With the promise of sun in the forecast, I was in search of fresh, unbroken snow. I figured the east side of Mt. Rose summit loop would be perfect! I got there early-ish (7:45 am), and there was only one other car in the lot. I eventually caught up and passed them (party of three nice guys) and made it to Horse Camp with minimal difficulty. Patchy snow started to appear about 1/3 mile away from that junction, but traction wasn't needed. 

Things quickly changed after Horse Camp, as I anticipated. The snow quickly started to get deeper, and I switched to snowshoes after about 1/4 mile past the junction. Creek crossings were doable. As I forged forward, the snow got deeper and deeper AND DEEPER. In fact, I do not think I have ever seen such deep snow up there before. By the time I turned around, I was sinking well over a foot in my snowshoes. Probably closer to 2 feet. I made it just shy of the ridgeline. While I was getting tired, what actually caused me to turn around when I did was that I reached my tree bomb threshold. They were GIANT with the warm sun! I was glad to have my pack cover and rain jacket!

As I came back down, I passed the trio again. They had made my path very nice and packed down. I am not sure how far they got, but at least for the time being, there is a nice snowshoe track on the right (east) side of the loop. 

I switched to microspikes at Horse Camp, since I wasn't sure what kind of condition the light snow on the way down would be in. Turns out, the consistency was now slush and slippery, so spikes were really useless. Passed a few groups and a few soloists as I was going down. I am definitely curious how far everyone got yesterday! 

Hiked to the top of Rose today. Trail was snow free until the last mile, where it became a winter wonderland. 6 inches of new snow from last night. We brought snowshoes, but they were not necessary. Used microspikes and poles. The new snow was on top of icy stuff, which was no problem on the way up. On the way down it was more slippery, so we proceeded with care. The previous trail is more or less covered with snow in the last mile. Our foot prints are visible, so have fun following them. Saw only 3 other people and they only did a partial hike.

My two hiking buddies and I underestimated the probable depth of the snow on Mount Rose when we were planning this outing. We thought that between the heavy rains earlier in the week and the forecasted warm temperatures, we would not need snowshoes. Things started out well. The porta-potty was spotless. Our trudge up to Horse Camp on bare trail seemed to zipped by. We took the left fork to the summit and found that the snow had receded above previous levels. The first patches started well above Horse Camp and seemed thin and supportive but rapidly became deeper and softer and too much for our microspikes to handle. Eventually, we made it to the top but it was needlessly hard work breaking a trail. No complaints, though. The splendid weather helped offset our grind. For those thinking of going here this weekend, I’d suggest bringing your snowshoes.

Early start for some scramble and climb conditioning. I was first up, leaving the parking lot at 7:10am. Snow from start. put on microspikes after 15 min. Was able to boot all the way to the summit. There was a well established boot and snowshoe path.  The primary track uses the more direct winter route on the final approach!  Good boots are recommended because it requires a good edge or kick step now and again  

at summit it 2:40 with 30lbs   Put in snow shoes and continued on the loop.  It appears no one has done the loop since the dry spell ended. I was sinking to my knees with snowshoes at times.  

Doing the backside ridge requires proper gear and knowledge of the area or a good track, with all the snow it would be easy to get off course. Additionally, I observed a few very deep tree wells and a couple snow caverns where the snow bridged over trees etc  

The paved road was plowed but gravel section had snow and ruts. 

Once back to Horse Camp I swapped snow shoes for microspikes. 

5hrs 10min car to car. 

The snow conditions that hiking buddy, Ron, and I encountered on this trip will no doubt change soon. Mount Rose was snow-free till around 3550 feet (Horse Camp is 3050 feet). We used microspikes from that point onward. The top few inches of snow were surprisingly soft given how cold it’s been the past two weeks. We took a break at the summit to enjoy the sunshine and clear view. While we were resting, the Gray Jay Welcoming Committee appeared and conducted an inspection of our snack foods. 

After our break, we headed north along the northern ridge, taking in multiple views of Mount Ellinor along the way. When we reached the point where the trail turns 90 degrees right and descends to Horse Camp, we kept walking straight instead, following the ridge up a gentle incline through easy openings between the trees. We stayed on the ridge for a ¼ mile to a high point named Bear Peak that has recently been registered as a provisional peak in the Peakbagger database. The summit is ringed with large trees which obscures any distant views. However, the surrounding forest has its own charming sights. A new wooden sign marks the summit, thanks to Ron Jones who submitted the peak to Peakbagger.   

From Bear Peak, we continued to follow the ridge northeast and descended to a broad saddle. From the saddle, we headed east, first crossing a stream gulley, then descending slightly to the 3800-foot contour which we followed all the way to Bear Camp. The terrain was steeper in this section and our side-hilling led us across one or two other stream gullies. Once at Bear Camp, we took an established trail as it descended south to join the Mount Rose trail.

Altogether, this adventure covered about 7.5 miles with around 3550 feet of elevation gain. For those who love Mount Rose for its conditioning opportunities, this route would certainly be an enjoyable way to bump up its potential.