TR: Mount Democrat North Face 6.30.19

(Last Updated On: July 2, 2019)

Winter (or is that summer?) of 2019 is the gift that keeps on giving. We love to ski, but even for us, we tend to hang them up sometime in June. But this year? Why would we do that? Most of the trails are still snowy or muddy, and the skiing is really good- this isn’t summer skiing with runnels and suncups- this is just good smooth skiing. Still, the approaches are getting longer and no one likes hiking for miles with skis on their back. So, we like to look for peaks with good access. With the 2WD accessible Kite Lake trailhead, located at 12,000′, Mount Democrat certainly checks that box. And the North face is a great line. So even though Larry, Brittany, and I have all skied it before, we decided to ski it again. We dropped a car off at the Montgomery Reservoir trailhead and then camped near Kite Lake. If you’re looking for a 4th of July ski this year, put this one on your short list.

Skinning within minutes of leaving the car, with Cameron behind (also still holding snow):
mount cameron ski

skinning up mount democrat

With such a high trailhead, we made quick work of the climb and were on top of Democrat in just a couple of hours, taking our summit shots:
mt democrat summit

mosquito range

climax mine

We chatted with a couple of other skiers that were headed back towards Kite Lake via the Emma Lake chutes, which also looked like they were in good shape. We downclimbed 15′ (no summit descent), and started down the familiar North face. Frank:
ski mt democrat north face

north face democrat ski

ski democrat breckenridge

summer skiing colorado

north face democrat skiing july

The freezes have been very light lately. Thankfully, the snow seems to have transitioned to a full summer snowpack, without a lot of free water within the snow. Still, the top couple of inches easily peeled off and slowly slid down the mountain. If you picture a “people mover” walkway at the airport and double its width, that’s about what the slide looked like. It was so slow and methodical that I actually skied in it, as if I was whitewater kayaking down a stream. It was really fun, truth be told. Larry:
ski mt democrat

summer skiing

turns all year colorado

mosquito range skiing

steep skiing colorado

ski in summer breckenridge

Brittany:
skiing in front of mt lincoln

smooth summer skiing

brittany konsella skiing

summer skiing

skiing 14ers

14er skiing

Near the bottom of the line, the route narrows and doglegs. From most vantage points, it doesn’t even look like it goes. But it skis great- no downclimbing or sidestepping required:
skiing fourteeners

skiing tight couloir mt democrat

With so much snow this year, we were still able to ski quite a ways down the valley, avoiding most of the willow bashing that might occur with less snow cover. North face of Democrat behind us (we skied the middle line, the tight exit is hard to see):
north face democrat beta

Once we hit the Wheeler Lake road, we switched to approach shoes. I recently got a pair of La Sportiva Tempesta GTX shoes with GoreTex. My feet stayed dry, with a lot of rock hopping effort on my part. These are great shoes- I’ll do a review sometime soon.
montgomery reservoir road

Eventually you hit the Magnolia mine, which is the 2wd trailhead:
magnolia mine

And that’s about it- over 2K’ of great skiing on the last day of June. Get an early start and enjoy some 4th of July weekend turns. You’ll be glad you did, these is not your average summer skiing conditions. It’s still good out there, much more like May than July.

Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.  He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing.He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

Latest posts by Frank Konsella (see all)

Summary
TR: Mount Democrat North Face 6.30.19
Article Name
TR: Mount Democrat North Face 6.30.19
Description
Skiing the North Face of Mount Democrat via Kite Lake and Montgomery reservoir in summer of 2019. Great conditions on this route that often lasts well into summer.

Frank Konsella

Frank loves snow more than anything... except his wife.    He ensures his food is digested properly by chewing it 32 times before swallowing. He is a full-time real estate agent serving Crested Butte and Gunnison and would be honored to send you his monthly newsletter.

2 thoughts on “TR: Mount Democrat North Face 6.30.19

  • July 10, 2019 at 9:55 am
    Permalink

    Thanks for this report! After reading this, my buddy and I skied this line yesterday (7/9/19) and it’s still great! Can still skin most of the approach, at least to the saddle. Creamy turns and no runnels or suncups until the very end. The choke at the bottom is melting out and there’s a little waterfall, but it was easy enough to get around. We opted to climb out to the Cameron/Democrat saddle instead to heading to Montgomery Reservoir … probably won’t do that part again. Emma Bowl and chutes also still looked good.

  • July 10, 2019 at 9:57 am
    Permalink

    Awesome! The Montgomery exit isn’t all that fun either, but both ways work. Great access either way.

Got something to say? We love your comments!