6/25/2011 Route: West Ridge from Echo Lake Posted On: 6/26/2011, By: heatherfrazier7 Info: Once we came up from Guanella Pass to just below Mt. Spalding, the conditions along the way to the peak of Mt. Evans were not too bad. Once we came in view of Abyss Lake there were about 3-4 small patches of snow, about 10 yards or so each, that we had to hike across on the way to summit Mt. Evans along the rocky terrain. That was a little hairy but we did ok. We took the same route back so we hit up the snowy patches again with some caution. |
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6/18/2011 Route: Posted On: 6/19/2011, By: hberry Info: I skied the face (the left side if looking at it from the summit lake parking lot) on Saturday - the snow starts about 200 or so feet below the ridge going to the summit. It is probably easiest to park at the Summit lake lot and hit from there - a car shuttle would be slow as you have to do a good amount of hiking from the Summit parking lot to the area where you can ski. You can easily get a few laps in in a day - and there is a great boot pack up to the top of the snow. |
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6/18/2011 Route: Posted On: 6/20/2011, By: sheller Info: Took my young boys up the Northeast face from Summit lake. There was very little snow and most of it is avoidable. You won‘t need snowshoes, etc. There is still some snow on the ridge between Spalding and Evans. |
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6/4/2011 Route: North Face Moderate Posted On: 6/5/2011, By: realhillboarding Info: The report from 6/3 said it was still transitioning, but we got a good freeze overnight and the majority of the route is now spring corn, although there were a few pockets of winter snow remaining. Snow is patchy between summit lake and the upper bowl, so leave the skins at home, its boots at the beginning and crampons the rest of the way. Sun hit the upper portion of the route around 7:15, but it stayed solid and wasn‘t ready for skiing until 10:00. The snow isn‘t continuous from the saddle and requires about a 50-100‘ downclimb (probably could billy-goat it, but i chose to keep my gear in good condition), and it definitely is not in from the summit. |
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6/3/2011 Route: North Face Moderate Posted On: 6/3/2011, By: Nelson Info: I felt I could start later because this is North facing and a short climb. WRONG! I started at 6:15 am. The first 1000 ft. or so was on very firm snow and things went well. As soon as the sun started to hit it the snow was soft and punchy ie the thin slab crust was not supporting my weight. I was at about 13,800 or so and was able to stay close to the rocks and only had a little way to go to get to the ridge so I stuck with it. I had hoped to ski it but decided against it because the snow was so soft. I summitted at 7:45 and descended via the North East slope. This was very good skiing (corn) and salvaged the ski descent for me. Lessons: The snow here is NOT consolidated into spring conditions, Start Early! |
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5/28/2011 Route: West Ridge from Guanella Pass Posted On: 6/3/2011, By: kimmykazu Info: So after we tried to head up Gray‘s/Torrey and were not able to access the road, we headed over to Evans. I was not going to let my day be ruined by some snow, in regard to a hike. So we got a bit of a late start. We headed up Spaulding and were able to make it up the front(South) side. The snow was still crunchy and perfect. As we headed up over to look down at the lake, we could see Long‘s, Bierdstadt, Gray‘s and Torrey. What a view! As we headed over to the traverse to Evans, the snow was slushy and made the trek exhausting. "Post holing" will wear you out. We decided to jump down the back road off Evans since the winds did pick up. You should start earlier than we did and you‘ll be fine! |
