Horseshoe Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/11/2025, By: xDoogiex
Info: Car made it up to the big snowdrifts blocking the road. I only wore my micro spikes on those. You can avoid them after the first one if you take the old road off of the 4wd road after the first one. There are still several snowfields and 2 are at the turning points of switchbacks. They were easy to cross up but deff postholed coming down. Once on the ridge you can avoid all snow on horseshoe and peerless. beautiful day and I was the only one on the peak. I had the second signature of the month. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 6/1/2025, By: Nathan Hoobler
Info: Bottom third was soft, many exposed rocks. Top ⅔ was ideal. Another party after us turned back due to poor conditions and rockfall. Pushed through 2 snow drifts with the Suburban. Stopped at the third. Probably made it ⅓ mile from the turnoff from Four Mile Creek Road. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/31/2025, By: Athiel
Info: Quite a few lengthy snowfields still present across the basin to the saddle- and a few snow drifts on the road up. Easy saddle to summit, mostly avoidable. Peerless is a clear walk up saddle to sunmit. Still lots of snow (and steep) getting to Finnback Knob. There’s cornice on the ridge, but easily avoidable. Early start avoided most of the surely miserable postholing. Boudoir looked like it was sparse at the bottom as well. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/24/2025, By: MidsizeAl
Info: Snow conditions were great this morning, though things got warm very quickly. Keep an eye out for rockfall. Summited around 7AM behind one other party. This was my first couloir and it was a blast. I’d recommend it to anyone as their first, but do it soon! Tagged Peerless and Sheridan on the way out. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: GavinP537
Info: Summited at 10AM and snow was getting very soft at some parts of the couloir similar to what MidsizeAl said. Might need flotation on the way down, we were post holing quite often. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: gooutlandish
Info: Started late which didn't help as the day progressed and the snow softened, but flotation up the standard route is super necessary - kept postholing with a few instances so bad I had to dig my feet out because of how far down I sunk (this was with crampons + trekking poles w/ snow baskets). Not an issue once you make it up to the saddle for Peerless or Horseshoe, but the road you hike up/follow on the East Slopes route is completely gone under snow in some parts still. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/11/2025, By: JerJerBinks
Info: My bro and I spent the morning on Horseshoe today. Group of two in front of us broke and descended the ridge so we never caught up to them. Gracias. No snowshoes needed on the way in and mild mashed potatoes on the way out. Very small slide near the cliffs obviously caused by rockfall. All seemed cohesive to me. Good coverage in the couloir and surrounding area. Patchy lower. Pretty thick drift blocks the way to upper TH, but I'll bet it gets punched through in a week. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/3/2025, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Pretty good conditions in the couloir; still a good amount of snow coverage but warming fast. We put in a nice booter right up the middle. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/29/2025, By: Jcinco
Info: Pics attached showing coverage here and surrounding peaks. I also found an item here that is not the radio in the 4/26 conditions update. PM me. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/26/2025, By: Rampaging Baloths
Info: Start at 345 AM from the winter lot. Not plowed at this time. Got lost in the woods on the way up somehow but found our way out. Couloir had a mixed bag of conditions. Bottom was punchy, middle was great. Top was a stable but quickly deteriorating wind slab. So be aware, especially with a looking cornice. Snow started to transition at 8 AM and was getting a little sloppy. Also there was evidence of a wet slide sometime during the week that destroyed the most recent booter. My partner and I put a new one in. You’re welcome! I walked off the ridge and got back to car in 7 hrs 45 min. Was harder physically than I was expecting but I did it. NOTE: I lost a beofeng radio at the base of the couloir or around the lake. It’s got some sentimental value. My partner looked on his ski down and couldn’t find it. If you have it or find please pm me. I’ll also make a list and found thread on the 14ers. Boudoir is in though. Go get it! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/12/2025, By: notidealbutfine
Info: Started at the Fourmile Creek Winter Trailhead. Lots of folks climbing Sherman today. Skinned to the saddle at ~13,000' then switched to AT boots and spikes for the summit push. There was barely enough snow coverage to ski a continuous line from the summit along the east slopes, but it is possible if you choose your line correctly. Another party was finishing climbing up the couloir as I was descending; it also looked quite good. Decent snow conditions as I was descending at 11:00AM (maybe a little sloppy down low). 10.21 miles / 3,209' gain / 4 hours, 35 minutes 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/13/2025, By: madmattd
Info: Boudoir was a great climb Saturday morning for our party of 3. 4:30am start from the winter closure - 99% snow-covered in the first 2 miles, some of it a couple feet deep, a few short bare spots that can't be bypassed on snow around the fork to Horseshoe, all easily booted with an overnight freeze. Snow-covered from a few feet past the road split to the base of Boudoir, with ski and snowshoe tracks going a few different directions that all get the job done - we used snowshoes here too. Swapped to crampons/axes at the base of the couloir and enjoyed a pretty good booter left by the Friday skiers - we (first up today) expanded upon and solidified the booter, and several others came up later so it should be a super-highway now. Started up at ~7:30, topped out just before 9 - conditions were great for the climb - supportive with a few hard-packed spots (chopped some steps here and there for ease of those later). Plenty of snow through the choke for skiing. We took roughly the East Slopes down (swung more towards Peerless and cut a few of those switchbacks on low-angle snow slopes) - boots worked best down to the saddle but it was snowshoe-able most of the way too but probably too many rocky spots to skin/ski. Continuous snow from the saddle back to the cars, and softening fast in the late morning sun - we "enjoyed" a few snowshoe postholes in the lower 2.5mi of the various roads around noon. The folks postholing to their knee with literally every step (in just boots) shortly below Leavick did not seem to be enjoying their life decisions - it's still deep in many places on the road! I spoke with a skier as we were leaving that booted up and skied down Boudoir (probably the party we saw starting up behind us) - he reported they waited until ~11 for things to soften before dropping, but that it never fully did. He reported a decent but not amazing ski descent, and of course down low was rather slushy on the way out. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/11/2025, By: bigfoot1
Info: DO NOT DRIVE PAST THE "DO NOT DRIVE PAST THESE SIGNS" SIGN! Saw a Subaru abandoned on the road maybe a half mile past the signs. ================================= Another beautiful day! Variable conditions, snow is all wet and heavy. Didn't sink through much at noon and could bareboot the road, but couldn't on my return around 1600. Spent most of the day taking snowshoes on and off, and dropped them for good on the ridge between Horseshoe and Peerless. 97% dry up to Horseshoe. Decided not to hit Finnback because ridge was snowy enough to maybe need showshoes. Saw 2 other skiers at the summit who were descending via Boudoir couloir and I signed a paper in a pipe. Hit Peerless on the way back down, no snowshoes needed. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/9/2025, By: 14er101
Info: Parked at winter trailhead No traction or flotation needed 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 12/7/2024, By: MaryinColorado
Info: Post-holing begins as soon as you turn off Fourmile Creek Rd. Snowshoes are a must. (Or, if you misjudge - guilty! - you posthole without snowshoes and regret every minute of it.) Prior to that, Fourmile is compacted enough-ish that it's doable without snowshoes. My theory (based on knowledge and visual of the peak) was that the road you follow up would be essentially windswept. It was, in a way... I mean, technically, all the snow was windswept ....... onto the road ..... in large drifts. In fact, there is a rather significant, steep drift barricading several of the upper switchbacks. We had to get creative about the route in order to stay in safe zones. So if you're wondering if the official route is doable, the answer is "not safely". But also know that there is much snow to contend with. From saddle to summit, though? Piece of cake. And we booped Peerless for extra credit.