East Ridge of North Star Mountain

Winter 2020 in the northern mountains has had a slow start, so we kept the skis
in the closet and sought out some ridge scrambles. The east ridge of North Star
Mountain is easy to access from Hoosier Pass, and has 95% fewer people than its
14er neighbor to the North. And the climbing is more interesting.

The day began at Hoosier Pass. A number of groups were gathering for what looked like some kind of avalanche training or backcountry ski class. The snowpack was thin, but there was coverage from the parking lot to the trees where the groups were gathering. The trail was packed from the trailhead until we reached treeline.

Shelby on the road, approaching treeline.Once we were above treeline, the snow drifts were deeper and we stepped into our snowshoes. Not our favorite way to travel, but when the snowpack is thin and flotation is unnecessary for most of the trail, it is the most practical.

We worked our way up the slope, eventually contouring around and bypassing the first highpoint. We figured we would hit plenty of them along the ridge. On our way around, several jets flew at eye-level through the valley between North Star and Lincoln, and I managed to grab a couple photos.

Once on the ridge, the snow shallowed and the ridge alternated between firm wind slab, facets, and rock. Fortunately no ice was on the ridge, and we never needed crampons or ice axes, only trekking poles.

No point on the ridge was very challenging, and after too many bumps and a very convincing false summit, we made it to the real summit. We were supposed to meet friends at Breckenridge to skin up at 4:30pm so we kicked it into high gear and didn't take many photos on the way out.

Back at the trailhead we packed up, drove down to Breckenridge, and skinned up for some extra exercise.