Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

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RETEP 1
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Re: Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

Post by RETEP 1 »

I’ve done it twice. 1st and most important to me is doing the loop. You miss out on some really unique and fantastic areas if you only go out and back. I don’t remember it being overly spooky. 3L of water is what I always take with some back up tabs just in case I’m extra thirsty that day. I’m gonna add a vote for counter clockwise. Either way, the return trip is on good trail, might as well avoid that 1000’ regain or whatever, and finishing that ridge and 14er experience with a view of the cross coolie is one of a kind!
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Barnold41
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Re: Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

Post by Barnold41 »

Count40 wrote: Thu Sep 23, 2021 3:32 pm Another one to chip in. The clockwise gang (Ridge first).
Pros:
-if concerned about stumbling in the dark on the way, back, stumbling around Notch would be much worse.
-nice views of sunrise from the Notch Ridge, and then later the lakes on each side all along
-easier trail on the way back down the standard route,
Cons (watered down):
-that uphill back up to the Half Moon Pass was not an issue at all
-as for the part about getting lost when going down the standard route it is just that stretch in the open above timberline where you cross from the huge ridgeline cairns to the trail in the woods. Eye the general bearing to that timberline "entry" while still high up on the ridge, and stick to it.

As for issues about the dark, you have about 12 hours from first light (about 6:30 or so) to about 7 pm (being on the east side of the pass when coming back).
That is sufficient. I am slow, and I did that hike lazy and with lots of stops, and it was still 12 hours. You will have plenty of nice views to soak in going up the Halo.
Here are the splits, if it gives you an idea, just move it all hour and a half forward. Lazy walk, pack about 40-45 pounds, five liters of water (had at least half left), temps around 35-45F.
start at 8:15, Half Moon Pass at 9:15, 12760 at 10:15, (North) Notch at 10:15, South Notch at 11:15, Shelter at 12:15, 13300 at 13:15, Holly Cross Ridge (13800) at 15:15, Holy Cross at 16:15, Creek crossing at 18:30, Half Moon Pass at 19:30, Car at 20:15
Trip report by Tallgrass was useful then.
As for 6000 vs 8000 feet, not much of an issue, if any at all. Not Leadville living, but both of these come to about the same.
Have fun.
+1 for curiosity as to why your pack was that heavy for a day trip... unless you had one of those Heineken mini kegs in there =D>
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Re: Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

Post by jscully205 »

I would just the do loop clockwise and you really don't need anymore than a couple liters of water. 4-5L is really overkill, but hey I guess I don't know you. If needed, you could refill water at cross creek before you hump it up halfmoon pass. Save yourself the weight, it'll make the day more enjoyable.

Talus itself I thought was mostly stable and there's some grassy meadows to breakup the sections on the way across Halo . 2 poles would be really awkward on the talus and would actually slow you down. I would recommend just 1 pole if you really feel the need.
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Re: Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

Post by Laura M »

Wondering if anyone who's done both can comment on how the talus hopping on Halo Ridge compares to the Tabeguache West Ridge route?
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Re: Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

Post by mtn_hound »

Laura M wrote: Thu Sep 30, 2021 12:38 pm Wondering if anyone who's done both can comment on how the talus hopping on Halo Ridge compares to the Tabeguache West Ridge route?
I have done Tabeguache West Ridge ascent with a descent of the standard on Shavano, and the first section of Halo Ridge to about a half mile beyond the Notch shelter before I turned around. I found Tabeguache to be very straightforward, I'd hesitate to call anything I had to do "talus hopping" it was more like connecting faint sections of trail zig zagging through talus. In the last 200 yards to the summit the were a couple of sections where I was walking on top of the talus for a few steps, but that was about it. That said, it was spring and there were sections of snow along the ridge that may have been covering over some talus. I was happy to have spikes because some of the snow fields were fairly steep with long runouts. I had my dog with me and nothing on the ascent gave him the slightest amount of trouble.

Halo Ridge to the point I turned around was definitely a lot of talus hopping. I was mostly walking on top of large boulders and then jumping between them, which was really fun, as opposed to trying to find footing on a potentially shifting pile of smaller rocks. I had my dog with me again and there were some moves that were easy enough for me because I could put a hand up high to balance while I crossed a gap but were very difficult for him and he needed help. I remember wondering how the class rankings of different climbs would reshuffle if we all had 4 legs instead of 2 arms and 2 legs. Halo Ridge may be 2+ for a human but it's probably class 5 for a dog. On the other hand, I've seen dogs kick it into 4 wheel drive and absolutely haul ass down extremely steep but fairly even "grass 3" or dirt slopes where I'm extremely cautious not to slip. Those may be class 2+ or 3 for a human, but class 1 for a dog. After helping him across a couple of doggie class 5 sections, I decided there was no good reason to force that on him so we turned around and headed back down to the car.

TL;dr, I found Tabeguache really straightforward, at least in spring with snow covering some things up. The first half mile of Halo Ridge was somewhat more difficult but in a fun way, can't speak to the rest of the climb. Don't take a dog on Halo Ridge.
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Re: Halo Ridge on Holy Cross, Water, Acclimatization, Forest Spookiness in the Dark

Post by OldTrad »

I found that the nature of the talus on Halo made for relatively difficult, slow travel - the blocks are stable but pretty big. There are very few actual trail segments, and as mtn_hound said there's plenty of hopping, scrambling, and other navigation required to move along. IMO, that kind of terrain would be all too easy to break an ankle or leg (or worse) on virtually anywhere. You really have to keep your concentration up, nothing you are stepping on is level, and this goes on and on for something like 3 miles. It's a tough grind.

Plus, doing it as a loop puts it at something like 13 miles, which is quite a bit longer than the west ridge of Tab, and the elevation gain is substantially more too.
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