7/6/2019 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 7/6/2019, By: SkiColorado93 Info: The road to the trailhead is completely dry, as is the trail up to treeline... after treeline there are some snow patches that are firm and icy in the morning and soft and wet in the afternoon. The snow is avoidable in some spots, but not really in others. Above treeline, the majority of the trail is a stream, so plan footwear accordingly. We didn't need/use traction. There was no snow on the route once you gain the S Arapaho/Old Baldy ridge that overlooks Arapaho Glacier. The route from S to N Arapaho is 95% clear of snow... there are a couple patches, at times blocking the standard route, but they're avoidable using thoughtful alternate route finding. The summits are dry. |
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6/29/2019 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 7/1/2019, By: Thevirtualsherpa Info: South Arapaho Peak has lingering snow fields on the standard route but dry to the summit for the most part. Minimal traction needed (if anything). Traverse to North has snow and large cornices on the east side of the ridge, but 99% of the snow is avoidable if you stay on the west side. Route finding is key, but doable with no additional gear. Class 4 move is bone dry. FWIW - Skywalker is also in great shape but melting out quickly. Awesome day out in IPW! |
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9/23/2018 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 9/23/2018, By: salmanalsaif Info: Perfect conditions. Trail is clear and dry, and great weather throughout the day. Wind picked up near the summit and across the ridge, but not enough to cause any problems if you're careful (~20 mph winds when it picked up). 2 miles to pass/glacier fork, 2 hours to glacier point (a little less than 4 miles) 2.5 hours to summit (4.4 miles), ridge took an hour to cross, about 0.8 miles (with screwing around), crux was a joke (way overhyped, took less than 10 seconds to go up), another hour to get back to South Arapahoe Peak, (2.5 hrs round-trip to traverse the ridge). Another 1.5 hrs back to the car. Overall was pretty easy. The easiest safest line was always climber's left going to North (opposite on the return). Half of class 2 line with loose dirt/rock near the summit can be bypassed in favor of a solid stable class 3 line (climber's left, may need to backtrack a minute to find it on the way up). |
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8/5/2017 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 8/5/2017, By: Trotter Info: Traverse in good shape, no snow on route. Fun scramble but leave 2 hours for the round trip from south to north and back. |
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9/17/2016 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 9/18/2016, By: jfm3 Info: The trail up to South Arapaho Peak and the traverse to North Arapaho are dry. There are small amounts of snow lingering on the cliffs of both peaks, but hardly any areas of snow on the ridge itself. The crux rock is not hard for anyone about 5'11" or taller, and I thought the top of the block immediately above the crux demanded more attention. There is also an overhung ~10' slab about 2/3 along the traverse that can be bypassed through some ledges on the west side of the ridge. |
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8/27/2016 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 8/29/2016, By: Alpenglo Info: Awesome day up there! Definitely enjoyed this traverse and thanks to Krishcane for the route info, definitely was helpful and saved me some time negotiating some of the tricky ridge points. I thought the "crux" was not that bad and barely class 4 (I'm 5'8"). The downclimb just after that was slightly more difficult and exposed IMO. No snow up there but you could see the peaks down south (Evans, G & T, Quandary) had a good bit of white on them. Definitely a Colorado classic! |
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8/14/2016 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 8/14/2016, By: ezabielski Info: Just adding a note that if you're 6'1" (maybe 6'0") or taller, you can reach the top of the "class 4" move while standing on the ground. Which makes it pretty darn easy. |
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7/11/2015 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 7/12/2015, By: colokeith Info: Route is snow free. The trail to south arapahoe has water running down a good portion of it. |
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7/11/2015 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 7/11/2015, By: jeremy27 Info: snow free. leave your axe at home. good luck. |
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6/21/2015 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 6/21/2015, By: GregMiller Info: Traversed from South Arapahoe and back. Most cornices are well supported and seemed safe enough to walk on, the ones that aren‘t are pretty visibly so. West side of the ridge is almost all dry. Went from S to N with crampons on, only needed them in the crux gully due to mixed snow/rock. Going N to S, removed crampons after descending crux, never felt they were needed on the way back. Be careful of the cornice on the SE side of the N Arapahoe summit, don‘t go to the edge if you don‘t see rock supporting it. |
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9/1/2014 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 9/1/2014, By: jeremy27 Info: Attempted the traverse today. Spotty snow, ice and rime in places - though mostly avoidable. I made it up the crux but no further because my wife was tired of the wind. I suspect the route was passable with care. Probably only take a nice sunny day to clean everything off. Good luck. |
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7/13/2014 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 7/13/2014, By: clemsonmtneer Info: Arapaho Traverse is 99.9% free of snow, aside from a small patch of easily avoidable snow just below the summit of North Arapaho. Moving at an average pace with little to no route finding trouble, it took my friend and I about 2 hours total to complete the traverse to N Arapaho and then reverse back to S Arapaho. Make sure to carefully evaluate the sky for any signs of building cumulus towers before attempting this committing traverse, as it would not be a good place to be caught in a thunderstorm. This was a very enjoyable, and at times, exhilarating route. Several exposed Class 4 moves (crux is arguably low 5th class) to get the blood pumping, but rock quality is very good. On the hike up to South Arapaho, the wildflowers are outstanding right now. |
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6/8/2014 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 6/8/2014, By: falcon568 Info: Climbed Skywalker, topped out with Princess Leia, and did the traverse to N Arapahoe. Snow conditions couldn‘t have been better, thanks to those that posted beta earlier. There were a couple other groups out there enjoying the day on Skywalker; it was absolutely beautiful weather until a snowstorm popped out of nowhere when I was traversing back from N Arapahoe. |
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6/3/2014 Route: Skywalker Couloir Posted On: 6/3/2014, By: moose_535 Info: Good conditions in the couloir and along the ridge. |
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7/14/2013 Route: Via Fourth of July TH and South Arapaho Peak Posted On: 7/15/2013, By: kimo Info: Traverse is wet in spots but snow free. |
