5/27/2024 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 5/29/2024, By: Lucas0wen Info: Intermittent snow starting from trailhead until about 10k ft where the snow consistently covered the trail. Microspikes were really helpful. Minimal avalanche danger on the ascent besides some wind loading of snow. Crampons and ice axe were necessary on the climb up to the peak. We planned to do the traverse to Colombia but due to snow conditions and warming temps we decided to just head back. Postholing was awful the whole way back to the trailhead. Overall pretty similar conditions to reports from early May. We brought snow shoes but they weren't necessary. |
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5/5/2024 Route: South Face Posted On: 5/6/2024, By: ColoNativeGal Info: Similar to the post from 5/4, snow all the way from TH, hard in the morning, but we put snowshoes on maybe 1 mile in. Post holing in snowshoes nightmare in the late afternoon in the trees (nice corn in the basin except around the willows). Ideal conditions on the South Face, but there is a bergschrund like feature about 1/3 to 1/2 way up, I think it was just past the gendarme (sorry didn't record exact location). We were able to climb up and over, it was solid enough, but as things continue to melt this could get larger. We also noticed a small slide to climbers left from the base of the start of the couloir. Had lovely 50-60mph winds at the top. Descended via the std rte for the upper part and cut back over to the base of couloir and snowshoed out. |
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5/4/2024 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 5/5/2024, By: Summitsnacks Info: Summited yesterday 5/4. We planned on the Columbia traverse but weather rolled in so we bailed. The snow is bad all the way to the basin, hard pack in the morning and a postholing in snowshoes nightmare in the afternoon. The rest of the climb was good! Used microspikes, snowshoes and crampons. |
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4/25/2024 Route: South Face Posted On: 4/25/2024, By: jmanner Info: Face is still quite fat. Skiable from the summit, today it didnt warm above 14,000 at 10:20 am when I skied down. Lots of options for getting from the summit to the basin. Good coverage from the summit to ~.5 mile past the summer trailhead. |
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4/21/2024 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 4/21/2024, By: Christensenje Info: South Face is very in right now. Parked 1.4 miles down road at lower trailhead. Intermittent snow fields that would not work to drive yet. Continuous snow about .75 miles from summer trailhead. Skis on from the trailhead the entire time up and down the valley. |
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2/24/2024 Route: Frenchman’s Creek Posted On: 2/25/2024, By: wintersage Info: Last Saturday (2/17), we attempted Harvard via Frenchmans creek and broke trail up to 11400ft. Waist deep snow slowed us down to a crawl and prevented us from making our summit window so we decided to turn back. We couldnt let this solid trench go to waste so went back yesterday (2/24) and completed the trench, however, there was still quite a bit of trail breaking left. We stashed snowshoes at the base of UN 13,374 where it intersects Frenchmans creek and we gained the ridge from there. On our way back we skirted this section since the slopes were not loaded. Despite the wind, the upper ridge had a lot of deep snow which made parts of the scramble kind of challenging. We summited at around 3pm and we decided to stick to the ridge proper on the way back; we found it easier to downclimb the snowy sections with an ice axe and microspikes. This was a very long day, even with our existing trench. Overall, it took us 19.5hrs but some of that was due to addressing gear failure. |
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10/26/2023 Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse Posted On: 10/26/2023, By: Steep Slabs Info: The traverse has snow on it. I wouldn't say a lot but certainly enough to further complicate a route that is already very difficult even in the best of conditions. |
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10/21/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 10/22/2023, By: brchristensen Info: Trail is in great shape, very well maintained. Plan on a slow and steep last mile to the summit. Near summer conditions, very infrequent snow and ice. Traction not needed. |
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10/21/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 10/21/2023, By: stimko Info: As mentioned in a previous trip report, the warm weather has melted most of the snow//ice down low. No need for traction in the current conditions. A couple small ice patches remain that you can easily walk around; still some mud where the ice has melted. There is barely any snow up high; the few existing patches are easy to navigate. Excellent late October conditions! |
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10/17/2023 Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse Posted On: 10/20/2023, By: Jajohnson11 Info: Snow in the forest to start is frozen in the AM and will slow you down a bit but nothing serious. Dry trail once you leave the forest and all the way to Harvard. Traverse is dry until you contour pt 13,497 at which you will be postholing. You'll see our knee deep footsteps hopefully they make life easier. The descent down to 12,800 is no issue, nor is getting back to the base of the ridge. The talus fields are a nightmare. We played a game of the snow is lava jumping on the tops of the rocks hoping they weren't loose. The talus is all filled in with snow so proceed with caution. I imagine this added about 1.5hrs to our day with how slow we needed to move. Brought traction but never used it because the snow is soft and you'll just be postholing! |
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10/17/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 10/18/2023, By: technicolorNH Info: No snow on the access road to Cottonwood Creek. A surprising amount of snow down low but it was melting fast on the 17th and it was pretty warm in Buena Vista on the 18th. Until it snows again spikes are optional. |
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10/7/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 10/8/2023, By: Catwhite Info: Minimal snow at around 13000 feet. Did not need spikes. Did not do the traverse to Columbia due to snow. |
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10/5/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 10/7/2023, By: Mazza Mountaineering Info: There was snow on the trail starting around 11,000 feet. It deepened starting around 12,000 feet and continued to get deeper all the way to the summit. The trail was difficult to follow on the upper part of the mountain and we were sinking into the snow up to our thighs in some areas. What should have been an easy climb turned into a difficult route finding and tiring event. I think the route will get easier as the snow is packed down by more climbers. The snow did start melting as we got back down to around 12,000 feet. Spikes and flotation would not have helped as the snow was new and very soft. The view of the surrounding area and peaks was amazing, and it was a beautiful sunny day! |
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9/24/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 9/25/2023, By: Abowser7 Info: Perfect conditions on a perfect day. Absolutely zero snow on the trail and summit. Saw some moose on the trail coming back down around 8:00am. Started at 2:30, summited at 6:00, back to the car at 9:15. Did not attempt Columbia because I lost motivation and wanted to get home and watch football. Get it while you can, it's supposed to be clear and snow free all week going into October. |
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9/22/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 9/22/2023, By: wildschut Info: Still summer conditionsGet your trips in before it ends. Ha. Did Harvard only. Wind was way too much for me to head over to Columbia. |
