Horseshoe Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/28/2024, By: backcountrybrodes
Info: See Mt. Sherman update from this day. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 6/15/2024, By: DanielL
Info: Ascended the Boudoir Couloir this morning with the intention of skiing it. The lower apron is now too thin to ski (IMO) and also due to rapid warming and punchy conditions (got there later than hoped!!), we ended up descending the very pleasant SE Face. This is a good and lower angle line that currently holds continuous snow from summit to ~12k, though a slightly longer hike out is necessary to rejoin the standard route. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/30/2024, By: Ericsheffey
Info: Horseshoe Mountain, 13,918' // 05.30.2024 Ascent via Boudoir Couloir Ski/board descent via SE Slopes Great morning on Horseshoe today as we climbed the Boudoir Couloir and skied the SE Slopes. The road is clear to the parking at 11,600', and the snow coverage is still great on route. The couloir is still really filled in, and the cornice up top doesn't impede passage at all. There's a great booter in place too. As for the SE Slopes, you can ski right off the summit and down the SE slopes all the way back to treeline and the road to get back out to the main road. There are patches of dry road that you will have to hike, but some of it is skinnable to get back to the parking area. We had great climbing conditions on the way up, and corn on the way down. Go climb this Centennial while it's in great shape! 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/30/2024, By: jeffh7
Info: Went up the east slopes in trail runners, skied down the boudoir couloir. Not much postholing on the ascent and we didn't use spikes. Descent had continuous snow all the way back to the parking lot, we didn't have to take our skis off or put on skins (although pushed a little bit at a few parts). Started our descent at about 9:15 and had pretty perfect conditions. Corn in the couloir and firm snow on the flat parts for the ski out. Still good coverage in the couloir, but watch out for some small rocks/debris starting to poke out when descending skiers left. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/6/2024, By: gluckhikes
Info: Great, isothermic snow conditions for climbing. Our CMC Alpine Climbing School team started at 4am, no snowshoes needed for the approach after a good overnight freeze. We built a solid bootpack up the line. The large cornice visible from the base is easily avoidable at the top of the couloir. Summited around 8:30 and followed the north ridge down and back to where we had stashed our snowshoes. Wore them out in the afternoon sun without any postholing. Back to the car by 11:30. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/21/2024, By: 14er101
Info: Good climbing conditions today. Recent storm blew a fair amount of snow into the couloir but it felt stable and was great for kickstepping. I highly appreciated axe and crampons. About 8 people out there today. Did see 1 loose wet and some rockfall from the cliffs in the cirque around noon. Parked at the Leavick site but 4wd or good clearance had no problem getting to 11600. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 4/20/2024, By: andlours
Info: Parked at 11,600 above the Leavick Site where the turnoff for Horseshoe is. Climbed Boudoir Couloir but did not ski it due to variable conditions in the lower 2/3 of the couloir (sastrugi, punch crust). The upper section near the top choke would have been fantastic skiing though with lots of wind blown snow. I stayed on the left side of the couloir during the entire climb and didnt use crampons but did use my axe. In hindsight, crampons wouldve been nice for reassurance and speed on the way up. I skied down the southeast slopes which were decent, but if you plan to ski the southeast slopes Id recommend parking at the Leavick Site rather than at 11,600. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/15/2024, By: 14er101
Info: Beautiful warm day, no wind. No traction or flotation was needed; the snow was supportive, even in the afternoon. Will attach pics of Boudoir, at least one group has done it recently. Cornice looms ominously above and to the right. Not sure what tonight's storm will do. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/25/2024, By: ellenmseb
Info: Skinned to the Peerless-Horseshoe col, walked to summit of Horseshoe and back, skied from Peerless-Horseshoe col back. Continuous snow coverage until ridge. Avy terrain easy to avoid. Parked 5mi from summer TH but probably could've driven further. Road is well-packed by snowmobile traffic. Mohair skins recommended to glide easily on those long road miles... 16mi RT. Snow quality OK but wish I could've had visibility to choose a good line on descent. Intended to go to Peerless and Sheridan. One contributing factor to my decision to skip them is that you'd have to touch some snow that's connected to avy terrain, going up the south ridge of Peerless. Not an absolute no-go imo but something to keep in mind. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 1/28/2024, By: 14er101
Info: Good conditions. Road open to the normal winter trailhead. Flotation helpful for some stints in the trees but I didn't use it and was fine. Sherman looked mostly windblown except for the area around the saddle, which has the normal loaded slopes. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/19/2023, By: 14er101
Info: No traction needed, but it was nice to have. Mix between windblown and snow (some of which was solid!) Road in decent shape for 4wd, although this might change with the impending storm. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/12/2023, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Climbed Peerless and a repeat of Horseshoe on 11/10. Conditions were a mixed bag of deep snow, tundra and a hard crust. Didnt require snowshoes but did opt for microspikes which stayed on for most of the day. Snow on all of the surrounding peaks, and a pretty large cornice forming on Peerless. Horseshoe did not have much snow on the ascent leading up from the Peerless saddle, and was completely dry on the summit ridge. We took refuge from the wind on the abandoned shack on the ridge. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/19/2023, By: joannalee07
Info: Drove to the lakes on 10/19 in a stock 4runner, no snow on the road until about 12,500 feet. Did Horseshoe & Peerless. Both have some snow on the route but it is all avoidable. I was fine in trail runners with no gaiters or spikes. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/17/2023, By: donovanrice
Info: Some but negligible snow 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: 719BR
Info: route nearly entirely snow free. a couple very short (no more than 10') snow patches which can be avoided.