Attempted Trappers Peak this weekend.
Started pretty late at around 8:45 AM, and we could drive up all the way to the trailhead. Gravel road to the trailhead was rough with thin layer of snow as we got higher. High clearance vehicles recommended although I think all cars can make it to the trailhead. A few blowdowns / treefall debris on the road seemed to be taken care of recently.
Intermittent snow patches started from the trailhead. Multiple creek crossings as expected. The first big one was snow and ice free. Rock hopping was managable with extra care.
We booted up until we hit deeper snow on the logging road approx. 1.2 mi from the TH and decided to put our snowshoes on only to find out that the road was a lot more bare after that and we had to take them off.
We kept walking on the logging road and missed the turnoff to the start of the switchbacks. Instead of backtracking, we decided to scramble up the slope, thinking that we could quickly rejoin the summer trail. That was a big mistake as we spent so much time navigating around a rock feature on a pretty steep terrain.
Made it back to the switchbacks and put the snowshoes back on at around 3,600ft as postholing became more consistent.
At around 4,400ft, we were above a sort of running creek with thick snow cover. Crossed multiple snow bridges that felt somewhat solid.
We got very off-route at around 4,800ft and finally got back on track and made it to the trail junction of Thornton lake and Trappers peak after 1 PM.
As we got on the ridge at around 5,200ft, we knew we had to scramble up that short rock gully. It looked pretty icy and sketchy from afar. I didn't bother to take a closer look at it and decided to swap snowshoes with spikes, drop down the slope on skier's right and traverse the slope to bypass that section. That's another big mistake as regaining the slope was very tough and steep.
As we got back to the top of the ridge, I decided to go up further. The ridge was narrow and heavily corniced as expected. Snow was more hard packed in some sections, and crampons would have been a better option.
It was already 2:30 PM by the time I reached point 5,600ft. It was snowing and visibility was reduced. I decided to call it good and join the rest of the group.
On the way down, we decided to downclimb that rock gully/section. After a few moves, turns out that gully was not as icy as I thought but it was still sketchy as there was not enough snow coverage over those rocks like I had seen in some pictures on past winter attempt trip reports. If it was a lot more icy, setting up a handline would've been a good idea IMO.
Made it back to the TH just before 7PM. Overall, this was a fun and challenging trip. Had some navigation errors and bad decision-making that wasted a lot of time and the weather quickly deteriorated as we got on the ridge. Would love to try it again next winter as it's so gorgeous up there eventhough I could barely see anything, haha 🙂
Stats: A little less than 10mi, A little over 10 hours, over 3,100ft gain. Slower consistent pace.
Gears used: Snowshoes, Spikes, Poles, Ice Ax, Helmet.
Gears brought but not used: Crampons
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