Handies Peak
Access from Lake City, CO:
149 south Right onto Lake San Cristobal Road to Grizzly Gulch Trailhead
I hiked/skinned up Grizzly Gulch to ~13,000‘ and noticed no signs of snow softening. So, I decided to climb Whitecross Mountain (13,542‘) to pass the time while waiting for ideal snow conditions. I skied from Whitecross‘ summit down the ridge to the Handies-Whitecross saddle (12,980‘). The snow was mostly firm. The crux was a section on the ridge narrower than the length of my skis. It was difficult making turns there with steep talus fields on either side.
Elevation: ~562‘
I climbed Handies‘ north ridge to the summit and got there in time for perfect corn conditions from the summit. I skied the east face and dropped into a northeast facing couloir. The snow in the couloir was dense powder. This was my best spring descent of the season thus far primarily due to excellent snow conditions.
Elevation: ~3,053‘
Photo: Casey McCoy taken April 29, 2006. Annotation: Brian Kalet
Map
Total Skied Elevation: ~3,615‘
Total Elevation: ~4,215‘
Time: 6 hours