Mount of the Holy Cross (North Ridge)

Mount of the Holy Cross is the fourteener with the cross-shaped snow couloir that made it famous in the 1870s, and its North Ridge route is a harder day than its 14,005 feet suggest: 12 miles with 5,600 feet of cumulative gain, because the trail crosses Half Moon Pass on the way in and again on the way out, with a 1,000-foot drop to East Cross Creek between the pass and the mountain. Most people camp at the creek and climb on day two.

From the Half Moon trailhead at about 10,300 feet, the Half Moon Pass trail climbs 2 miles through spruce to the pass at 11,600 feet, then drops 1,000 feet on switchbacks to East Cross Creek and the campsites at 10,700 feet. The trail crosses the creek on logs and climbs the north ridge, steeply through trees and then onto open talus, with a long series of false summits along the ridge.

The upper ridge is Class 2 on rock, well cairned in good weather, and reaches the summit at 14,005 feet with the Bowl of Tears below the east face. The descent is where the mountain hurts people: the ridge has several places where a wrong turn leads into the Cross Creek drainage, and the re-climb of Half Moon Pass comes at the end of the day. Stay on the ridge you climbed and save legs for the pass.

Tigiwon Road (Forest Road 707) leaves US 24 two miles south of Minturn and climbs 8 miles of gravel to the Half Moon trailhead. Passenger cars manage it when dry. The road is closed to vehicles every year from November 22 through June 20, so the trailhead opens by car on June 21 at the earliest, and it closes again with snow in the fall. The lot is full by 5 AM on July and August weekends. No fee or permit for day use; overnight trips in the Holy Cross Wilderness need the free self-issued permit at the trailhead. Toilet at the lot.

Dogs are allowed on leash in the wilderness, and the talus ridge is hard on them. Not a kid hike. Carry three liters and a filter; East Cross Creek is the last water. Camp at the creek 100 feet from the water with no fires; the sites fill on weekends. A GPS track of the ridge is worth having for the descent. Tigiwon and Half Moon campgrounds sit on the access road, and Minturn has the restaurants. The Holy Cross guide covers the route in detail, and the Notch Mountain trail across the valley is where the famous view is.