WHITECROSS MOUNTAIN (13,542’)

August 21, 2016

By Tim Briese

7.3 miles, 3100’ elevation gain, 5:45 roundtrip time

The evening before the climb Brian and I drove out of Lake City to camp for the night and saw two moose nonchalantly grazing on aspen trees right along the road outside of town.

the moose having dinner along the road

We truck camped at the Cataract Gulch Trailhead, believing that it might be crowded and noisy on this Saturday night at the popular Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch Trailhead a few miles up the road where we would start our climb in the morning. The next morning we drove up to the Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch Trailhead about 6 am and surprisingly found very few other vehicles there. At 615 on this clear frosty morning we headed up the excellent Grizzly Gulch Trail, which many people use to climb popular Handies Peak.

view of handies from the trail shortly after sunrise

We made good time and climbed up into the beautiful valley below Handies in the golden early morning sunshine. We met three young fellows coming down the trail who said they had gone up to Handies early for sunrise photos.

handies peak

view of the upper valley

We left the nice trail at about 12,700 feet and angled north on grass and a little scree up to the 13,000 foot saddle between Handies and Whitecross.

we left the trail here and headed up to the saddle, at upper left center. the ridge to whitecross is at the right.

view of handies from near the saddle

We headed east up the ridge toward Whitecross and found a slight climbers trail which took us up through a moderate rocky area that was easier than it looked, then up a grassy slope.

the colorful, rocky ridge up to whitecross

up higher there was an easy grassy slope

Just below the summit we went up through a picturesque area of larger rocks with just a bit of minor class 3 scrambling for some sporty fun.

rocky area as we approached the summit

the final rocky pitch to the summit.  the rounded granite boulders reminded me of some peaks in the needle mts.

We stepped on top at 920 am and rested for about half an hour enjoying the scenic panoramic views of the surrounding San Juans. It was clear and calm with great visibility, and I thoroughly enjoyed the time on this summit.

brian on the summit of whitecross

view of handies peak from the summit

wetterhorn peak is at the left, uncompahgre peak is at the right

the pointed peak on the skyline is un 13795

the road over cinnamon pass

After we left we descended rapidly back down the ridge to the trail and hiked back down the beautifully valley. Along the way we met several other hikers coming up the trail.

wildflowers and handies peak

We returned to the trailhead at noon and headed back down to Lake City and went on to Ridgway for the next day’s adventure. This climb of Whitecross was one of my favorite climbs of the year. It was a simple climb to a majestic summit in a spectacular setting, all on a gorgeous clear day.