

Route: North Face
Posted On: 4/11/2021, By: Anima
Info: Climbed to 13,600' on Edwards North face today. The face itself consisted of pockets of either bulletproof snow or ankle-deep powder. The higher I got the more powder I encountered. Turned around after one of the mono points on my G14s started wiggling... The approach (following the creek from the Grays summer trailhead) was frozen and well packed by snowmobiles. I skied down from about 13,400' and due to the random pockets of bulletproof snow, wasn't enjoyable. 

Route: North from Grays
Posted On: 1/25/2021, By: blazintoes
Info: Well packed trail all the way to Grays north saddle. Decided against Goatfinger col. snow too thin and fluffy. Enveloped in a calm snowstorm so zero vis but no wind. West ridge of Edwards is a fun scramble with rime. Used crampons the whole time and stayed ridge proper to avoid the fluff. Can't find my gps. It's probably buried on the summit now. It's an old Garmin etrex 20. Lotsa treasure inside if you find it. Oh well. Good day. Torreys Dead Dog col is filled in and Kelso avy trap had already triggered. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/14/2020, By: Unknown
Info: No snow gear needed, flurries on my descent. 3-4hr RT 7.5mi 2,800' 

Route: South East Ridge
Posted On: 9/13/2020, By: dleflar
Info: The trail from the lower parking lot (Argentine Pass TH) to the ridge saddle had sporadic snow in sections but didn't require microspikes to deal with. The trail from the saddle to the summit had remnants of snow from the previous weekday storm but were easily avoided. Mostly dry on summit, snow still hanging on north edge of ridge line 

Route: Edwards + McClellan: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/12/2020, By: Corey17
Info: Just Edwards today. Only mild snow from the Labor Day dump! Some drifts up high, and the gully is holding a decent amount. Thin layer of ice in the early AM. Spikes helpful, not required. Definitely doable, but chilly with shallow snow conditions. There were a few trapdoors up top, but all very avoidable. The gully was prime for glissading this morning! Most snow will probably melt quickly 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/27/2020, By: JakeByk
Info: Straightforward climb -- beautiful, secluded valley. Go here to get away from people. Interesting Class 2+ route up Grays from Edwards, nearly made it if not for the hail. Highly recommend. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/23/2020, By: tcphoto87
Info: Aside from the haze, perfect conditions. The road to Argentine Pass TH is fine for any standard crossover to get up, but past the mine it gets a bit more rocky. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/19/2020, By: durkan
Info: Completely dry from Argentine Pass parking lot at Peru Creek up to Argentine Pass and the summit. Clocked 7.50 miles round trip. No goats... 

Route: Leavenworth Ck.-Argentine-McClellan-Edwards-Grays
Posted On: 7/10/2020, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Snow is avoidable if you stick to ridges (by going Edwards' summit to McClellan instead of trying to hug the line to the saddle like we did), though staying near or below it is good for filtering water - that ridgeline is long and dry. Ridge between Edwards and Grays looks gnarlier than it actually is. There are a couple of super-easy Class 3 moves along the way, but they're low consequence and require minimal thought. I bailed after Grays, as three thirteeners and the highest fourteener in the Front Range were enough for me for one day, but my buddy went on to Torreys. There is snow going down to the saddle from Grays, but he says it's well-trenched with tracks going all the way to the rock in parts. If you shuttle this route the way we did by stashing bikes along Stevens Gulch, note that biking down to Georgetown in the dark kinda sucks...the frontage road is great through Silver Plume, then you have to essentially ride on the highway shoulder most of the remaining route. There's enough separation from I-70 that you'll be safe from traffic, but oncoming headlights make it hard to figure out where the bike path is. 

Route: Edwards + McClellan: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/29/2020, By: Brittanyjomad
Info: Few snow fields going up that could be easily avoided on both the ascent and descent. No snow at the top of the peaks. No real 'defined' trail going up the valley up to the first peak, but we followed the stream and were easily able to see the ridge we needed to get to. We did end up going too far to the left and ended up off the trail map, but were easily able to walk the ridge to Edwards. Went on Saturday 6/27 and saw no one on this route. Garmin clocked 4.81 miles (due to going off route), 3 hours 45 minutes total time out (including stopping at both summits for pictures), 2.450 feet of elevation gain. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/29/2020, By: JacerJack
Info: One short (~30 yard) snow crossing with decent steps kicked in; full summer conditions other than that. We were able to cross in trail runners without traction, but it might not be a bad idea to bring the microspikes along just for peace of mind, especially if crossing in the early morning.