Mount Holy Cross conditions?

[yorksman]

Anybody know about how the conditions are to Mount Holy Cross, road, trail etc?

Thanks
Jody

[yorksman]

anybody????

[skibum4life]

Count on feet of new snow remaining above 11,500. Tigiwon road is gonna be a nightmare passed the first mile, so a snowmobile should be advised to get to Halfmoon. Bring your snowshoes and have fun.

[Chicago Transplant]

The road is going to be a bit of a crap shoot. There is snow on north facing slopes on both Vail and Beaver creek below 10k, but between 9 and 9500 its not much and probably drivable. The south facing slopes across the highway are dry to 10k and even above that in spots. We did a 13er in the Gore last weekend (13,357' Mt Silverthorne) and started from Vail, for that peak, the trail was patchy snow to 9500, then steady but not deep until 10,200. Above that we were breaking trail a little more significantly, but mostly 6-12". Some spots we postholed a little deeper in rocks, but for the most part we could pick our way on talus and keep it to a minimum. Best shot I got of Holy Cross from Sunday in the Gore is below. I didn't take a zoom shot, so its not going to give you much. The ridge in the foreground is part of Snow Peak above Gore Lake.

I haven't been up Tigiwon and I haven't been on top of anything that gives me a closer view of Holy Cross for a while, so general Vail area conditions are the best I can do for ya. Based on local conditions, I expect you can drive to the trailhead but don't quote me on that (it may be icy) You may or may not want snowshoes, we didn't think they were necessary on Silverthorne. Good luck.

Holy Cross from Mt Silverthorne

IMG_0969-crop.jpg (209.36 KiB) Viewed 400 times

[1st14erAt50]

Good posts! Thanks! I plan to go out that way this week to climb it. I have an ATV to get up the trail and for that matter, tracks to go on it if snowmobile type movement is needed. Do I need the flotation right now or not? Do I put tracks on now?

[drex27]

I hiked Gold Dust Peak to the west of Holy Cross last Saturday, 11/07. I encountered ankle-deep snow for the entirity of the route on the south-west slopes so I'd expect that as a minimum.

[gsliva]

I was up on Hagerman pass 11/3/09 and it was very windy. There is 6 or 7 inches of snow above 11,000 feet and drifting snow and high winds above 12,000 feet. Bring your short crampons and snow shoes for above 12,000 feet and be prepared for very high wind chill factors.

[1st14erAt50]

Thanks, Glenn! I plan to head out tomorrow--without tracks. Takes quiet awhile to attach them so will for the next run. No one to go this time I guess.