Eagle County High Point Trip Report

Mount of the Holy Cross (14,005 ft)

Date: August 18, 2001
Author: Walt O'Neil

I left the car, which was 0.2 mile from the trailhead at 7:10 AM, reached the Halfmoon Campground trailhead at 7:18 and climbed to Halfmoon Pass by 8:26; descended to East Cross Creek by 9:03 and reached the summit at 1:48 PM via the east ridge.

The descent was tricky. I started at 2:00 and thought I was headed down the way I got up (no trail, just rock honk) and wondered why I couldn't find the north ridge where the trail started. I was too far south and had descended 100 feet lower than I was supposed to be. From here I worked my way north and was able to cut the climb back up to 300 feet and found where I needed to be-thanks to GPS and compass. This was more scrambling than I wanted but worked out well. The rest was uneventful, though it was 9:28 when I reached my car.

It turned out to be a 6000-foot climb. This is the one where you climb 900 feet to go from East Cross Creek to Halfmoon Pass on the descent. The weather and views were great.