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I'd been on the summit of this one before, but hey, rules are rules. I tried to rectify the situation of a sub-3,000' gain for this peak when I ended up just 362 days earlier in chest-deep snow from Grizzly Gulch. So, for purist list-ticking on a third attempt, I avoided Grizzly Gulch in favor of purported good snow conditions, driving at 3:00 a.m. resorting to parking at 11,300', walking down for 20 minutes to 10,900, and hiked back up. On the right is a view of Handies from the parking spot at 11,300'. The previous day had me worried with all of the wind and cold along the continental divide. It was windy upon arrival in the San Juans, around 8:00 a.m. The walk to 10,900' didn't take too long, and the hike back up was only a little more than a repeat of things I had done almost four years earlier (snow makes some difference). The snow was sparse in comparison to last year, nonetheless. At about 100 yards from the parking area, the rock bid farewell to snow for the remainder of the hike until some exposed sections provided more familiar terrain at 12,700'.
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The hike on the snow up the basin went quickly as I followed prints from earlier visitors. It appeared that most people had chosen the West Gullies for ascent, because tracks on the standard route were not to be found other than from skis. This was surprising, given the obvious steep slope of the gullies. I took a moment to study the topo to make sure my memory was not flawed and continued up the basin to near the head of the drainage. To the east, the maximum angle traversing the snow above the standard trail in the basin a little to the north was maybe 25 degrees (photo on left), but a party behind me elected to ascend a slope on the right in the photo which had to have been 40 degree steepness. I suppose they either felt more comfortable tackling snow direct or were unaware they were off-route. Off the snow for a short spell, I ascened the grassy slope to the broad area below the saddle.
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The terrain was familiar, yet just a slight bit more challenging. Ever-upward through the piercing wind (would have been substantially colder if prior to May to be sure), the end was in sight as I reached the saddle. Wind was stout, but tolerable with a balaclava/shell hood. The snow was absolutely perfect for kicking steps, glissading, snow-cones, whatever. I continued up the gentle ridge toward the objective and reached the summit at 11:20 a.m. I took a few pictures and started back down to get out of the wind below the saddle. Two descent glissades had me back in the basin in a little over 45 minutes. The rest of the hike out passed rapidly. I didn't notice how much the reflection from the snow had charred my face until later. It was nice to put this peak to rest and begin the pursuit of unfamiliar mountains again.
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