Mt. Rose, Nevada


After hiking many 10+ miles trails in bay area, we were itching to hike in Sierras. We decided to hike Mount Rose (10776 feet elevation) near Lake Tahoe on Nevada side. It is second tallest peak in the Tahoe basin. This hike is around 11 miles with approximately 2400 feet elevation change. Normally, this would have been a regular hike for us, but the weather made this hike very interesting. Just 2 days before our scheduled hike, there was a big storm, which dumped more than a foot of snow above 6000 feet elevation level.


We reached the Mt. Rose trailhead (8900 feet elevation) at 11.00am on Saturday. Weather was sunny with temperatures in high 40s with wind around at 10 mph. The trail was all covered with snow from anywhere between 6 inches to a foot. Some places the snow was soft powder and some places it was slushy. It made very difficult taking each step. We soon realized that this would be a challenging hike.

We started on a direct route up by Mt. Rose Summit trail. This trail cuts through north side of Tamarak Peak. On the way you see rising volcanic rocks on both sides. After some initial elevation gain the climb leveled out, eventually leading past a waterfall on the left and a meadow to the right before heading for Mt. Rose Summit. The trail width was very small with almost 400-500 feet drop on one side. We reached the Junction, the halfway point in hour and half. Our shoes were completely drenched and our feet had started freezing by now. From this point the intense ascent to the Mt. Rose started.

In another 40 minutes of hike we reached one more Junction at the saddle. A sign of Mt. Rose Wilderness showed eastern direction towards the summit. By now the snow depth was getting on our nerves. We also had thoughts of giving up and going back. But the view of peak kept us going. Soon the pine trees started disappearing and we were in a series of rocky switchbacks. Eventually two of us decided to leave the snow laid trail and climb up the rocks. The last part was extremely steep with slopes ranging between 30 to 40 degrees.  We eventually made to the top in 4 hour 15 minutes. Let me tell you, the view at the top was astounding. You could see beautiful Lake Tahoe basin and the surrounding mountains on south, Reno valley floor and Carson City to the east and Sierra Buttes in the North.



We had a short snack break. Since it was already 4.00pm, we knew we had to return soon before the sun set. We descended very fast on initial rocky switchbacks. As the trail is on the east of Tamarack Peak, the snow on trail started freezing and became hardened. It was getting very slippery on the return journey. In fact I slept and fell 4 times on the way back. By now the light had started fading which produced show of beautiful colors of dusk. The view of Lake Tahoe at this time was out of world. No camera would do justice for that view.  I almost forgot that my feet were badly hurting. We managed to reach the trailhead by 7.00pm. My NewYu showed total distance of 11.6 miles. It was a strenuous but also greatly satisfying hike.





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