Wheeler Mountain

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 9/22/2019, By: supranihilest
Info: There's a ton of route finding on Wheeler's south ridge. I found this to be the hardest part of the route, not the climbing itself. Be aware of the route finding challenges! Sometimes I'd climb up a rib and across ledges; sometimes I'd climb down a gully and under a rib; sometimes I'd just scoot across steep and loose ledges between notches in various ribs. There are lots of cairns but they aren't always correct, so be vigilant. The route description's suggestion to just find a view of the white "Y" on the summit is probably the best idea of them all, otherwise you're just kind of climbing around in all that steep, ribby terrain. Finding the "Y" at least gives you an idea of where you're supposed to go! This route harbors TONS of loose rock so be very careful and test every hold! 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 9/20/2020, By: amkempf
Info: Very good conditions right now (no traction needed) and perfect weather for doing all four peak in a nice loop (clockwise). Took the ridge proper all the way and would say it mostly went (a couple small 10ft or less work-arounds). If you are comfortable with ridges, I would actually recommend this over the standard description. One thing to note: READ the description and make sure you actually summit. We thankfully took the ridge proper and went over every part, but one person in our group took the lower line towards the end and missed the actual summit. The summit is not obvious when climbing on the ridge, but the description makes it very clear where it is from the standard lower line. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 8/9/2019, By: 9patrickmurphy
Info: What a sufferfest. Road is entirely free from snow, but lots of mud puddles that take some effort to get around plus a creek crossing that (as far as I can tell) you have to take your shoes off for. Not particularly fun. From Wheeler Lake, it's a marshy, muddy mess. All doable, just very annoying; make sure to wear waterproof boots. Getting to the saddle is straightforward (not much snow), then it's tedious scrambling on very loose rock to the summit, which is very difficult to find from below. I followed what cairns I saw and they led me to a false summit which required a class 4 scramble to the true summit. Rockfall potential high. Rocks fell, microwave-sized rocks slipped from under me. Not a fun scramble in my opinion. Another thing to be wary about: if it rains at all the night before, the rocks on Wheeler's West Ridge (the class 3 section of the standard route) will still be slick even until noon. That sure didn't help either. Traverse to Clinton was fine. The scenery made everything more than worth it. Wonderful type-2 fun kind of day. 

Route: Snowman couloir
Posted On: 6/1/2019, By: Trotter
Info: Hiked up road from old Monte Cristo pull-off to blue lakes TH, then followed south side of blue lakes to get to base of Wheeler. Went up the previously unnamed couloir, now called Snowman Couloir. Didn't need snowshoes before dawn, definitely needed them noonish. Couloir holding great snow. Summit very narrow, hard to see where rocks end and cornices begin. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 8/12/2018, By: E_A_Marcus_949
Info: Traversed from North Star, so this is a condition report for the descent of the standard S. Ridge/class 3 route - summer conditions, good set of cairns to follow. Class 3 from saddle up - helmet is good from here on up. There are a few summits up there. There is a trail from above upper lake up to the saddle. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/11/2018, By: cardgenius
Info: Summer conditions the whole way. Remember to stay high when traversing the gullies, specially on the way back. There's a good set of cairns to follow. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 6/3/2018, By: rachel
Info: Started from Montgomery Reservoir. Patches of snow and large puddles on the 4WD road. Consistent snow line begins at the end of the road and around Wheeler Lake. Micro spikes adequate for the snow climb up to the saddle. Snow avoidable through the class 3 climbing to the summit. Glissaded several snowfields on the descent. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 4/28/2018, By: mdmss
Info: Did Wheeler Mountain from Montgomery Reservoir yesterday. Great conditions early, soft later. Ridge had some snow. Much evidence of small wet snow sloughs on nearby peaks. Signs of a couple of small slab avalanches from last storm. Took, but didn't need snowshoes. Postholed maybe twenty steps during descent, reaching car about 120P. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 8/6/2015, By: JasonKline
Info: My Hyundai Elantra easily made it to the trailhead. The route was clear of snow. The usual numerous puddles on the 4WD road could be avoided using the sidetrails. 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 5/17/2015, By: bjburg
Info: As expected, superb coverage on Wheeler‘s NE Face. Was able to ski in/out from near Blue Lakes gate. Pics can be seen here: http://skithegarage.blogspot.com/2015/05/wheeler-mountain-13690-ft-northeast-face.html 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 12/3/2012, By: JosephG
Info: The 4WD road to Wheeler Lake was mostly snow free. However, the road was a pure sheet of ice in numerous sections, which required either diverting into the willows or slip-n-sliding along the ice. Wheeler Lake is mostly frozen, and the road around it is snowy but yielded only minimal postholing. The trail to the upper lake is readily apparent along the left of the stream. From the upper lake to the saddle, the snow is holding"anywhere from a couple inches to a foot is the norm. From the saddle to the summit, the ridge was 99% snow-free, and 100% snow-free where you’d want it to be (although Sunday night’s system probably deposited at least a little powder). We took but did not use or ever feel the need to use spikes and axe. Left the snowshoes at home and didn’t regret it. I forgot my gaiters and didn’t really suffer. Pic 1: The road. Pic 2: Snow slope to the saddle. Pic 3: Ascent gully. Pic 4: Summit. Doesn’t appear Sunday night’s/Monday’s snow left much, so this report should hold for a few days at least. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/2/2012, By: Jay521
Info: Dry as a bone all the way 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/24/2011, By: Wyoming Bob
Info: Gate open, jeep trail has usual jeep wallows and one snow bank, creek crossing slightly challenging just before climb to Wheeler lake if you want dry feet, can climb to summit on dry ground, an axe will allow snow field climbing to avoid talus, no snow on ridge proper.