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.:Getting to the trailhead:. To reach the Halfmoon Campground trailhead, head out on I-70 (west from Denver or east from Glenwood Springs) for exit 171, the Minturn exit (this is just west of Vail). From the exit, drive just about 4.8 miles through the town of Minturn and take a right on the well-signed Tigiwon Road. The dirt road winds through the Holy Cross Wilderness for 8.5 miles and terminates at the trailhead. Most of the current guidebooks say the road only requires 2wd, but the ruts and washouts could create a problem for any low-slung vehicles. .:The trail:. The Fall River trail quickly begins to contour around Notch Mountain, and climbs steadily (with a few downhills as well) through the trees. At about mile 2 or so, look sharp for a trail breaking off to the right (up the side of the hill). There is a forest service sign that points up the trail to Notch Mountain. This is the crux of this particular route, since if you miss it you'll end up contouring around the side of the mountain all the way to Lake Constantine. Making the turn correctly puts you on a trail that switchbacks easily up the side of Notch Mountain, attaining the ridge south of the Notch summit. From there, it's a ridge-walk south to the Holy Cross shelter, and then onwards south along the ridgeline and all the way around to the Holy Cross Ridge, and then Holy Cross itself. .:Trip Report:. If you want a long, quiet day climbing in the Sawatch, have I got the 14er route for you! I made a try at the Holy Cross Ridge route back in June, and was turned back due to road closures and other various bits of bad luck and bad planning, so I decided to have another go at it. This time, I was 100% sure that the Tigiwon road would be open (which was my major stopping point last time), so I planned a long, grueling Tour de Holy Cross -- climbing via the Fall River trail from the Halfmoon Trailhead (which takes you up the south ridge of Notch Mountain) and circling around to Holy Cross via the Holy Cross Ridge. Rather than descend the same way, I figured on coming back via the more commonly used Halfmoon Trail. This would make for a 15 mile day with about 6200 feet of climbing! Chris (my ever-present partner in climbing) and I departed Denver at 4am and arrived about 6:45 at the trailhead. The morning was clear, calm and warm. We packed our gear and departed right at 7am. The Fall River trailhead sits just to the left of the road terminus. The Halfmoon Trailhead lies at the far right side of the area (as you drive in). Make sure you know which trail you're taking! We ran into a bit of a snag when we missed the crucial turnoff up Notch Mountain and ended up at Lake Constantine. Dammit! Now what to do? Backtracking to the turnoff would cost us about an hour in what we already knew would be a long day. Consulting the trail map, we determined that if we could find a route directly up the ridge to the northwest, we'd be exactly where we needed to be, but I didn't want to cut through any underbrush or bushwhack a new trail. Luckily, it was almost a complete boulder-hike from the Lake to the point 13,373 (see the map). Knowing we wouldn't be causing the area any environmental distress, we headed up the slope, which was steep for several hundred yards, then leveled for a few more hundred yards, and then a final steep grunt to the ridgeline. As we climbed our rocky route, we contoured just to the right of the Point's summit, to the low point on the ridge. As we attained the ridge, we were treated to incredible views of Holy Cross, and the vast basin containing the Bowl of Tears. The Cross couloir was prominent, although it had totally cleared of snow by now. Off to the right, we could see Notch Mountain and the Shelter, so we knew we were in the right place at last. For the next few hours, we contoured around points 13,373 and 13,831, sticking mostly along the ridge, but occasionally below the line to the climber's left. Trails along this route are faint and intermittent, so just rely on the ridgeline...it's mostly a boulder scramble anyway. You get fantastic views of the entire Holy Cross area, including Holy Cross Ridge and the Tuhare Lakes. Finally, at 12:15 we hit the summit. Despite the angry-looking clouds moving in and out, it was almost completely calm at 14,005 feet. We had been able to see dozens of people on the summit as we walked the ridgeline, but by this late hour, there were only a handful of folks still on the summit. Until we hit the summit, we had not encountered a single person on the trail and ridge all day...talk about a 14er rarity! We sat and ate and signed in and chatted idly for about a half hour before descending the summit and bearing right to catch the Halfmoon Trail. As we began our descent, the gathering clouds dusted us with several minutes of pellet-snow (which was quite refreshing, considering the summer heat wave in Colorado). The Halfmoon trail is the most popular route to Holy Cross, and also popular for camping. After a morning of solitude, it was a veritable traffic jam hiking down off the mountain. The trail angles off to the right after descending a couple hundred feet from the summit, and follows the ridge heading north-east down to treeline. As the trail switchbacks down the side of the ridge, you know that trouble is coming...the climb over Half Moon pass! It's a heartbreaking 970 ft. elevation gain that you have to complete in order to get back to the trailhead, and after a full morning of climbing, my calves were less than happy about having to do more of it! Luckily, it's not too long, although some parts of it are fairly steep. After about an hour of climbing, we reached the top of the pass, and then it was about another hour of mild descent back to the trailhead and parking lot. We made it back to our starting point just about 4pm, making for a 3¼ hour descent (and ascent of the pass). After a 9 hour, 15 mile day, Chris and I took a few minutes to soak our feet in the creek before heading back to civilization! |
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