Mt. of the Holy Cross Trip Report 07/06/2014

Peak(s):	Mt. of the Holy Cross - 14,007 feet
Date Posted:	07/06/2014
Date Climbed:	07/04/2014
Author:	Thunderable

4th of July - Standard Route
My first trip report... THE ROAD The initial turn onto Tigiwon Road is not a welcoming one, but after not too long the road actually gets better. While standard clearance passenger cars can make it (going slowly), it's nice to have a little clearance heading up. Luckily, it was not my turn to drive, so I lolled in the back seat. THE START We started on the standard route at 4:45am (about 1 hr before sunrise) on a morning with a 60% chance of precipitation/storms, so we were hoping to be up and down before any inclement weather rolled in. We wore headlamps until we reached Half Moon Pass where we looked back on the Gore Range and the sunrise about to unfold. Sunrise over Gore Range With some dark clouds on the horizon, we were a little concerned, but hoped the sky would break up as the morning opened up and pressed on. ALONG THE TRAIL We basically had the trail to ourselves, which was a bit of a surprise, but very nice. Aside from a couple of people near the start of the trail heading down, the only others we passed along the way was a camp of CFI folks getting ready to head out to work on the trail, which is in tremendous condition - kudos to the CFI volunteers! As the sun was beginning to rise, we came around the bend and espied the summit for the first time, as it glowed in the rosy morning light, and my first thought was: "How are we going to get up that?!" I had only done five other 14ers, along with a number of 13ers, but my two friends had many more ascents than I. First glimpse of Mt. of the Holy Cross We kept on and headed down knowing that we would have to come back up this downhill on the way back, fully expecting to be griping later that morning...In reality, the only issue coming back was having to cross the stream again on a narrow log over rushing water. I have terrible balance and had to get down on all fours in places, though my companions had less trouble. There were a few areas before reaching treeline again where it was a little tricky finding our path through the snow, but that was probably more due to our morning 'fogginess' than anything else. Overall, the trail is very easy to follow, and once we broke through we looked at the sky and felt quite confident that the weather would hold for a while. Peak in sight approaching the stairs HEADING UP We made our way modestly, but steadily through the rocks/talus and along the pretty easy to follow path up the steps. The temperature was perfect for the slog up the path and finally to the passage of large cairns guiding the way along the snowfield toward the final approach to the summit. Along the ridge and snowfield NOTE ON EXPOSURE As I am not good with exposure (limited to Class 2/Exposure 2), I was mentally preparing myself for any sketchy areas heading up to the summit where I might feel a bit skittish. However, we swung a little wide of the section near the Angelica Couloir, and I didn't have any concerns at all as we scaled the rocks and followed the cairns. Heading along this way, I would say this is really an exposure of 1 at most, so for any other hikers out there with a decent amount of acrophobia and a little vertigo, you should be completely fine on this trail. Bear Peak in Boulder at the top (climbing on the rocks) has far more exposure than this done the way we went, which is pretty standard. THE SUMMIT We reached the top just before the 4 hour mark (around 8:45) and were treated to an unpopulated summit with almost no breeze and sunshine. Below are some photos from the top, including a look at Notch Mountain (left) and shelter (small at right) across the way from which one can actually see the infamous Holy Cross of snow. We spent about 25 minutes enjoyed the fruits of our labor and were joined by a couple after about 20 minutes. As we headed down we saw others working their way up the mountain, and we ran into a pair of hikers, one of whom one of my friends met on another hike - if you hit the trails enough in Colorado, it's never a complete surprise to run into someone you know! HEADING BACK With such a nice morning, we took our time heading down and captured some shots of Lake Patricia and the well-hidden (certainly from the summit) Bowl of Tears, both glowing an incredible aquamarine color. We stopped to chat with and thank the CFI volunteers as we headed down and also exchanged hellos and words of encouragement for those still heading up the trail. The way back up the 1,000+ feet to Half Moon Pass sounds bad, and while it isn't easy, the trail is so scenic (flowers and peaks and gigantic marmots, oh my!) that none of us really minded. It's actually sort of a nice break after the knee-punishing downhill for most of the way back. After leaving the pass, the rest of the way back is pretty leisurely. We ended up back at the car right about 8 hours after we started, so we were pleased to get in and out early without any weather-related issues to put a damper on things. Overall, it was as perfect a day as one could hope for, and this is definitely my favorite 14er so far! THE REST OF THE PICS From the summit Lake from summit Notch Mountain and shelter (dot past bump just right of upper center) Lake Patricia Bowl of Tears & Mt. of the Holy Cross � Flowers along the trail Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

4th of July - Standard Route

My first trip report...

THE ROAD
The initial turn onto Tigiwon Road is not a welcoming one, but after not too long the road actually gets better. While standard clearance passenger cars can make it (going slowly), it's nice to have a little clearance heading up. Luckily, it was not my turn to drive, so I lolled in the back seat.

THE START
We started on the standard route at 4:45am (about 1 hr before sunrise) on a morning with a 60% chance of precipitation/storms, so we were hoping to be up and down before any inclement weather rolled in. We wore headlamps until we reached Half Moon Pass where we looked back on the Gore Range and the sunrise about to unfold.

With some dark clouds on the horizon, we were a little concerned, but hoped the sky would break up as the morning opened up and pressed on.

ALONG THE TRAIL
We basically had the trail to ourselves, which was a bit of a surprise, but very nice. Aside from a couple of people near the start of the trail heading down, the only others we passed along the way was a camp of CFI folks getting ready to head out to work on the trail, which is in tremendous condition - kudos to the CFI volunteers!

As the sun was beginning to rise, we came around the bend and espied the summit for the first time, as it glowed in the rosy morning light, and my first thought was: "How are we going to get up that?!" I had only done five other 14ers, along with a number of 13ers, but my two friends had many more ascents than I.

We kept on and headed down knowing that we would have to come back up this downhill on the way back, fully expecting to be griping later that morning...In reality, the only issue coming back was having to cross the stream again on a narrow log over rushing water. I have terrible balance and had to get down on all fours in places, though my companions had less trouble.

There were a few areas before reaching treeline again where it was a little tricky finding our path through the snow, but that was probably more due to our morning 'fogginess' than anything else. Overall, the trail is very easy to follow, and once we broke through we looked at the sky and felt quite confident that the weather would hold for a while.

HEADING UP
We made our way modestly, but steadily through the rocks/talus and along the pretty easy to follow path up the steps. The temperature was perfect for the slog up the path and finally to the passage of large cairns guiding the way along the snowfield toward the final approach to the summit.

NOTE ON EXPOSURE
As I am not good with exposure (limited to Class 2/Exposure 2), I was mentally preparing myself for any sketchy areas heading up to the summit where I might feel a bit skittish. However, we swung a little wide of the section near the Angelica Couloir, and I didn't have any concerns at all as we scaled the rocks and followed the cairns. Heading along this way, I would say this is really an exposure of 1 at most, so for any other hikers out there with a decent amount of acrophobia and a little vertigo, you should be completely fine on this trail. Bear Peak in Boulder at the top (climbing on the rocks) has far more exposure than this done the way we went, which is pretty standard.

THE SUMMIT
We reached the top just before the 4 hour mark (around 8:45) and were treated to an unpopulated summit with almost no breeze and sunshine. Below are some photos from the top, including a look at Notch Mountain (left) and shelter (small at right) across the way from which one can actually see the infamous Holy Cross of snow.

We spent about 25 minutes enjoyed the fruits of our labor and were joined by a couple after about 20 minutes. As we headed down we saw others working their way up the mountain, and we ran into a pair of hikers, one of whom one of my friends met on another hike - if you hit the trails enough in Colorado, it's never a complete surprise to run into someone you know!

HEADING BACK
With such a nice morning, we took our time heading down and captured some shots of Lake Patricia and the well-hidden (certainly from the summit) Bowl of Tears, both glowing an incredible aquamarine color.

We stopped to chat with and thank the CFI volunteers as we headed down and also exchanged hellos and words of encouragement for those still heading up the trail.

The way back up the 1,000+ feet to Half Moon Pass sounds bad, and while it isn't easy, the trail is so scenic (flowers and peaks and gigantic marmots, oh my!) that none of us really minded. It's actually sort of a nice break after the knee-punishing downhill for most of the way back.

After leaving the pass, the rest of the way back is pretty leisurely. We ended up back at the car right about 8 hours after we started, so we were pleased to get in and out early without any weather-related issues to put a damper on things.

Overall, it was as perfect a day as one could hope for, and this is definitely my favorite 14er so far!

THE REST OF THE PICS

Notch Mountain and shelter (dot past bump just right of upper center)

�

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

maurer_kg	Great Report 7/6/2014 9:04pm Thanks for posting, @Thunderable.
tjkeller	Lake Patricia Cliff photo 7/14/2014 4:08am Thanks for the view. Hope to camp at Lake Patricia next week and then head up the ramp in image 7 and do part of the Halo. Your image 8 gives us a good view. Hope to be able to scramble down that cliff to avoid hiking to East Cross and then back up.
Jorts	Climb Time R/T? 7/21/2014 7:12pm What was your roundtrip time from the trailhead?
Thunderable	Re: Climb Time R/T 7/24/2014 2:42am Up in just under 4. Took our time on the way back to enjoy the trail and talk to folks, so about 4 for that also. More like 3-3:15 if we just headed straight down.

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