Mount Sherman

If you’re aiming to ski Mount Sherman, then the South Slopes route from the east is the the route to do. The area can be hit pretty hard with wind all winter long, so some of the other aspects don’t always have much snow. But no matter what kind of season it is, every time I’ve been to Mount Sherman on this side, it’s been skiable.

At the Leavick townsite sign on Mount Sherman — Christy and Elsie Weiss at the Leavick townsite sign on the way up Mount Sherman.

In this case, Christy and I were heading to Mount Sherman with Elsie Weiss and her dad Austin. For the past few springs the girls have been skiing a 14er together as part of a mentorship program at Elsie’s school in Aspen. In 2017 it was Quandary Peak. The following year, in 2018, they skied Mount Democrat.

So the four of us made the trip to Fairplay, and then drove up the road to the Leavick townsite. When we reached the snow closure, we skinned from there. The route up Mount Sherman is pretty evident as you approach.

Skinning up Mount Sherman — Heading up Mount Sherman, the route follows the obvious snow line up and just to the right of the high point in the background.

Apart from a short stretch of steeper snow a few hundred feet below the summit, the whole route is very friendly for skinning. As for options to ski back down, well, you probably just want to retrace your route of ascent because there aren’t many other options.