Horseshoe Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/11/2023, By: bryanpeck3
Info: Carried but skipped using snowshoes in the woods in just firm enough snowdrifts. Ditched snowshoes above treeline and mostly stayed on rocks. 10.5 miles for Horseshoe and Peerless after parking a mile from Leavick with all other vehicles. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/26/2022, By: EndWillows
Info: About as easy as it gets. Did the traverse from Sheridan over to Peerless then Horseshoe. Bushwhacked from Horseshoe to where I parked at Fourmile. Didn't exceed easy class 2 all hike. Kid friendly for sure. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/12/2022, By: mnk219
Info: Pretty clear! Submitted Sherman and traversed across to Weston (Sherman - Sheridan - Peerless - Horseshoe - Ptarmigan - Weston) and back down to the Fourmile trailhead on the path north of Horseshoe. There was a short patch of snow on the climb up to the saddle between Sherman and Sheridan, but no traction was needed. Otherwise snowfields were avoidable on this stretch. 

Route: Weston Pass
Posted On: 6/5/2022, By: kwhit24
Info: Hiked Weston Pass group today. Overwhelming majority of the route is snow free or the snow can be avoided. There are some snow patches to cross under the Finnback Know/Horseshoe saddle but snow was firm and rock hopped the rest. There is shallow snow going up and down Horseshoe and also some coming off Ptarmigan and between Ptarmigan/Weston Ridge was pretty windy today and working around snow forced into some rock fields but it was manageable. Amazing views of the Sawatch. Probably the best I've ever had. Saw one person while coming off Weston and a couple people on Sheridan towards the beginning. Only saw 10 or so vehicles on Weston Pass road. I easily made it to the 4wd road with my Ford Edge and could've made it all the way to the Pass if I wanted to Started at 7:30am. Finnback Knob 9:15am. Horseshoe Mtn A 9:50am. Ptarmigan 11:00am. Weston Peak 11:45am. Car by 1:30pm 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/28/2022, By: Ssgustafson
Info: Quite a bit of snow in the brief section of forest, including one very large drift that you can go over or circumnavigate. Snow was firm on ascent (left at 6AM), but was getting mushy when I finished at about 845AM. Picked up a little wind around the saddle, but it dissipated quickly. Overall a really nice day! 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/14/2022, By: Carl_Healy
Info: Started at trailhead at 04:00, reached base of Boudoir Couloir around 05:30, summit just before 7:00, back at trailhead around 8:30. Excellent conditions, at least for being that early. My partner had been in the Sawatch last weekend and stated that snow today in Boudoir was way firmer today. Brought our snowshoes but stashed them at base of couloir. Never but them on on the way to the couloir or on the way back. Some snowfields on the road but never postholed (ok maybe once or twice near the trailhead on the way back) But again we started way early... Certainly could have turned into a posthole nightmare if we just waited an hour as there was certainly evidence of that for previous days. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/10/2022, By: constipated_pete
Info: Adding another report saying Boudoir is in and a lot of fun right now. There was a good freeze last night and when we skied down at 10:30 the area around the choke was still firm, but the apron was nice corn. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/8/2022, By: swilson753
Info: Ascended Boudoir, descended East Slopes with borderline snow conditions. Started at 4:55 am, which was about an hour too late. There was no freeze the previous night and we were postholing starting about a third of a mile in. Ascended the couloir at 8 and topped out at 9:15. Snow was rapidly softening as we climbed. A large group ahead of us was kind enough to kick steps, which made the ascent much easier. Hiking back down the road at 10am was posthole hell - start earlier or bring floatation. There was abundant evidence of recent slides in the cirque, but the couloir itself was clear. Lots of roller balls from the group above us as well as general melt off. Couloir was well sheltered from the wind today. It's a great climb - just don't make the mistakes we did (late start after a warm night, stubborn refusal to wear snowshoes). 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/8/2022, By: kyrawhitworth
Info: Couloir filled in and great snow conditions. Soft and sticky but not yet slushy which great for both the ascent and descent. Crampons and axe headed up and I glissaded down most of it while others skied. Post holed pretty deep for about an hour on the way back wishing I had skies. Road completely clear. 

Route: Boudoir Couloir
Posted On: 5/7/2022, By: climbnowworklater
Info: Great conditions! Snow was perfect. Climbing was pleasant and skiing was soft. Completely filled in and should be for a few weeks. Get it now. Thanks to cloudkicker and his crew for letting me join up last minute. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/12/2022, By: halfapackofapache
Info: Sun was in and out of the clouds today. Wind was pretty brutal on the summit ridge and summit. Trail is packed pretty well tell you split off at 11.6k. From there to tree line there were a few soft spots that I would sink up to my knees or so. I decided not to bring snowshoes with me and paid the price here. Could have been useful to have them. Tree line to summit was a mix of rocks and shallow snow. I brought my snowboard with me and rode some mellow terrain from 13.2k down to the car. Had to unclip 2 times and walk a bit to avoid large bare spots above tree line. The coverage wasn't very good. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/27/2022, By: gluckhikes
Info: Spikes all day but no snowshoes needed. The road is well traveled and packed, and the snow above treeline is intermittent and windblown. Not much use trying to follow the old mining road, just head directly up toward the saddle with Peerless. The ridge to Peerless is corniced but dry on the west side. Mostly dry until the summit of Horseshoe. Only the trail seems to hold snow. I then dropped NW to grab Finnback also, finding more avoidable cornices and some steep talus but nothing major. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/19/2022, By: Geckser
Info: Had a quick jaunt up Horseshoe with Arthurspiderman. Was about 9.5 miles with 3,100 feet of gain from trailhead and took us about 3:20 hours. Conditions on road were perfect for hiking, hard packed but inconsistent with some dry spots. There were a lot of dry rock ribs to take to the ridge, easy and pleasant. The ridge was nice albeit windy with gusts up to 55. Luckily it was an otherwise warm and sunny day so it was still trivial. Looking at Sherman you should need neither flotation nor traction. Looks like the snow is too inconsistent for even a passable ski, much more trouble than it is worth 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 11/8/2021, By: mvandergrift
Info: Trailhead is easily accessible until the turnoff for Horseshoe. After that, there's enough snow that you'll want AWD/4WD for that last half mile. Nothing too challenging, just a little slick. I parked at 39.198462, -106.157871. The owner of the home down Silver Horseshoe Dr has put out No Trespassing signs around their driveway entrance, but there is plenty of room for a couple of cars to park past that area. The road beyond this is clear enough for another half mile for someone with good snow tires to make it, but I don't think it's worth it. The trail up Horseshoe is in fun winter-like conditions. Plenty of snow, but nothing beyond ankle-deep. There's still rock to walk along the side of the road for most of the trip. You could get by with trail runners, but hiking boots were ideal. Some small sections are getting slippery from the freeze-thaw cycle, but I didn't need traction or poles. A very fast trip with decent elevation gain. Just watch out for the wind this week! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/24/2021, By: PikaSteve
Info: As expected, gentle class 1 route: jeep road to saddle then trail to summit. As forecast, very strong wind at saddle, but unexpected calm at summit. Only two other groups on mountain. Bluebird day with no smoke. Plenty of solitude and great views. Clear visibility from Mt Powell to Humboldt Peak and from Snowmass Mountain to Pikes Peak.