One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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jibler
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One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by jibler »

The camera on top of the ski mountain gives a great look at current conditions all around - and I'm not exactly liking what i'm seeing. Seems like a lot of snow still.

Here's what I've come up with for an options package - depending on weather. In descending order of what seems coolest....

A) Wilson Peak / or Mount Wilson? - Woods Lake approach -

(The rock of ages approach seems like the best but vehicular access might be tough? Isn't there some kind of stream crossing? I'm not even sure I can get at this Woods Lake one either??)


B) Campbell and/or Telluride Zero - I'm not seeing many other options north of town? Dallas seems too intense to do solo - and Mount Emma is always taken from the east?


C) Wasatch Mountain - this one seems ideal - I wouldn't even have to get in the car again - but from the look of that skicam - eh - its pretty friggin snowy back up there? I don't mind cold wet feet at the end of the day, but let's keep it within reason. Do people even go back there this time of year?


D) Lone Cone

any notes or thoughts welcome. what am I missing?
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by 12ersRule »

Based on the snow maps, I'd be looking at southern approaches up peaks just east of Rico like "R1", https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1405, and Blackhawk, https://listsofjohn.com/peak/1138, but that's just me.
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by Chicago Transplant »

I climbed Boskoff from Woods Lake 6/11/17 (heavier snow year than this one) and had snow below treeline but nothing that was too serious. The ridge was dry.
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by jibler »

Chicago Transplant wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:35 pm Boskoff
I like the sound of that! the woods lake is pretty easy drive?
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by Tornadoman »

jibler wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:50 pm
Chicago Transplant wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:35 pm Boskoff
I like the sound of that! the woods lake is pretty easy drive?
I did it last Summer in a Corolla. It did not challenge my vehicle.
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by jibler »

12ersRule wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:15 pm and Blackhawk,

so is there some kind of standard south route for this? I checked it out on google but not seeing a trailhead/trail necessarily?


________________


Dang it people - I could book this trip whenever but I don't know about anyone else but I was trying to guarantee no smoky conditions by going in June - and banking on continued global warming trends to help clear out the snow by now.


I am not a couloir climber necessarily - but I have been known to bust up a snowfield or two.

Would anything like that be reasonable in mid'ish June?

I'm looking hard at supranihilest's Gladstone condition report - wondering if that or similiar might be a little more in play in two weeks?

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/peakstat ... cnum=20006


This is my first time in San Juans - so I gotta make this count. And again I don't mind cold feet - that's sort of typical I suppose for me anyway. Just don't want to be in unfamiliar terrain pushing into something stupid.



What about Lone cone? is that only taken from north due to private property issues?
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by 12ersRule »

jibler wrote: Fri May 28, 2021 11:48 am
12ersRule wrote: Thu May 27, 2021 3:15 pm and Blackhawk,
so is there some kind of standard south route for this? I checked it out on google but not seeing a trailhead/trail necessarily?

Could make it 90% trail from the south, starting south of Rico on the Scotch Creek trail, then north to the Colorado trail, but it's a lot of miles.

Blackhawk.PNG
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by Tweedie »

I’m also looking to go into this area, but around June 3rd and camping at Navajo Lake. The lake seems like it would be clear of snow, but the north side of El D will be packed in. Is there anyone with any other beta on conditions in The Valley right now.
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by tmud »

if its above 11,000, its very snowy still with more moisture coming tomorrow. Basically everything in the san juans is going to require an axe and crampons, and some postholing right now
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by Tweedie »

Tmud,
Thanks for the reply. The precipitation tomorrow and possibly over the weekend may make this interesting. I might go to the Animas River Valley instead, Chicago or vestal maybe. Needle creek and elk creek maybe clear of snow.
I’m not worried about postholing and I’ll have axe and crampons. I just don’t want to camp in the snow.
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by jibler »

OK - well that webcam is a helluva resource for these hikes in the immediate area:

now i'm seeing much more promise for this telluride zero mission.

check this - with clean pic from webcam on left and my proposed route on right -

https://i.imgur.com/mzS5vyo.jpg

question being - does anyone ever take that blade ridge to bang up campbell?


EDIT - well as in all things - wildwanderer got here before me - and yes that would seem like a route - if not the standard?


this might be the new gold standard - hopefully weather plays ball.


but ideas stil welcome - I need to NAIL this trip.
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Re: One Day in Telluride! June 12th. Need top solo options with easy road access

Post by osprey »

^
Last edited by osprey on Sun May 30, 2021 3:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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