Trip Report
Winter Scramble - Mount Lillian
Recent storms have devastated the area with blowdowns of old burnt trees
Ananth Maniam (ஆனந்த் மணியம்)
- Sun, Jan 11, 2026
- Winter Scramble - Mount Lillian
- Mount Lillian
- Scrambling
- Turned Around
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- Road suitable for all vehicles
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Terrible blowdowns from the recent storm. Making trail impassable at multiple sections
Mount Lillian South (Attempt)
We started at the trailhead past the Sno-Park at 8:30 AM. This trailhead is open only for non-motorized travel, does not require a Sno-Park pass, and can hold up to eight cars.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/SR2uDpWGqXPMjfMZ8
Our initial plan was to run the ridge connecting the Tronsen Ridge high point to Mount Lillian and then take the trail down. Because this is a low snow year, we decided it would be better to attempt the summit using trails instead of traveling along sketchy ridges with partially filled snow.
From the trailhead, we covered about 1.5 miles on a series of forest service roads before getting onto Tronsen Meadow Trail #1205.
Within approximately 0.2 miles of joining the trail, we encountered blowdowns. Snow coverage was not sufficient for snowshoes and was also not enough to cover the fallen trees, so we had to hop over them.
After another 0.4 miles, we reached a section with very dense blowdowns. This section consisted of roughly ten trees fallen at different angles and stacked on top of one another, continuing for about 0.2 miles. This was the most difficult section to cross and took us around 30 minutes to navigate carefully. In several places, the drop from the highest fallen tree to the ground was approximately 2 to 4 feet, increasing the risk of slipping or injury.
We considered turning around at this point, especially since the forecasted sun never appeared. We decided to continue a bit farther and reassess at the next significant blowdown section.
The next 2 to 3 miles were more manageable. We were able to do some sustained snowshoeing until we reached the Haney Meadows area, where we encountered another cluster of blowdowns.
At this point, we were approximately 600 feet below the summit of Mount Lillian. Considering the need to navigate all of the blowdowns again on the return, we decided to turn around.
After a short break, we retraced our route back to the trailhead and reached the cars at 2:30 PM.
We stopped at El Caporal for lunch and arrived back home around 6:00 PM.