Timing the Cross on HC

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
    For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
Post Reply
User avatar
ablocki
Posts: 23
Joined: 4/15/2019
14ers: 58 
13ers: 70
Trip Reports (1)
 

Timing the Cross on HC

Post by ablocki »

I'm planning to tackle Holy Cross Ridge this season and was hoping to camp near the Notch hut to see a sunrise/sunset over the "cross" on Holy Cross while it still has some snow in it. I know conditions are different every season, but does anyone have any input on what days or weeks were good for this in previous seasons? I was hoping to compare against the snowpack data from those years to try and time this year's melt
User avatar
justiner
Posts: 4389
Joined: 8/28/2010
14ers: 58  8 
13ers: 138
Trip Reports (39)
 
Contact:

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by justiner »

As soon as the road opens.
User avatar
litote312
Posts: 91
Joined: 9/11/2013
14ers: 58  1 
13ers: 20
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by litote312 »

I was up there around 4th of July 2017 and it was in great condition. Best of luck!
Don't bash each other; bash willows.
User avatar
Trotter
Posts: 1406
Joined: 6/5/2013
14ers: 58  5 
13ers: 220 2 8
Trip Reports (10)
 

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by Trotter »

justiner wrote: Sun Apr 18, 2021 5:33 pm As soon as the road opens.
+1

thats an extra 20? miles you don't wanna add
After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. -Nelson Mandela
Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called Ego. -Nietzsche
User avatar
ablocki
Posts: 23
Joined: 4/15/2019
14ers: 58 
13ers: 70
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by ablocki »

thanks for all the input! I'll keep an eye on the road status
User avatar
Eli Watson
Posts: 216
Joined: 5/29/2020
14ers: 58  17 
13ers: 73
Trip Reports (2)
 

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by Eli Watson »

July 10, 2019
Attachments
20210419_113918.jpg
20210419_113918.jpg (134.06 KiB) Viewed 1340 times
People who are hardcore don't think they're hardcore. Marshall Ulrich, Fastest Known Podcast #85
User avatar
Cereal
Posts: 80
Joined: 8/21/2018
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by Cereal »

Eli - I was just about to post my photo from the Notch Shelter, four days before you. 7/6/2019.

OP - This of course was a big snow year, so I think following justiner's advice is prudent. I, too, was aiming for views from the Notch at sunrise. I left the trailhead at ~midnight, and ended up taking three separate naps at the Notch waiting for the dang sun to come up. If there are no condition reports for MOTHC when you are looking to go, I would say it is worth posting to see if anyone else has gotten a look from other peaks recently.
Attachments
mothc.jpg
mothc.jpg (115.19 KiB) Viewed 1320 times
User avatar
Carl_Healy
Posts: 271
Joined: 7/29/2020
14ers: 19  3 
13ers: 50 1 3
Trip Reports (4)
 
Contact:

Re: Timing the Cross on HC

Post by Carl_Healy »

IMHO you get a better view of Holy Cross from the summit of Notch Mountain itself. The same spot where William Henry Jackson took the photo that made the peak famous in 1873.

There's a trail to Notch Mountain's summit from the summit of Half Moon Pass. See Roaches "8R5 V2" variation on the Halo Ridge route; you can do a Class 2+ traverse from Notch Mountain summit to the shelter and then join the Halo Ridge route proper if you so desire.
If you can't run, you walk
If you can't walk, you crawl
If you can't crawl, you find someone to carry you
Post Reply