Mt. Sneffels

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/13/2021, By: skeater912
Info: A big pile of poorly conglomerated rocks from bottom to nearly the top - but tons of fun. Road up to the outhouses is manageable by anyone with all wheel drive and any sort of clearance - and anyone who is bold without those things. After that, jeeps, trucks, and larger SUVs can get further but not without some effort. We had a beautiful day on Sneffels, probably saw 30 other people throughout the day. Lots of traffic over Blue Lakes Pass as well. On the scree slope up to lavender Col, I recommend going up on the left hand side (climbers left, when going up), farther than you think you should - the rock is more stable. The upper gulley is really pick your own line, not a ton better than the rest - coming down that gulley, the left hand side was fairly friendly. I'm 50/50 on if I would wear a helmet should I do this route again. With the fairly substantial traffic and the loose (cannot express loose enough) rock, it is definitely not a bad idea. Shout out to the 6 & 9 year olds that we met on top and saw on the way down (and their parents) - cooler than I was at 6 or 9, thats for sure. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/2/2021, By: cvbuffs
Info: Summited Mt. Sneffels via the SW ridge and descended down the standard route. Road up to the outhouse trailhead is a bit tough, especially right after the final turnoff. The roughest section is shortly after the turn at Governor's Junction so just get a little momentum and you should be fine. Beginning the trail is basically a walk up the rest of the road until reaching the upper trailhead. There were some spot still holding water along the road but they were easy to avoid. Once at the upper trailhead it is a quick walk to the split to start heading up Blue Lakes Pass. Put away the trekking poles and donned the helmet as I started up the ridge. I was expecting this to be a bit more like Mt. Lindsey's ridge, but it was a bit different and the route finding got a bit challenging near the Notch section. Thankfully there was another couple going up this route as well and they were kind enough to allow me to tag along with them for the remaining climb to the summit (thank you again Isaac and Nicole!) The crux, IMO, was the gully in picture 27 leading to the kissing camels formation. Once through there it was pretty straightforward to the top. Descended via the standard route to save some time. Not coming up this way we missed the V notch and started heading down too early. We realized this early enough and another group that had summited around the same time by the standard route was able to help redirect us back up to the right exit after a short climb back up. V notch could be a little tricky for shorter people so allow your taller friends to go first and help spot for anyone else. After the V notch, stick to the left side of the gully where the rock is solid until right near the end where you should transition over to the righthand side before reaching the saddle. Stick to the right side as much as you can on the decent down the main slope as the rock is much more solid and stable. Both groups that were passed who had ascended up the slope both confirmed how loose the lefthand side of the slope was (climber's right if you're looking up the on the ascent.) Another couple was stuck in the bad side on the way down and didn't look like they were having much fun. But staying right will allow you a funnish scramble down and get you to more solid trail quickly and safely. From the bottom of the slope it is a pretty quick walk back to the outhouse parking area. Passed quite a few jeeps and ATVs on the way down so just be aware and give way. Just a touch over 5 hours RT. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 8/21/2021, By: RyGuy
Info: Did the standard route early this morning for a Sunrise summit. There was still a few inches of snow from the day before above about 13,500. We also got a bit of fresh snow just after sunrise today along with some rime ice on the summit rocks. Probably will be all melted out in the next day or two. Micro spikes were very helpful on the descent with all the ice/frozen ground. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 8/12/2021, By: Msbaker
Info: Drove to the end of the 2WD road and parked at the road juncture with governors basin road. From there it was about .8 miles to the outhouse and the road had a few nasty spots which I didn't want to navigate in the dark. Very straightforward hike. Some loose rock on the first scree field past the actual trailhead so just hang left. Once you get to the gully, stick to the right. V notch wasn't bad at all. I would take a mental note of this area once you get past for your descent though. I went down too far as someone had placed a cairn (in the wrong spot) and had to gain 75 feet or so to find it coming down. Beautiful views and far less smoky than Saturday. From the juncture at the governors basin road it was only 8 miles round trip. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/8/2021, By: longlevi823
Info: Successful summit via Southwest Ridge. Started from the 2WD trailhead around 5AM. The smoke was very bad that morning/day which unfortunately damped the otherwise beautiful views and made breathing a bit harder. The ridge is pretty straight forward and looking at the pics provided here helped with navigation. I was by myself but bumped into 3 other groups of 2 so tagged along with them to the top. Climbing up the section in photo #25 was a little odd cause of some wet rock, but otherwise a smooth sailing climb. The descent however.... that was a mess. Fell at least 5 times and saw a large rock kick up enough speed like it was getting ready to breach the walls of Minas Tirith. Luckily it didn't hit anyone but it was pretty close to doing so, if you're gonna just do the South Slopes still bring a helmet. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/23/2021, By: kalestew
Info: The SW ridge is totally dry, no snow left anywhere along the climb. Cairns have fallen but the route is still in great shape. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/16/2021, By: Alpinefroggy
Info: Route is in summer conditions. Snow has melted and you no longer need traction in the upper gully. Took and did not use an ax or spikes. Notch is a lot harder than I expected. But I did it fine. Feels stiff class 3 or class 4. Ass worked better than facing the notch. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/9/2021, By: cougar
Info: Full summer conditions, no snow. Took gnome left at blue lakes pass to top 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/3/2021, By: BarneyHobbes
Info: There's still ice in the column before the V notch. We were there early so it was hard ice. I was glad we had microspikes and ice axes. On our way down snow was soft enough that you could kick step your way up, esp along the right side of the column (along the rock). But if you have spikes, bring them. Some people turned around because without any traction, it can seem very dicey. Other than that, summit and the scree slope is free of snow. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/3/2021, By: kimbuk2
Info: Parked at 11,300~ at the outhouses, higher clearance & 4wd could drive further. Road is rocky, but in summer conditions, with some avoidable water/streams. Once at the trail, it's easy to follow but mostly loose rock/shale until you get to the gully. In the early morning (6~), mostly ice packed with some sections of slushier snow. Microspikes, ice axe, and helmet recommended if you want to err on the side of caution. At the top of the gully, left towards the notch is completely clear of snow. Past the sketchy notch, easy scrambling to the summit (7:30-8~). Gear (women's): Trail runners (La Sportiva Mutants), Patagonia lightweight Capilene, Fjallraven Abisko sun hoodie, Fjallraven Abisko trekking tights, Patagonia R1 layer, beanie, micro spikes, mid/light winter gloves, helmet, ice axe 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/5/2021, By: JaredJohnson
Info: Southwest Ridge was completely dry for us. Left blue lakes pass 10:20a and reached the summit 12:30 or 1p, descended south slopes route which others accurately report still has a good section of snow. We had axe, spikes and crampons all packed and never came close to taking them out on the southwest ridge route. Used spikes and poles going down the junky afternoon snow and loose dirt on descent of the South Slopes route. Spikes were also really helpful for the dirt on both sides of the blue lakes pass approach, especially descending them. We descended both sides of that pass two days in a row, first without traction and then with traction and we're never going to return to that pass without traction it was so much better. There was snow right up near some parts of the SW Ridge route; it's possible with a new dusting, or with early morning freeze of snowmelt, or with line choices that descend a little lower, someone could need spikes. Might as well pack them since they're so useful all over the rest of the mountain where you could find yourself! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/6/2021, By: sayornis_lacnm
Info: Route is mostly snow-free. The approach through the final colouir has about 200' of snow/ice to cross, this is in the shade most of the day so unlikely to melt soon. Alternative is to climb out of the coulouir on the south side and summit via scramble up that slope, as many others have done. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/1/2021, By: GS4321
Info: Started from the 2WD TH at 6am. Got to Blue Lakes Pass by 8am. Followed the mostly faint climbers trail without too much trouble. The gully after the drop around the spire still has snow. At around 8.30am today, there were a few inches of soft snow on a hard frozen base. I was able to kick steps (w/ mountaineering boots), using my ice axe to self-belay. Crampons would have been even safer. I'd guess microspikes would have been near useless due to the depth of the soft layer on top. Made it to the top around 9.10am and shared the summit only with the resident marmot for 30min of refueling and picture taking. With dark clouds moving in, I descended the standard route where I ran into two parties on their way up - one of which pointed me very helpfully towards the right gully (with the famous notch) that I might otherwise have missed. The snow field starts ABOVE where one would take a turn towards the notch on the way up so the South route technically doesn't have snow on it anymore. The scree field was easy to boot-ski down without displacing loose rocks as it was pretty moist. Glad to have brought real boots, a helmet and an ice axe. Crampons were extra insurance. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/26/2021, By: zzeles
Info: Started from 11,800 ft (just below the 4x4 trailhead) around 6:10am and summited by 8:22am and were at the car around 10:30am. It snowed on the peak the night before so the rocks were dusted in ice and very wet, making the route a bit more challenging than normal. There's one section near the top of the gully and notch that is covered in snow (see pic). You can edge to the left of it but will want at least an axe/spikes and ideally crampons as it's very icy. This is really the only spot that you need them for though. Route finding was really difficult in part due to the heavy fog that was present immediately after passing the Blue Lakes sign but in general it's very easy to get lost and wind up in dangerous, loose talus screes so highly recommend monitoring the GPX file and images consistently. We took a wrong turn on the way down that led us to one of these but fortunately were able to self correct early on. Most at summit took the standard route but the SW ridge is in pretty good shape aside from the one blip mentioned above! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/27/2021, By: cisnerosab
Info: Started from the 2WD area at 6:20am. Reached the top, high clearance 4WD TH at 7:30. Summitted by 9. Trail was icy from the start due to overnight freeze and maybe 1" of snow. This actually made the gully easier, because the dirt didn't move as I was hiking up. The col had longstanding snow, which was completely frozen on my way up around 8:30 I'd guess. Luckily, there are steps kicked into the right side and I was able to make it up with microspikes and an axe. The class 3 move through the V notch wasn't so bad, but the exposure is definitely there. Coming down, the snow started to warm up so the spikes and axe did a better job - still wasn't warm enough to heel step all the way down the col. The gully also softened up quite a bit so I kept my spikes on as I made my way down the wet, rocky soil. Met some nice folks on the summit, and many more hopefuls on my way down. This hike is definitely not summer conditions yet - pack appropriately!