South Bessemer:
- More snow on the trail than you would expect given the current conditions. From 4000ft I was postholing quite a bit and snowshoes overall might have been more energy efficient. I only used trailrunners and microspikes.
- Snow is not very deep so overall a pretty easy and safe trip to great views.
Moolock Mountain:
- On the way back from South Bessemer I took the turn to Moolock from the saddle. Initially snow is a bit clumsy and deep along the road/trail, but once you join the ridge there is essentially no more snow.
- Some reports say you need get of the ridge for a bit, but staying on the ridge worked okay for me. There was one section where I can see people maybe preferred to traverse, but currently that is slushy forest and looked unpleasant. Sticking to the ridge was higher end of class 2 with minimal exposure.
- The North and the South ridge of Moolock are both essentially snow free.
- I traversed the talus slopes on the south side to get back to roads/trails. Talus slopes are always tricky and not necessarily fun, but it went okay.
Fantastic views overall. If this area wasn't abused so much by clear cut logging this would be a fantastic ridge traverse. I can't think of any easy day hike in the area with broad views of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness as good as this one. South Bessemer views are best, if you need to pick. See my previous South Bessemer reports for better photos ( see links at the end )
Comments
Thanks for the great report! I'm headed up to Moolock on Friday so this is very timely. We're going via the direct south approach, so shouldn't have as much snowy road to deal with.
Posted by:
ALW Hiker on Feb 04, 2026 09:26 PM
Excellent! Have a good trip!
Posted by:
Martin Bravenboer on Feb 04, 2026 09:40 PM