Mt. of the Holy Cross Trip Report 10/08/2014

Peak(s):	Mt. of the Holy Cross - 14,007 feet
Date Posted:	10/08/2014
Modified:	10/09/2014
Date Climbed:	10/08/2014
Author:	streetly

Holy Cross the hard way - Cross Couloir
In retrospect, I could have benefited from more trip reports about the Cross Couloir. Holy Cross is truly a beautiful mountain, and the approach is peppered with terrific views of the peak. The Cross Couloir is an iconic route with a rewarding finish right to the summit. It should have been an enjoyable trip, but my day didn't go that way. Here are my two recommendations on how to have a better day on the Cross. 1. Avoid fresh snow. The area got 3-5" a few days ago and enough stuck around to make routefinding hard (on the approach and the descent), and the couloir sloppy. The snow in the couloir drifted and pooled in some places requiring snow swimming in hip-deep powder. It was especially aggravating in the steeper sections. It goes, but it's not pretty. 2. Study the mountain's topography before you go, and again when descending Half Moon Pass. It is hard to tell from the topo maps that getting off-route can lead to dead-ends and backtracking. The approach departs from the main trail at East Cross Creek. Apparently there are "faint trails" that go in the SE direction. Snow cover foiled that plan. So I followed my compass SE and then along East Cross Creek smack into a box canyon. Dead end. I knew I was off-route but was hoping I could just follow East Cross Creek up to the Bowl of Tears anyway. No go. So I took a sharp right and scrambled up a steep hillside to reach the high ground, bypassing the cliffs and reconnected with the faint trails. Not a huge mistake but avoidable with more knowledge. The descent via the standard route is an obvious trail, but in my case disappeared in the snow right around treeline. Instead of staying close to the ridge, it dips down significantly toward the valley on the other side. Again, if you are familiar with the topography you will know why it does that. The ridge terminates with impassable cliffs. On the other side, the guidebooks emphasize the danger of dipping too far down into the other valley or missing the right turn that leads back to East Cross Creek. None of this is an issue if there is no snow and you can see the trail. For me, it was a ten hour day and seven hours of driving. I'm glad I did it, and would do it again, BUT differently.

Holy Cross the hard way - Cross Couloir

In retrospect, I could have benefited from more trip reports about the Cross Couloir.

Holy Cross is truly a beautiful mountain, and the approach is peppered with terrific views of the peak. The Cross Couloir is an iconic route with a rewarding finish right to the summit. It should have been an enjoyable trip, but my day didn't go that way. Here are my two recommendations on how to have a better day on the Cross.

1. Avoid fresh snow. The area got 3-5" a few days ago and enough stuck around to make routefinding hard (on the approach and the descent), and the couloir sloppy. The snow in the couloir drifted and pooled in some places requiring snow swimming in hip-deep powder. It was especially aggravating in the steeper sections. It goes, but it's not pretty.

2. Study the mountain's topography before you go, and again when descending Half Moon Pass. It is hard to tell from the topo maps that getting off-route can lead to dead-ends and backtracking. The approach departs from the main trail at East Cross Creek. Apparently there are "faint trails" that go in the SE direction. Snow cover foiled that plan. So I followed my compass SE and then along East Cross Creek smack into a box canyon. Dead end. I knew I was off-route but was hoping I could just follow East Cross Creek up to the Bowl of Tears anyway. No go. So I took a sharp right and scrambled up a steep hillside to reach the high ground, bypassing the cliffs and reconnected with the faint trails. Not a huge mistake but avoidable with more knowledge. The descent via the standard route is an obvious trail, but in my case disappeared in the snow right around treeline. Instead of staying close to the ridge, it dips down significantly toward the valley on the other side. Again, if you are familiar with the topography you will know why it does that. The ridge terminates with impassable cliffs. On the other side, the guidebooks emphasize the danger of dipping too far down into the other valley or missing the right turn that leads back to East Cross Creek. None of this is an issue if there is no snow and you can see the trail.

For me, it was a ten hour day and seven hours of driving. I'm glad I did it, and would do it again, BUT differently.

Comments or Questions

streetly

Boot tracks
10/9/2014 5:21pm

I forgot to thank the people who left boot tracks a day or two earlier. That made my life a lot easier.

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