Mount Democrat

Walking the Kite Lake Road towards Mount Democrat — There was a snow closure on the road to Kite Lake, so our day began with a short stroll from the cars to the normal Kite Lake Summer Trailhead. Mount Democrat is the mountain in the background.

Mount Democrat, 14,148 ft., is one of the more easily accessed 14ers to ski in late spring. In late April and May the road is often clear of snow from the town of Alma all the way to 11,400 feet. At that point you only have a short stretch of snow-covered road to reach the normal summer trailhead at Kite Lake.

That makes skiing this south and east side of Mount Democrat one of the more straightforward routes out there.

Skinning up to Mount Democrat — Christy and Elsie skinning up from the Kite Lake TH. Mount Buckskin is in the distance.

In the case of our trip here in 2018, Christy was looking to ski a 14er with her friend Elsie Weiss. Their relationship began years earlier as part of a mentorship program (read about it here), and they have been trying to ski a different 14er each spring.

They extended an invite to me, and along with Rebecca Weiss (Elsie’s mom), the four of us set out to ski Mount Democrat.

The East Slopes of Mount Democrat — Looking at the East Slopes headwall. We ascended and skied the obvious continuous line of snow.

After a quick walk up to the Kite Lake Trailhead, we began skinning. We stuck kind of close to the summer trail up what is called the East Slopes route. The snow was continuous but patchy, and we soon found the headwall of the East Slopes be too steep for skinning switchbacks. So we put our skis on our backs and booted up to the summit plateau.

Booting up to Mount Democrat — Booting up. Mount Cameron is behind.

At that point the angle mellowed out considerably, and it was just a short stroll to the summit.

Nearing the summit of Mount Democrat — From there the summit was just across the plateau.

We enjoyed the sunny summit, and retraced our route back down to the Kite Lake Trailhead.

Christy Mahon and Elsie Weiss on the summit of Mount Democrat — Christy and Elsie on the summit.

Rebecca Weiss skis Mout Democrat — Time to ski. Rebecca, on the teles.

Christy Mahon skiing the East Slopes of Mount Democrat — Elsie following Christy. Mount Bross is behind.

It was a fun, straightforward and safe route. Years earlier I had skied Democrat’s west side down to near Fremont Pass. That was an interesting route as well, but the snow cover was more sparse, and the route of ascent felt a bit more exposed to avalanche. After revisiting this mountain and skiing it from this side, I think I prefer this route.