sierramtngoat - Jun 24, 2022 4:46 pm Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2022
From Vail Pass
First CO summit for my young kids and great to be back on the mountain with my wife. Got super lucky with the weather... raining all around is but we came out unscathed. By the time we reached the summit, the clouds cleared for miles around, so we had a nice view of "the cross" and a quick decent. Mucky mucky in the valley still; still a bit of snow, but nothing that a 7 and 10 year old couldn't handle.
Senad Rizvanovic - Aug 11, 2019 8:57 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2019
Nice short hike
Weather wasn't all that good for big mountains, Shrine Mt. was perfect quick hike to be away from Denver.
Steven Cross - Jul 19, 2015 12:49 am Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2015
Shrine with Wingle Ridge
Hiked this before work. The summit of Wingle Ridge had better views than Shrine. Fantastic area.
rkymtn - Aug 16, 2013 11:26 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2013
Shrine
A really nice morning hike with Peakbug. The flowers were great, as were the views. We even saw a moose on I-70 while driving in. We headed to Wingle afterwards.
Peakbug - Aug 11, 2013 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2013
#41 Shrine Mountain
Wanted to check out the wildflowers with rkymtn, so we headed out before the crowds and enjoyed an easy hike and solitude at the summit. Lots of marmots at the top...and the flowers were awesome.
jimegan - May 17, 2013 9:00 am Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2011
1st: Climbed Shrine and Wingle after an early season snow the night before dusted the ridge in an inch or two of summer snow!
2nd: After work with Scott on 9/20/17 from Shrine Pass for a nice sunset on the Gore.
Shaylee - May 2, 2013 12:43 pm Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2012
Shrine
November 22 2014
December 1 2012
Kessler - May 2, 2013 12:38 pm Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2012
Shrine
April 11 2015
December 1 2012
April 27 2014
Kiefer - May 2, 2013 9:34 am Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2010
Via Vail Pass
Been up Shrine a few times. Good short trail running destination with stellar views of the Gores & Copper Mountain, well, Jacque Peak anyway.
Some decent 4x4 roads in the area too.
Scott - May 1, 2013 8:14 pm Date Climbed: Feb 21, 2009
Shrine
December 16-17 2017
December 16
After working all night and catching a few hours of sleep, I met Kim and Shaylee (Kessler was sick) in Frisco and we headed for Vail Pass.
We started up the ski/snowshoe trail to Jays Cabin in the afternoon and made it just before dark.
December 17
In the morning, I climbed Shrine Mountain alone. The weather was good and the views were nice. After snowshoeing back to Jays Cabin we all packed up and walked to Vail Pass rather quickly in order to see Star Wars in Dillon.
October 19 2017
Starting at around sunset, I climbed Shrine Mountain. It was dark by the time I reached the top. My headlamp went out, so the descent was very challenging! It was slippery at times as well since there was some fresh snow and ice.
September 20 2017
I met an old SP friend, Mike at Shrine Pass in the evening and we climbed Shrine Mountain, summitting just before sunset. The weather was beautiful and the skies were clear. We made it down just as it was getting dark.
August 29 2017
Tonight, I climbed Shrine Mountain after work. I got a late start and it was dark before I reached the summit. It was breezy, but pleasant and quiet. There were some clouds at first, but the weather cleared by dark and the half moon was nice. I came down by headlamp.
August 15 2017
After work, I climbed Shrine Mountain. I was completely alone and saw no one. The sunset was nice. It sprinkled a little at first, but after that the weather was good.
August 2 2017
After work, I climbed Shrine Mountain from Shrine Pass. The wildflowers were still out. Since it was late, I didn't spend much time on top, but it was still a pleasant hike.
July 31 2017
After work I climbed Shrine Mountain. I have done it many times in the snow season, but never in summer.
There were a lot of wildflowers. There were a few sprinkles of rain, but no thunderstorms.
March 10-11 2017
March 11
Beginning at 7:45 PM, the kids, Kim, and I showshoed under a full moon for three miles to the Jay's Hut above Vail Pass. The conditions were gorgeous and the moon was so bright that headlamps weren't needed.
March 12
Three of us slept in the hut, but Kessler slept outside. It began to snow in the morning, so I went outside of the hut to wake Kessler up to come inside! In the morning, I was the only one who wanted to climb something, so I headed up the Wingle Ridge and Shrine Mountain. It was a beautiful day and views were great!
April 10-11 2015
April 10
Last minute, we bought someone's spot in Chuck's Cabin near Shrine Mountain. Kessler and I hiked up to Chucks Cabin in the dark before retiring. It was a pleasant walk by headlamp.
April 11
Kessler and I decided to climb the Wingle Ridge and Shrine Mountain since the steep slopes and cornices on the east side of the peaks are a good place to practice snow climbing.
We left fairly early in the morning and the snow was rock hard. We climbed Shrine Mountain with no difficulty and glissaded off the east face, which wasn't that easy with hard snow.
Unfortunately, I ripped my new down sweater on the hard snow. We decided to head back and forgo climbing on the Wingle Ridge.
November 21-22 2014
November 21
Shaylee and I snowshoed up to Jays Cabin Friday evening. We started at 4:45 PM and walked in the fading daylight before having to pull out the headlamps at Shrine Pass, but it was only a short snowshoe in the dark.
November 22
In the morning, Shaylee and I set off to climb Shrine Mountain. It was 7F (-14C), but even on the mountain there was only a slight breeze. We had to break trail for the last 1/3 of the climb, but it was a good day and the views were beautiful.
After enjoying the nice views from the summit, we headed back down.
April 26-27 2014
April 26
Kessler and I were thinking of climbing a 14er, but the weather forecast wasn't looking good. Kessler still wanted to practice with the ice axe somewhere, so we made a last minute reservation for Walters Cabin. We didn't leave the Vail Pass trailhead until 9 PM! Because it was late, we snowshoed quickly and reached the cabin at 10 PM.
April 27
In order to practice with the ice axe, we climbed the east face of Shrine Mountain directly. It was a good route for practicing with the ice axe. We were going to head directly for the Wingle Ridge, but sicne hte snow conditions were good, instead we glissaded down the steep east face before contouring around and climbing to the pass between Shrine Mountain and Wingle Ridge.
November 30-December 1 2012
November 30
On November 30, Kessler, Shaylee, Kimberly and I hiked up in the dark to 11,209' and spent the night in Chuck's Cabin.
December 1
On December 1, after spending the night in Chuck's Cabin, Kessler, Shaylee, and I decided to climb Shrine Mountain and the Wingle Ridge. Kim stayed behind in the cabin and read while the kids and I climbed the mountain. There wasn't near as much snow as there is normally this time of year and it didn't feel like December. It was 28F on top with only a light breeze and by December standards at nearly 12,000 feet, it was a really warm day. We had some nice views of Mount of the Holy Cross too.
It was also Shaylee's 200th mountain and was a beautiful day!
February 20-21 2009
February 20
Four year old Shaylee, six year old Kessler, Kim and I decided it was time for another winter getaway and since Walters Cabin near Shrine Pass (one of the 10th Mountain Division Hut) was free Friday night and since the kids were out of school Friday, we made a reservation. With the kids we decided to cheat again and use a hut instead of camp.
We left Vail Pass at 12:30 PM and headed towards Shrine Pass in snowshoes. Unfortunately it was cloudy and very windy with a windchill of 0F to -5F. It was much colder than our hut trip in January. The kids were bundled up well, but neither really liked the strong winds and we bribed them with candy and suckers into not stopping for many breaks since it was cold. We more or less went straight to the cabin with only a few short breaks, making the three miles on snowshoes in 2 hours 30 minutes. The cabin (11,223 feet elevation) was a welcome site after being outside in the cold.
February 21
It snowed four inches the night of the 20-21st, but quickly became calm and clear throughout the night. This allowed the temperature to drop and we woke up to a sunny but chilly -11F. The original plan was for Kessler and I to climb Shrine Mountain and Peak 11,977, but he was having a good time playing with his sister in the cabin and they decided to stay behind and play.
I set off for the Shrine Mountain Ridge alone. Breaking trail was harder and slower than I thought it would be since there wasn’t a trail broken after the little snowstorm and I couldn’t see the old tracks. It took over an hour and a half just to reach the saddle between Shrine Mountain and Point 11,931. Since the sun was shining brightly and with little wind, it warmed up very fast and I worked up a good sweat climbing to the saddle (I actually initially reached the ridge north of and above the saddle). After climbing Shrine Mountain, it looked like a fairly long way to Peak 11,977, so I didn’t take much time to dilly-dally. I climbed over the top of Point 11,931 and then followed the windblown ridgeline to Peak 11,977. The sky was perfectly blue and with great views with the Sawatch Range, including Elbert, Massive and especially Holy Cross; the Gore Range; the Tenmile Range and a number of other nice peaks as well. I shot dozens of photos before heading back down to Walters Cabin reaching it just in time for lunch.
After lunch we tidied up the cabin and headed back down to Shrine Pass and then back down the mountain to Vail Pass. It was a nice and sunny day and not nearly as cold as the day before (with only occasional breezes) so Kessler and Shaylee enjoyed talking to anyone they met along the way. We got several fantastic photos and a good time reaching Vail Pass after two hours from the cabin. It was a good trip.
sierramtngoat - Jun 24, 2022 4:46 pm Date Climbed: Jun 24, 2022
From Vail PassFirst CO summit for my young kids and great to be back on the mountain with my wife. Got super lucky with the weather... raining all around is but we came out unscathed. By the time we reached the summit, the clouds cleared for miles around, so we had a nice view of "the cross" and a quick decent. Mucky mucky in the valley still; still a bit of snow, but nothing that a 7 and 10 year old couldn't handle.
Senad Rizvanovic - Aug 11, 2019 8:57 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2019
Nice short hikeWeather wasn't all that good for big mountains, Shrine Mt. was perfect quick hike to be away from Denver.
theREALCarpeDM - Sep 10, 2017 6:22 pm Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2017
with the wifeAfter a stay in Breck
Steven Cross - Jul 19, 2015 12:49 am Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2015
Shrine with Wingle RidgeHiked this before work. The summit of Wingle Ridge had better views than Shrine. Fantastic area.
rkymtn - Aug 16, 2013 11:26 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2013
ShrineA really nice morning hike with Peakbug. The flowers were great, as were the views. We even saw a moose on I-70 while driving in. We headed to Wingle afterwards.
Peakbug - Aug 11, 2013 7:53 pm Date Climbed: Aug 11, 2013
#41 Shrine MountainWanted to check out the wildflowers with rkymtn, so we headed out before the crowds and enjoyed an easy hike and solitude at the summit. Lots of marmots at the top...and the flowers were awesome.
jimegan - May 17, 2013 9:00 am Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2011
Shrine Mountainhiked 9/8/11
chicagotransplant - May 9, 2013 12:41 pm Date Climbed: Aug 17, 2008
Early Snow1st: Climbed Shrine and Wingle after an early season snow the night before dusted the ridge in an inch or two of summer snow!
2nd: After work with Scott on 9/20/17 from Shrine Pass for a nice sunset on the Gore.
Shaylee - May 2, 2013 12:43 pm Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2012
ShrineNovember 22 2014
December 1 2012
Kessler - May 2, 2013 12:38 pm Date Climbed: Dec 1, 2012
ShrineApril 11 2015
December 1 2012
April 27 2014
Kiefer - May 2, 2013 9:34 am Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2010
Via Vail PassBeen up Shrine a few times. Good short trail running destination with stellar views of the Gores & Copper Mountain, well, Jacque Peak anyway.
Some decent 4x4 roads in the area too.
Scott - May 1, 2013 8:14 pm Date Climbed: Feb 21, 2009
ShrineDecember 16-17 2017
December 16
After working all night and catching a few hours of sleep, I met Kim and Shaylee (Kessler was sick) in Frisco and we headed for Vail Pass.
We started up the ski/snowshoe trail to Jays Cabin in the afternoon and made it just before dark.
December 17
In the morning, I climbed Shrine Mountain alone. The weather was good and the views were nice. After snowshoeing back to Jays Cabin we all packed up and walked to Vail Pass rather quickly in order to see Star Wars in Dillon.
October 19 2017
Starting at around sunset, I climbed Shrine Mountain. It was dark by the time I reached the top. My headlamp went out, so the descent was very challenging! It was slippery at times as well since there was some fresh snow and ice.
September 20 2017
I met an old SP friend, Mike at Shrine Pass in the evening and we climbed Shrine Mountain, summitting just before sunset. The weather was beautiful and the skies were clear. We made it down just as it was getting dark.
August 29 2017
Tonight, I climbed Shrine Mountain after work. I got a late start and it was dark before I reached the summit. It was breezy, but pleasant and quiet. There were some clouds at first, but the weather cleared by dark and the half moon was nice. I came down by headlamp.
August 15 2017
After work, I climbed Shrine Mountain. I was completely alone and saw no one. The sunset was nice. It sprinkled a little at first, but after that the weather was good.
August 2 2017
After work, I climbed Shrine Mountain from Shrine Pass. The wildflowers were still out. Since it was late, I didn't spend much time on top, but it was still a pleasant hike.
July 31 2017
After work I climbed Shrine Mountain. I have done it many times in the snow season, but never in summer.
There were a lot of wildflowers. There were a few sprinkles of rain, but no thunderstorms.
March 10-11 2017
March 11
Beginning at 7:45 PM, the kids, Kim, and I showshoed under a full moon for three miles to the Jay's Hut above Vail Pass. The conditions were gorgeous and the moon was so bright that headlamps weren't needed.
March 12
Three of us slept in the hut, but Kessler slept outside. It began to snow in the morning, so I went outside of the hut to wake Kessler up to come inside! In the morning, I was the only one who wanted to climb something, so I headed up the Wingle Ridge and Shrine Mountain. It was a beautiful day and views were great!
April 10-11 2015
April 10
Last minute, we bought someone's spot in Chuck's Cabin near Shrine Mountain. Kessler and I hiked up to Chucks Cabin in the dark before retiring. It was a pleasant walk by headlamp.
April 11
Kessler and I decided to climb the Wingle Ridge and Shrine Mountain since the steep slopes and cornices on the east side of the peaks are a good place to practice snow climbing.
We left fairly early in the morning and the snow was rock hard. We climbed Shrine Mountain with no difficulty and glissaded off the east face, which wasn't that easy with hard snow.
Unfortunately, I ripped my new down sweater on the hard snow. We decided to head back and forgo climbing on the Wingle Ridge.
November 21-22 2014
November 21
Shaylee and I snowshoed up to Jays Cabin Friday evening. We started at 4:45 PM and walked in the fading daylight before having to pull out the headlamps at Shrine Pass, but it was only a short snowshoe in the dark.
November 22
In the morning, Shaylee and I set off to climb Shrine Mountain. It was 7F (-14C), but even on the mountain there was only a slight breeze. We had to break trail for the last 1/3 of the climb, but it was a good day and the views were beautiful.
After enjoying the nice views from the summit, we headed back down.
April 26-27 2014
April 26
Kessler and I were thinking of climbing a 14er, but the weather forecast wasn't looking good. Kessler still wanted to practice with the ice axe somewhere, so we made a last minute reservation for Walters Cabin. We didn't leave the Vail Pass trailhead until 9 PM! Because it was late, we snowshoed quickly and reached the cabin at 10 PM.
April 27
In order to practice with the ice axe, we climbed the east face of Shrine Mountain directly. It was a good route for practicing with the ice axe. We were going to head directly for the Wingle Ridge, but sicne hte snow conditions were good, instead we glissaded down the steep east face before contouring around and climbing to the pass between Shrine Mountain and Wingle Ridge.
November 30-December 1 2012
November 30
On November 30, Kessler, Shaylee, Kimberly and I hiked up in the dark to 11,209' and spent the night in Chuck's Cabin.
December 1
On December 1, after spending the night in Chuck's Cabin, Kessler, Shaylee, and I decided to climb Shrine Mountain and the Wingle Ridge. Kim stayed behind in the cabin and read while the kids and I climbed the mountain. There wasn't near as much snow as there is normally this time of year and it didn't feel like December. It was 28F on top with only a light breeze and by December standards at nearly 12,000 feet, it was a really warm day. We had some nice views of Mount of the Holy Cross too.
It was also Shaylee's 200th mountain and was a beautiful day!
February 20-21 2009
February 20
Four year old Shaylee, six year old Kessler, Kim and I decided it was time for another winter getaway and since Walters Cabin near Shrine Pass (one of the 10th Mountain Division Hut) was free Friday night and since the kids were out of school Friday, we made a reservation. With the kids we decided to cheat again and use a hut instead of camp.
We left Vail Pass at 12:30 PM and headed towards Shrine Pass in snowshoes. Unfortunately it was cloudy and very windy with a windchill of 0F to -5F. It was much colder than our hut trip in January. The kids were bundled up well, but neither really liked the strong winds and we bribed them with candy and suckers into not stopping for many breaks since it was cold. We more or less went straight to the cabin with only a few short breaks, making the three miles on snowshoes in 2 hours 30 minutes. The cabin (11,223 feet elevation) was a welcome site after being outside in the cold.
February 21
It snowed four inches the night of the 20-21st, but quickly became calm and clear throughout the night. This allowed the temperature to drop and we woke up to a sunny but chilly -11F. The original plan was for Kessler and I to climb Shrine Mountain and Peak 11,977, but he was having a good time playing with his sister in the cabin and they decided to stay behind and play.
I set off for the Shrine Mountain Ridge alone. Breaking trail was harder and slower than I thought it would be since there wasn’t a trail broken after the little snowstorm and I couldn’t see the old tracks. It took over an hour and a half just to reach the saddle between Shrine Mountain and Point 11,931. Since the sun was shining brightly and with little wind, it warmed up very fast and I worked up a good sweat climbing to the saddle (I actually initially reached the ridge north of and above the saddle). After climbing Shrine Mountain, it looked like a fairly long way to Peak 11,977, so I didn’t take much time to dilly-dally. I climbed over the top of Point 11,931 and then followed the windblown ridgeline to Peak 11,977. The sky was perfectly blue and with great views with the Sawatch Range, including Elbert, Massive and especially Holy Cross; the Gore Range; the Tenmile Range and a number of other nice peaks as well. I shot dozens of photos before heading back down to Walters Cabin reaching it just in time for lunch.
After lunch we tidied up the cabin and headed back down to Shrine Pass and then back down the mountain to Vail Pass. It was a nice and sunny day and not nearly as cold as the day before (with only occasional breezes) so Kessler and Shaylee enjoyed talking to anyone they met along the way. We got several fantastic photos and a good time reaching Vail Pass after two hours from the cabin. It was a good trip.