I decided to attempt this on April 23, although I was a bit wary that there were no recent trip reports. It turns out there was a very good reason there were no recent trip reports. What a disaster!

Life was great up until horse camp. Needed spikes about 1/3 mile before reaching the junction. Past horse camp, the snow became insanely deep...feet and feet of it. Unfortunately, it was very soft, so the postholing was awful. I tried to follow the footsteps that were already there, but even those were several feet deep. I turned around not long after horse camp. Passed a few people with snowshoes and wonder how they did. The snow is so soft and slushy that I'm imagining it's hard even with snowshoes!

The snow started a little below horse camp today. The snow quality had changed significantly since my last hike here about a week ago. It seems to have rained a lot, melting and consolidating the snow pack, and then snowed another 4-5 inches on top. I was breaking trail on the new snow, though the old bootpack was still easy to follow.

My main concern on the trail in the coming weeks is a snow bridge about halfway between horse camp and the summit (after heading left from horse camp around the lollipop). The snow bridge is not obvious visually. I could hear water rushing under the snow while standing directly on it, and looking downhill from the trail it's clear there is a stream running under the snow and into the bigger creek below. One of these days, the snow bridge will collapse. Recent rain and warm weather has brought that day closer. Use caution and watch for hazards like this when walking between horse camp and the summit in the coming days and weeks.

Microspikes were sufficient traction on the snow today. I would not have felt comfortable without them.

Hiked to the top of mt. Rose. Snow starts about 1 mile in. Use micro spikes. No snowshoes necessary. Lots of fresh snow, but easy to follow boot pack wout post holing. Cold at the top with more snow coming down. We went on the left side and came back the same way. 

Another trip up good ole Rosie today!     A few potholes on the forest road but nothing terrible (just take it slow).   We decided to not drag up our snowshoes today and just boot up whatever we found.   Started out on a snow free trail.    Encountered consistent snow just below Horse Camp.    Took the left loop from Horse Camp and quickly found the fresh snow that had fallen the previous day.   From this point forward we were booting through fairly deep snow but thankfully it was light fluffy powder and easy to push through.    We were making a very nice trough for anyone that came up later.   We really had to kick in steps for the final summit push as the fresh powder was slick over the previous compacted ice.   The summit has a super impressive amount of snow.   We have been enjoying this mountain for over 10 years and this is probably the most snow we have seen at the summit.    Rewarded today with bonus sunshine too!     On the way down chatted with several happy friendly hikers.   

A lot of snow starting at the loop junction, but it was nicely packed down and the trail was easy to follow all the way to the summit. Microspikes aren't a must, but I was happy to have them in some stretches. I didn't do the loop because the snow looked too deep on the back side of the mountain---definitely snow shoe conditions. Happy trails!