Ascended via East Ridge. Once on Mt Elbert, moved south on ridge until we got onto South Elbert (14,134 ft). From there, we moved southeast on the same ridge until we got onto Mt Cosgriff (13,588 ft) We descended along the east face until we hit the 4WD dirt road that switchbacks all along this face. We followed that back down to the Colorado trail, then went north until we were back at the trailhead. Excellent loop route, about 10.5 miles roundtrip.
Trail was totally snow free until about 12,400'. Snow was several inches deep, but with a pretty hard crust. Didn't need snowshoes or traction devices. Summit was very windy and snow was about a foot deep, but with a hard crust. The route to South Elbert was tough, ~8 inches deep snow with soft crust, so we sunk into it. Gaitors were very useful for when we did break through the snow.
Snow did hide the trail pretty well, so be prepared to just route find.
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