Hunts Peak

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/2/2025, By: malogos
Info: Most downed trees cleared to where the road makes its sharp turn. 

Route: Northern Sangres Traverse
Posted On: 5/17/2025, By: Lubellski
Info: See condition update for. Bushnell. 

Route: West ridge
Posted On: 3/8/2025, By: Will_E
Info: Nice conditions on Hunts today with my good friend Dobsons, he put together a great rout to gain the ridge in the trees that mostly followed the ridge crest. Bushwhack wasn't bad, we gave it 4 out of 5 stars. We used snowshoes for the upper section of treeline, maybe three quarters of a mile, snow wasn't bad, especially since Cory did the trenching while I tried to keep up with him (he's a machine, seriously). There was fresh snow above treeline from last night's storm, maybe 3 or 4 inches. On map shot, red line is our path. Nice day, weather was good, blustery until nearing treeline on the way down when views opened up. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 2/16/2025, By: daniel_a34
Info: Was able to drive a stock CRV to 9500’ on road 980, and followed a faint trench until around 10,200’ with micro spikes. Put on snowshoes from there to 10,800’ when we turned left (north) onto a west aspect, where the snow was too hard for snowshoes and we risked sliding down. Switched back to micro spikes and went straight up the hill on mostly firm snow. Very little postholing from there to the top, everything is windblown and hard in the morning. No avalanche signs noted, just a couple whumpfs on very low angle slopes (15°) around 10,400’. Snow was softened by the afternoon which was very helpful as I was slightly concerned about traction on the way down because of how hard the crust had been on the way up. ~9.5mi round trip, ~3500 vertical, 7hrs up, 4hrs down, but emilykaya is 7 months pregnant… so without that and with our trench you’ll be much faster. 

Route: West Ridge
Posted On: 2/3/2025, By: bigfoot1
Info: Attempt. It is HOT out there today. For the first time ever, I overpacked and had too many clothes. It was supposed to be windy but the wind did not help much to cool. Tempted to wear shorts for the rest of the week.. Broke out a terrible path up the northwestern side of the ridge and then followed the mostly dry ridge up to about 11k ft. Turned around and took ridge direct down which had 0 snow and was the better way to go. Snow coverage is odd to say the least. The normal route is probably snow covered with a bunch of unconsolidated snow so not sure if that is any better than ridge direct. Looks like snow starts back up around 12k on the ridge. 

Route: Huadong Chute
Posted On: 12/21/2024, By: Geckser
Info: Arthurspiderman and I skied the Northwest chute of Hunts Peak. We were inspired by Yaktolefts post and were generally impressed by the coverage and conditions. We followed Yaktolefts trench until he turned off for the ridge while we continued up the valley. We cut through the burned forest following West Creek Drainage. Coverage was generally passable for skinning but caution was required given all the downed trees. We hit dirt at about 12,000 at which point we A-Framed to the summit, following grassy dry patches until we hit the ridge. Generally very warm day with little wind and clear skies, about as nice as it gets for the winter. We had seen no signs of snow instability so we descended the major snow filled gulley to the north west of the summit. It started about 100 feet below the peak and we kept skis on until the car. The snow above treeline was hardpack but surprisingly consistent. We were surprised how filled in it was for this early season in the Sangres! I have had many much worse descents much later in the year. About 4:15 round trip. Happy start to winter!! 

Route: W/NW ridge
Posted On: 12/4/2024, By: yaktoleft13
Info: Climbed hunts from Rock Creek. Any awd can get to the sharp right hand turn 3/4 of a mile before the trailhead. Could have made it to the trailhead, but stopped here. A burly vehicle has tracked both the north and south road to the trailhead. Wore snowshoes to the final pitch. Turned right at a nondescript slope and gained the ridge fairly early. Probably could find a better spot, but conditions were good. Trenching was up to knee height unless I found a gap between talus. Took snowshoes off for summit pitch, which was intermittently dry/windpacked snow. Beautiful day, essentially no wind. It's worth noting a potentially viable true winter route is to take the south-facing slopes to the north of the valley, then run the whole ridge around to hunts. It gets a lot of sun and is a short pitch to the low part of the ridge. Worth scoping if Hunts is on your winter radar. 7.5 miles, 3700 gain. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/25/2023, By: pbradley14er
Info: Summer conditions. Very little snow and trivial to avoid. Had really high winds Friday, so did not attempt any other peaks. The road to the parking area before the final jeep road can be done easily enough in an Outback. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/3/2023, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Climbed Hunts Peak today, lots of deadfall on the route but overall a steep and beautiful climb. Amazing views from the summit ridge to the summit, and really great day overall in the Sangres. Very dry out there, did not need snowshoes or microspikes. I wore mountaineering boots and they were totally overkill. Honestly, trail runners would have sufficed. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: joflyer22
Info: Fairly easy and straightforward climb from the gate. Several blowdowns on main trail/road leading up to the first cairned turnoff, but all were passable with marginal diverts. The first snow appearance was on the steep fire-damaged wooded slope after the turnoff from the main trail at about 11,500' - all easily avoidable. Upon gaining the first ridge just above tree line at about 11,900' there was a bit of a snow crossing that was all unstable and post-holing ensued. Nothing terrible though since it was short. The remainder of the ridge to the summit had avoidable snow. It would have been fun to climb the snow line to the summit but unfortunately it was still too deep, too dry, and too unsupportive. On the descent, a slight variance left of the route kept us off any short bits of post-holing snow. With the relatively moist ground, the steep slope was stable, but we still treaded carefully to avoid further damage. Absolutely gorgeous views and weather in the Sangres today! Thanks to Bill Middlebrook for his helpful GPX file and description of where to turn off the main trail to gain the ridge. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/5/2022, By: mtngoatwithstyle
Info: The TH Gate has now changed and is no longer the same as described in the .com ( it is being updated).It is now metallic.The trail up from the TH to the "sudden left" at 10,800ft is overgrown but not hard to follow.There is a cairn where one makes that left.The climb through the dead forest can be a little tricky as soil is not very stable and loose rocks can make you slide easily. I took my time. Once up high and past the ridge,views open and last part of climb is quite straight forward. Only 2 more people all day long.A great peak with amazing views!. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/13/2022, By: brianr56
Info: Road to TH from US285 in good shape - should be passable by most sedans. Trail is overgrown at bottom but still easy to follow. Less so on climb to ridgeline but clear burned area makes it simple to head in generally the right direction. No difficulties after gaining ridge. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/18/2022, By: malogos
Info: All gates open. Full summer conditions. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 12/20/2021, By: shredthegnar10
Info: Ankle-deep snow on the trail up along the creek, knee deep/a bit of postholing for one section maybe 100 feet long about 1/4 mile before the turn left to skirt the ridge. Light snow on the ridge. A few slippery spots but no real need for traction. Road is consistently snowcovered starting about 1/4 mile below the "first" trailhead (where the road turns sharply south towards Rock Creek). The nearby peaks of the northern Sangres looked similarly barren. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/8/2021, By: Jan van Tilburg
Info: Still summer conditions today, except for the temps and windchill. Really hardly any snow the entire way. Basically the same as the last conditions report. Drive to trailhead is slow but easy in a Subaru. Parked before first creek. Both creeks are easily crossable.