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North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:32 am
by ChristopherFranklin
Just curious if anyone's done this route? Any info would be appreciated.

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:17 pm
by surgent
It technically may not be legal. Generally, once above tree line you are supposed to remain on the trail in order to protect the alpine biota up there (the same reason Agassiz is closed when not snow-bound). On a more practical matter, the slopes up high are very steep, loose and rubbly. Remember, this is an extinct volcano. That being said, no one will be patrolling those areas so you may be fine there. You might try it from the east's inner basin.

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2012 5:49 pm
by lcarreau
You know .... those "biotic plant" restrictions have been in place for the past THIRTY YEARS. Seems like that plant would be THRIVING by now ..

What is the REAL reason for closing Agassiz and the northern routes on Humphrey's ?????? :?

Why not side with the greater opinions (of the climbing community) and REOPEN those routes :?:

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 12:01 am
by surgent
I'd be all for a hiking route to Agassiz. You can do it in winter when it's snowed in.

I think the restrictions are partially due to appeasing the Navajo, the peak being its traditional western boundary. Given all the controversy about making snow with treated water up there, it's easy to assume by extension they don't want people up there in principle, and the trail is a compromise.

Just eyeballing the north slope of Humphreys, it looks unpleasant. It's steep and a slope of ball-bearing cinder nuggets. It would seem to me to cross that fine line between challenging and exasperating.

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 3:59 am
by lcarreau
Don't mean to sound confrontational, but another reason why it's NOT OPEN is because the U.S. Forest Service manages the land, (even though it belongs to the Navajo), and they're a government agency faced with a reduced budget and several ongoing "liability" issues.

If you happened to slip under the radar, the chances of getting caught would be SLIM to NONE. 8)

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 4:51 am
by Andrew Rankine
If you're really adventurous, you could do a San Francisco Peaks traverse... all 6 peaks. I've always wanted to do that.

If you want to give a "dicey" one a go...try the Four Peaks Traverse.

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 5:02 pm
by ChristopherFranklin
I ended up not being able to go to my friends made it 3/4 of the way up and turned back due to a thunder storm. Rute might be easier in snow insted of scree.



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Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 12:44 am
by Alex Wood
I remember seeing a sign at the end of Abineau Canyon saying that access further was restricted. If you did the Traverse up to BearJaw, Abineau and Rees I guess one could say that they "didn't see the sign"...The closure to do the groundsel is silly and that policy needs to be revised..or hey, maybe they should put in some more trails above tree line to concentrate the impact

Re: North ridge of Humphrey's Peak

PostPosted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 3:45 am
by lcarreau
Alex Wood wrote:I remember seeing a sign at the end of Abineau Canyon saying that access further was restricted. If you did the Traverse up to BearJaw, Abineau and Rees I guess one could say that they "didn't see the sign"...The closure to do the groundsel is silly and that policy needs to be revised..or hey, maybe they should put in some more trails above tree line to concentrate the impact


It's not all about protecting the Groundsel. There's some kind of "cover-up" here.

Word from the streets is they can't afford to build any more trails .... monies tight enough to maintain the ones they have.