Route: West Ridge Posted On: 9/24/2023, By: shapovalovm Info: Climbed the Crestones, but took a picture of Humboldt from the top and it seems bone-dry. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 7/8/2023, By: Kimberlyann00 Info: Hiked it on the 4th of July - summer conditions on the Humboldt side. It looks like Broken Hand Pass is still holding quite a bit of snow, if you're planning Crestone Peak/Needle from the SCL side. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/27/2023, By: apfox500 Info: Hiked the west ridge and found only a few patches of snow, all less than 100 feet. Trail is definitely in summer conditions now. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/27/2023, By: PhillyGoat Info: couple snow fields left around 12k. No spikes needed. summited Humboldt and the UN 13er across from it. 99% summer on the trail. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/26/2023, By: JonesAzonian Info: Arrived to the 4WD Trailhead around 5:45 AM. No problems with my Jeep Wrangler. Basically summer conditions! It was a gorgeous day and only a few minor snowfields around the lakes but zero traction is needed Gorgeous views of the Crestones and all the other peaks the Sangre de Cristos have to offer! |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/25/2023, By: bribaker2001 Info: Was able to get a 2WD 4Runner about 0.8 miles from the lower parking area, or about 1.7 miles from the upper TH. Would not recommend others trying that though as the road is rough, it skirts private land, and has very few places to turn around or park/camp; there were Subaru's, 4Runners, Jeeps, and camper vans at the top. The trail from the 4WD lot was wet, with plenty of fallen trees and a few flat, solid snowfields to cross to the Lakes; spikes weren't necessary. The trail is dry from the top of the Lakes to the summit. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/25/2023, By: guitarchicrx Info: Summer conditions on Humboldt! The 4wd/upper lot was a fine drive in my stock 4Runner. Only crossed 3-4 small snowfields near the lakes. Above that the route is completely dry! Wonderful time to get out in the sangres! Regarding the crestones, broken hand pass still looks quite snowed in. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/19/2023, By: willcubswin Info: As of Friday, the standard route up Humboldt is about 98% summer conditions. After you pass the old trailhead, there are about 20 downed trees to climb over before reaching the lower lake. There are a few snow crossings, but nothing requiring spikes or gaiters. Once you reach the upper lake, there is no more snow to cross. It looked like the ascent to Broken Hand Pass still had a decent amount of snow in it. As for the road, I saw a Subaru make it all the way to the upper trailhead, but I also saw a Bronco sport turn around less than half a mile past the 2WD trailhead. The first 1.5 miles of the 4WD road is through private property, so there is no parking on that portion. It's about 2.5 miles total each way. |
|
Route: East Ridge Posted On: 6/17/2023, By: HokieTom Info: I started at the lower trailhead. 80-90% of the road is fine, but the rest is very rough. 4WD and lifted is a must. East route is in summer conditions. A few snow fields that can easily be avoided. I found and lost the route to the tree line multiple times due to tree fall. It was not a huge problem for me, just fellow the ridge. After the tree line, follow the ridge. I tried to stay as far right as possible to avoid the wind. After the grassy/tundra ridge line, the real fun begins. I stayed on top of the ridge and added as much class 3 moves as possible. The rock was solid and the big drop off to the right was beautiful. Only saw one person the whole day on the route and had the summit to myself. I had problems finding the route back in the tree line. I had to do a lot of bush wacking but it was fun. This was my 17th summit and my favorite peak so far. Go for it! |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/12/2023, By: BRadleyC Info: 4WD trailhead to lower South Colony Lake had copious snowmelt runoff making for a wet and muddy trek with lots of deadfall and some snowdrifts to negotiate. Waterproof hikers and winter gaiters were helpful. There are several snowfield crossings above the lakes on the way to summit. Micro spikes were helpful but not completely necessary. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 6/8/2023, By: Webhater Info: Had a low pro Audi, that I wasnt comfortable driving up to trailhead in so parked at turnaround below forest boundary - added ~3 mi each way. Hike up to trailhead was nice though I would not do it again since it added so much time. Started out at 6:45 AM, got to TH a little after 8. Initial trek up was muddy, washed out, 4WD trail. Moved from that onto trail which quickly manifested with deadfall and snowdrifts. Did a poor job of wayfinding and ended up 250+ yds above trail. Navigated my way back, only to hit several snowfields prior to picking up the trail again before hitting the switchbacks. I will have to agree with others that this was one of the most difficult parts of the climb, next to the bouldering that occurred immediately afterwards. After almost 5 hrs of hiking and nasty clouds rolling in I debated on turning around, but persevered, glad to have done so as once I hit the ridge, it was much easier. Summited around 1PM with the sun poking through. Navigating back down was much easier and quicker (I slid down a large snowfield!) and I reached the car around 4:30. All told 16+mi, 5000+ ft, and ~10 hours. You do not need snowshoes or spikes, just good waterproof boots, but dont be me - have a high profile 4WD vehicle and start at the upper trailhead - youll save half the distance and 3 plus hours. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: ssowalskie Info: Much of the trail is snow-free, though there are sporadic patches of snow here and there, particularly after turning right at the fork to South Colony Lake and the switchbacks leading up to the ridge. The ridge has snow as well, but it's easily avoidable for the most part, as you can choose to scramble up the rocks on the north side of the ridge. That said, be careful on the large icy slope on the switchbacks heading up to the ridge, someone slipped and fell about 200 feet today and had to be airlifted out by search and rescue. Postholing was minimal, even with descending from the summit at 10am. I didn't have to use any traction or flotation, and only briefly used poles. The most irritating part of the trail is simply that the South Colony Lakes road after the gate closure is significantly washed out, with it feeling more like hiking up a muddy creek bed than a trail. Overall, it took just under 7 hours from car to car, including time spent on the summit and watching the search and rescue team. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 5/29/2023, By: terribletigzy Info: Ascended the east ridge and descended the west ridge. Started up the east ridge a little before 4 am. Way too dry for this route so its basically just walked straight through the woods with tons of deadfall and no obvious route for much of it. Route was completely dry until ~11,200 where very avoidable and intermittent snow fields began. Only had to cross a few snow fields and it stayed hard enough to do so in just boots. Above tree line there was very little snow. West ridge on the descent held a lot more snow, but it was still hard due to a good freeze from the night before. There was lots of evidence of previously postholing on the route both in the trees and from the saddle to the summit. I carried snowshoes and never used them. Micros would have been helpful on the way ridge, but not I didnt even bother to take mine out. Its too melted out for the east ridge. West ridge goes (and way more scenic) but I would recommend starting early or you might have some issues. Also south colony road was basically a stream with some high river crossings, waterproof boots were a life saver. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 5/28/2023, By: GaryBroome6 Info: Road to summer TH is clear of ice and snow. TH to tree line is gorgeous. We got off trail coming out of tree line and ended up on the south face of Humboldt a couple hundred feet above trail. Seems like this isnt too uncommon based off footprints and seeing other hikers. Just continued traversing and boulder hopping until the trail came up to meet us. On the descent our group agreed we were better off as we avoided a lot of snow. Some post holing and snow field sections where snowshoes might be nice but its not really worth lugging them all that way for a couple short sections. Traction helped though and Im not sure I wouldve traversed the last snow field below the ridge without. Wind on the ridge was comically bad. Struggled to keep my footing when it gusted. |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 5/13/2023, By: HoosierWaffles Info: Started around 7 from South Colony Lakes. Some snow in the basin but as you go higher and get on the ridge the snow is more avoidable. There are still some snowfields that need crossed on the way up the the saddle. Didn't use floatation on the way up but did on the way down starting around 12k. Pretty windy on the ridge that day I think the forecast said 25 mph, probably wouldn't want to be up there any windier than that. The Sangres got snow Thursday so this could be dated, but Humbolt was by far the driest peak in the area. On the approach snow was avoidable on the road until 10,700. |
|
Route: Southeast Gully Posted On: 4/15/2023, By: milesmorris Info: 4/13 looked up and there is very little snow on the south side. Check out pics. |
|
Route: Southeast Gully Posted On: 4/12/2023, By: One Sierra Charlie Info: Southeast Gully does not go from the exact summit, but is in okay shape for skiing. The bottom (forested) section will melt out soon and was the crux of the route for me. The lower portion of the gully is interrupted by a small cliff containing an impressive ice fall. The snow in the trees on either side of this obstacle is thin and rotten so I found the best option is to boot up the steep snow (and rock) adjacent to the ice fall (I learned all of this on a recon mission the afternoon prior). I skied the trees to skier's right on the way down and this is pure survival skiing with lots of sudden collapsing of the snowpack. This may have been partly due to the insanely warm temperatures over the past few days. Most of the route above tree line has adequate snow coverage and quality. The snow probably ends about 30 vertical feet below the summit. |
|
Route: East Ridge Posted On: 4/10/2023, By: Limidi Info: Decided to take my GF on her first winter climb out in the rockies. Took the east ridge up, early start of around 4:30 am. Refreeze made the snow and ice on the 4wd road very solid, did not need snowshoes until around treeline. there was a good snowshoe path all the way up the route until treeline. Above treeline there is a large snowfield from 12,000 ft until about 12,500. At 12,500 onward there are intermittent patches of grass, snow and rocks up to the summit. Beautiful day! Decided to descend the Southeast Gully, Not the best idea. No apparent av danger, but it got very icy towards the middle. Took at least three hours to descend the gully safely. Not Fun. In hindsight, we should have just taken the east ridge back! Would not have taken so long, but there were personal issues that affected the descent. Would definitely have brought an ice axe though... At the end of the gully, snow was nice and deep, and the 4wd road back to rainbow trail had a few snowmobile markings but not much else. Overall a fun day aside from the gully, so be advised! Total trip time was 14hr11m. |
|
Route: East Ridge Posted On: 4/9/2023, By: Maricopa Mountaineer Info: Summited Humboldt via the east ridge. The snow starts about .6mi in from the south colony lake 2WD TH and remains until about 4 ish mi in and around 12k ft. No signs of avy danger on east facing slopes. There is a massive dry patch from 12k to 13,400ish and then patchy snow on the ridge to the summit. There were 3 others I saw today, one solo and one group of 2. The group of 2 tried glissading down the southeast gully without ice axes, I had them in my sight for ~20 min on my way down but they had only managed to drop about 30ft from the summit, I hope they made it back safely. Total time was 8 hours and my watch recorded 12.77mi with ~5300ft of gain |
|
Route: West Ridge Posted On: 4/8/2023, By: GabbyCanada Info: The 4WD road was impossible to drive trough (Most vehicle track stoped about 1/4 mile). The rest of the 4WD road still has snow/ice and a fallen tree about 1.5 Mile up. We started our hike around 5h30 from the 2WD parking lot. From the intersection with Rainbow trail all the way to the old south colony TH, the snow was compact (we had snowshoes on but the walk was pretty easy). From there we climbed up a small gully with a little bit of snow in it making it easy to climb to the rock section (with did not do the true west route but we could see some switchback a little more west of our position). At the top of the gully we did multiple switch backs to regain the west route trail (witch is no that well marked). From there the summit is all yours. We had a little bit of wind and some gust wind maybe 30mph from the SW. There was almost no snow on the summit and on the ridge. We had some microspike but they were not mandatory. We decided to go down on the east route (Not a good idea if you didnt come up that way) because we thought it would be faster. After going down the ridge, we ended up bushwalking until we finally reached Rainbow trail (Please dont climb up our trail because we went straight down). Our trail is further down rainbow trail than the one used by winter_wisher and colekics and we marked it with a X. Total hike time 10h and 35 minutes, total outing around 13 hours. |
