Wheeler Peak (NM) Climber's Log

Viewing: 1-20 of 283
AFmountaineer

AFmountaineer - Sep 20, 2008 11:50 am Date Climbed: Jul 26, 2008

Horshoe Lake Route  Sucess!

Awesome hike with extremely varied scenery. Right under the ridge of Horshoe lake we crossed two snowfields and that was the only snow we encountered. Horshoe lake is was beautiful. The best views I have ever seen awaited me at the summit along with a thunderstorm building over Old Mike so we had to book it down to Horshoe.

Moogie737

Moogie737 - Sep 13, 2008 11:19 am Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2008

Williams Lake option  Sucess!

#1 9-11-08 Brent, Lee & I reached the top in just under 2 hours. Yes, the ascent from the lake is steep, but the dry footing made it tolerable. Made the short side-trip to Mt. Walter before descending. Perfect weather: mid-level clouds, light breezes. Headed for AZ the same day with the intention of climbing Humphreys Peak the next morning. (We did.) #2 9-2-12 Enjoyed the "new" trail en route to the top. Bagged Mt. Walter, too. 2+29 up 2+34 down - many, many hikers on the way up during our descent.

mad maximus

mad maximus - Sep 6, 2008 7:18 pm Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2008

Cold and Alone  Sucess!

Got up early and returned by 1pm. I was alone all the way up and most of the way down. Some highschool kids were coming up when I got to the lake.

kevin trieu

kevin trieu - Aug 26, 2008 5:00 pm

Thunderstorm  Sucess!

made the summit with menacing dark clouds and numbing cold.

hans.schenk

hans.schenk - Aug 12, 2008 10:38 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2008

Tour de Wheeler  Sucess!

Ascended via the Bull of the Woods Trail and descended via Williams Lake. There was a dead bloated cow complete with flies part way up. At one point I and my companions left the trail and ascended to Walter Peak via the ridge crest on the west side of La Cal Basin.

Dean

Dean - Aug 2, 2008 8:42 pm Date Climbed: Aug 2, 2008

Williams Lake route  Sucess!

Nice hike and trekking poles make the descent of this route tolerable. My second state highpoint in three days with Colorado's Elbert being done on the last day of July. Met quite a few others at the summit, maybe 30 or so. Met many more as I was going down.
Mountain Sheep, marmots and pikas added to the delights of this mountain.

slowbutsteady

slowbutsteady - Aug 1, 2008 11:02 pm Date Climbed: Jul 30, 2008

solo via Williams LK  Sucess!

Beautiful weather without threating T- storms. Departed hikers parking lot for Williams Lake at 4:50 AM. On top at 9:30 AM. No other hikers at that time. Many marmots on top and during slog up 2000 FT from the lake. No summit register could be found unless one was hidden in barrel of cannon.

dandrew

dandrew - Aug 1, 2008 6:41 pm Date Climbed: Aug 1, 2008

Great hike, great scenery  Sucess!

Bull-of-the Woods trail with a descent down to Williams Lake. Nice views all around. My second state highpoint!

mlandau3

mlandau3 - Jul 21, 2008 2:10 am Date Climbed: Jul 12, 2008

We Made It  Sucess!

Thanks to Sarah and Ron (who we met on the trail), we all summited. Pretty long for a dayhike from the Coyote parking lot. Seeing the bighorn sheep was an added bonus.

LandonQ - Jul 20, 2008 2:11 am Date Climbed: Jul 19, 2008

Success  Sucess!

Successfully climbed.

TLP

TLP - Jul 3, 2008 9:13 am Date Climbed: Jun 25, 2008

great, great time  Sucess!

Went with a guy I met in Flagstaff a couple of days earlier while doing Humphreys Peak. He said he would like to come along when I said my plans, and I said sure, why not. It would be good to have a partner. I wasn't sure what to expect as far as snow, and how steep it would actually be, we were taking the Williams Lake route. There was snow, but nothing that needed special equipment. It was really pretty once we got up high on the mountain. Lost our way going through those woods after Williams Lake on the way up and on the way down. Figured it out though. I really like this mountain, and how the route just goes straight up it. It was such a good time. One of my favorites of all time so far.

Michael Graupe

Michael Graupe - Jul 1, 2008 6:46 pm Date Climbed: Jun 28, 2008

Williams Lake  Sucess!

During a brief visit to Taos went up via Williams Lake starting before 6am in the morning. Took leisurely 2.5h to the summit carrying a lot of camera gear to photograph wildlife and wildflowers, which were blooming profusely. By late morning thunderstorms were already building (with lots of people still ascending!). After meeting up with my wife at Williams Lake we got rained and snowed on on our way back to the TH.

AubreySun

AubreySun - Jun 23, 2008 6:49 pm Date Climbed: Jun 22, 2008

Tour de Wheeler Peak  Sucess!

Went up Bull-of-the-Woods; down the west slope and Williams Lake Trail; then 2 miles on the road from the Williams Lake Trailhead to the Bull-of-the-Woods Trailhead. Ended up being about 13 miles and 4,200 feet of gain. Took us about 6 hours and 45 minutes.

No snow until the trail skirted below Bull-of-the-Woods Mountain. It wasn’t bad, though. Portions and edges of the trail poked through. No special equipment needed, although gaiters were nice to have.

We encountered our first snowfield on the side of Point 11,762. The trail was completely covered in snow. While it could be crossed without an ice axe, I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing so, and I was glad I brought mine. We crossed half of the snowfield and then skirted along the edge until we met back up with the dry trail. At this time, I suppose you could bypass all the snow by bushwhacking around it and over Point 11,762’s summit. From there, the trail was dry until La Cal Basin.

La Cal Basin was completely full of snow at/below treeline. We descended into the snowy forest to 11,800’, crossed the point where a couple creeks merge, then climbed directly up. Fortunately, it was early enough so the snow was mostly packed; we only postholed a few times.

On the descent to Williams Lake via Wheeler’s west slope, there were a few small snowfields, but nothing major. Made a few short glissades.

The crowded Williams Lake Trail was slushy and sloppy. Plastic pink ribbons marked the route, as the trail was buried under snow and mud. The last mile or so was dry.

StumblingBear

StumblingBear - May 20, 2008 11:22 am Date Climbed: Oct 12, 1997

Two Beautiful Fall Climbs

Climbed Wheeler Peak twice, both times in October. The first with a friend. We hiked into Willams Lake, spent the night and summited the next day. Weather was nice but a cold wind blew on top. Next year my wife and her brother spent the night in Taos and got an early start the next morning and did the whole climb in one day from Williams Lake again.It was about the same weather just colder wind on top.

peakrat76

peakrat76 - Apr 23, 2008 3:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 7, 1997

Wheeler Combo  Sucess!

Did the whole Wheeler/Old Mike/Simpson/Walter circuit. Great day & great companions.

scooter12ga

scooter12ga - Apr 1, 2008 3:58 pm Date Climbed: Aug 5, 2007

NM at its greatest!  Sucess!

Drove straight up there after returning from a business trip. Spent the night at TSV campground, summited the next day via Bull of the Woods. Beautiful summit day!

jimegan

jimegan - Feb 7, 2008 11:18 am Date Climbed: Jul 10, 2004

WHEELER PK  Sucess!

SOLOED WILLIAMS LK TRAIL AND NEARLY PASSED BY SUMMIT ON FINE TRAIL ON E FLANKS HEADED FOR DISTANT GOOD LOOKING PEAK FREEZING WIND CHILL WHILE TRYING TO SIGN REGISTER

GroundControl

GroundControl - Jan 13, 2008 10:05 am

Wheeler Peak, Summer 2003  Sucess!

Beautiful hike up Wheeler Peak, highly recommended.

highlandvillager

highlandvillager - Jan 6, 2008 1:09 am Date Climbed: May 27, 2007

Just in time  Sucess!

We got a late start and trudged through knee deep snow to Williams Lake. I cut my break there short, which made all the difference. I was able to summit and glissade back down to the tree line before an approaching storm arrived. My climbing partner lingered too long at Williams Lake and was turned back by a blizzard just shy of the summit. We both enjoyed the beer and food at The Bavarian before returning to camp.

AltitudeSickness

AltitudeSickness - Dec 22, 2007 8:42 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2004

Route Climbed: Bushwhacked  Sucess!

Bushwhacked up to approach to Mt. Walters from Lake Fork Creek. Followed ridge to Mt. Wheeler. Lots of snow made it lots of fun. Played all the way there. Bright sunshine all day. Cold sometimes, very warm at other times. Great trip even though I was miserably out of shape.

Viewing: 1-20 of 283
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