Trip
Ascending Hikes - Endurance – Mt. of the Holy Cross via North Ridge
Mount of the Holy Cross is a high and prominent summit in the northern Sawatch Range. This difficult hike will test everyone's mettle as we ascend 5,600' over 11.25 miles.
Contacts
- Tue, Aug 11, 2026 — Wed, Aug 12, 2026
- Ascending Hikes Section
- Hiking
- Adults
- Difficult
- Mileage: 11.25 mi
- Elevation Gain: 5,600 ft
- High Point Elevation: 14,007 ft
- Maximum Wind: 10 kts
- Pace: 1-2 mph
- FULL, 1 on waitlist (4 capacity)
- FULL (2 capacity)
- Cancellation & Refund Policy
Inform leader of your qualifications - current 13ers/14ers, training regimen - to safely participate on this trip. I expect to arrive at the Mount of the Holy Cross trailhead between 9:00am-11:00am. We'll backpack to the East Cross Creek campsites by early Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, we'll enjoy an alpine start from the campsites as we ascend to the Mount of the Holy Cross summit. This early start will allow us to return to the trailhead before the risk of afternoon thunderstorms.
We will depart from the Wooly Mammoth CDOT Park-N-Ride on Tuesday morning, August 11, 2026, and carpool to the trailhead. High clearance, AWD or 4WD vehicles preferred to access the trailhead.
Required Equipment
Ten Essentials, Ten Essentials (U.S. National Park Service) Recommend trekking poles and adequate clothing layers to withstand the winds on the exposed summit push.