Redcloud Peak

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/26/2026, By: Whitemtnskier
Info: Got out for a great solo ski day on October 24. There were a few inches of wet snow down low, but above ~11.7k it was pretty consistently skiable (I'd say 12-18 inches on average). I skinned/booted up the west side, and ended up in a pretty horrendous white out close to the summit. Still got on top, and was able to ski off the exact summit! Be safe out there, saw a pretty decent size avalanche around 12,000ft.

Posted the footage here in case anyone wants to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfjR9sTmxyA 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/7/2026, By: bonnie
Info: Put spikes on around 12700. The north-facing sections of both Redcloud and Sunshine had deep snow and enough wind loading that I needed to kick fresh steps/set a bootpack in a few places; wouldn't want to do those parts without spikes+poles. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/2/2026, By: CraigE
Info: Redcloud and Sunshine had snow starting around 12,500, and it was as deep as 18” in places. It made the final 1,000 feet up Redcloud harder, but the traverse over to Sunshine wasn’t as bad. It was all melting a bit by noon.

Handies looked similar to Redcloud and Sunshine, but Uncompahgre had less snow (since it’s generally a south facing route), and Wetterhorn looked pretty much dry. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/27/2026, By: mtn14
Info: We did Redcloud/Sunshine and then Wetterhorn back to back days. RCS was snowy above 13k, while Wetterhorn was snow-free summer conditions - at least until the next system comes through!

Snow and dirt were grippy enough to forego traction 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 8/1/2026, By: ericwolf88
Info: Full summer conditions. Started at 6:00, Redcloud at 8:30, Sunshine at 9:30 (stayed 10-15 minutes on summit), back to Redcloud at 10:45, back to car at 1:30.

I didn't really notice on the way up how bad the scree would be coming down around 13,500 - in photo #8, you can see how it swings very far to the right before cutting up the hill, which I did on the way up, but the whole area is a mess with a hundred different "trails" that make it hard to route find in that section. In photo #8, you can see how there is a more direct route straight up hill to the left that is not highlighted in blue, and for good reason. I saw a group of kids being forced down it behind me and it did not look fun whatsoever. Try to swing further to the right there if you can and remember for the way back not to take the direct route downhill coming from about 13,700.

Other than that one section, the trail is actually in very good shape. A lot of people out there on a sunny day. The road is dry and probably doable by nearly any 2wd vehicle with even a little bit of clearance if you go slow, but I would still prefer to just have a 4wd if I could. There was only very slight smoke from the fire nearby, but nothing to be concerned about. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2026, By: the3wilson
Info: Full summer conditions. Road to TH certainly Subaru-able with lesser vehicles in the lot.

I wasn't expecting the main Redcloud ascent & especially descent to be so lose. I fell on my butt 2-3 times while three pointing with trekking poles. Almost comparable to the Mt Bross descent.

Otherwise great day with outstanding views. 

Route: from sunshine
Posted On: 2/9/2026, By: Alpine_Iris
Info: some snow getting from sunshine to the saddle. one small section of postholing. all snow avoidable from saddle to redcloud. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 10/7/2025, By: untalented
Info: Didn’t have/need microspikes but was glad to have trekking poles.
Steep ridgeline section from 13,400 to 13,800 is slippery- definitely the crux of the entire route (even to Sunshine).
Snow coming up to the top of my boots in some sections. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/24/2025, By: V1per41
Info: Scattered snow patches starting at 13k'. Was mostly melted to 13.5k' on my way back down. No traction needed. There was some deeper spots (Maybe 2") on the traverse to Sunshine when the trail dipped to the north side of the ridge. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 9/13/2025, By: mikeb85
Info: Lots of swirling winds, got hit with sleet and high winds with a storm that came in unexpected at 9am. Weather was particularly hard to read that day. once we got off the peak wind was not nearly as bad. Passed by some ice on the rocks along side the trail near summit and between rocks on the peak but there was no snow or ice where you walk. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/29/2025, By: spen_c_boy
Info: Hiked and summited both Redcloud & Sunshine on the 21st of August. Trail is beautiful, lots of flowers. Road to get there was easily done in my Subaru Outback.

*** The porcupine was at it again while I was there. I slept in my tent not too far from my car, and heard my camping neighbors wake up around 11pm to spook off the porcupine who was ostensibly there to chew at their car(s). I quickly hopped in my car and drove about a quarter mile down the road and spent the rest of the night in my car. Started driving back to the TH at around 4:30 and saw the porcupine confidently crossing the road as if he knew his duties of terrorizing camp were done for the night. *** *** Adding to that, there was a pretty big bear only a few minutes into the hike in the morning. I turned around to gather a group of hikers to approach together. The bear was only about 40ish feet off the trail and didn't want to budge while we made a lot of noise at it. ***

On another note, Redcloud was much steeper than I expected towards the top. Between 13,000' and 14,000' was pretty dang vertical - nothing TOO dangerous but it caught me by surprise.

The trip to Sunshine from the top of Redcloud isn't too arduous, but did take me a little over an hour, and I was trying to go fast. Consider the time it takes to get there and back if you want to do both peaks. I was concerned with how many people I saw still ascending while afternoon storms were rolling in... 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/11/2025, By: sam_wade76
Info: Trail is in full summer conditions. Never had to put on traction of any sort. Got to the TH Friday the 4th, stayed overnight in the parking lot. BEWARE - the porcupine everyone is talking about at the Silver Creek TH is real and fearless (see Silver Creek/Grizzly Gulch parking lot TH for horror stories). Our camping neighbor was visited by him around 2:00AM and had to throw rocks into his wheel well to get him out of the car.

Wildflowers all the way up to the Peak starting about 1.8 miles in. More columbines than I've ever seen before. Summited both Redcloud and Sunshine and my main advice is make sure you have the capacity for both peaks. For a slower person the traverse between the two can take roughly 45 min - 1 hour each way. Shoutout to all the badass trailrunners that I know did it faster.

Road up to TH is rough but made it in a 2016 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk with good tires with stock lift. 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/29/2025, By: Bonesaw
Info: A couple snowfields in the basin to contend with, they are small and packed down. The trail seems to have eroded away somewhat as you gain the ridge. There’s a sign pointing you to climber’s right however it fades away and you need to slog up the loose rock and dirt to gain the trail again 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/18/2025, By: pcsongei
Info: Summited Redcloud and Sunshine this morning from Grizzly Gulch. Trail is in great shape overall. The upper basin still has some decent sized snowfields but they are either avoidable or solid enough to walk across early in the day. They were still pretty solid on my descent around 10am. The ridge to Sunshine is also mostly clear, a few snow patches that can be avoided by going above them. Great day out there, was the only person on either summit and only saw 4 other hikers on my way down 

Route: Northeast Ridge
Posted On: 6/12/2025, By: Matthew Holliman
Info: A couple of short mandatory snow patches to cross in the basin, icy but postholing even early today. Rest of trail and NE Ridge is clear. Traverse to Sunshine has a few short crossings, but well established bootpack. Carried snowshoes but didn't use them as they'd have done nothing, and the snow sections were too short to bother anyway. Crampons not really necessary since you can follow the existing postholes. Fantastic views.

Road to TH in good condition, 4mi paved, 8mi excellent dirt, 4mi a bit rougher but no need for 4WD