Snowmass Mountain

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 7/9/2025, By: johnfegy
Info: Climbed the West Slope today. Started all the way in Marble at 4:00 am and hiked the 7 miles to the Lead King trailhead along the lower Crystal Mill road. The hike from Lead King to Geneva Lake is a bit overgrown in places but fine. The ascent up the slopes was nearly snow-free and I was able to avoid any that was hanging around. I went up on the right side of the gully making things a bit slow/tricky. On the descent I went on the left side and there is a cairned path for a lot of it that was much easier. The long hike back to Marble was hot. On a personal note....this was my last 14er and I had the mountain to myself! (58/58) 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/9/2025, By: GSODJA
Info: Started at 2:30am from lake. No significant snow until @ 13k. We took the alternate direct rt. up and used crampons and ice axe. No snow on the ridge. Took standard ridge rt. down. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/9/2025, By: chadahooche_
Info: One day ascent of Snowmass after failing it a month and a half ago. Used microspikes and ice axe to gain the steep pitch on the standard route. Took direct route down after the summit - wished I would've just took that one up! Video with conditions, etc here: https://youtu.be/OkzeYwiPcyw 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 7/1/2025, By: Thighs
Info: The route is 95% summer conditions with avoidable snow the entire time. After the green patch my group called The Oasis, we stuck to the left as the route tells you, grabbed the middle rib. Instead of heading back left to grab the summit ridge, we veered right to grab the other ridge directly to the summit from there. The green grassy patch "Oasis" is flowing consistently with water which made it very slippery. Otherwise good to go. No axe, crampons, or microspikes needed. Everything rock-wise is loose and gross and icky so take extra care. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/30/2025, By: Ryanmdunn1
Info: My friend and I left the TH at 1:00 am. Reached the log jam at 3:30 after walking the gentle trail at the beginning. Going around the lake in the dark, there was a trail split that was very tough to recognize. There was a point where going straight led close to the shore, but there was a much easier trail up to the left. Be careful at junctions to avoid bushwhacking. We made it to the snowmass around 6:30, and it was still nicely frozen and made for easy climbing. I had an ice axe and micro spikes, but crampons would have been better. Summited at 8:30 and dropped back in to glissade down by 9:00. By that time, the snow was melting, and it was wet and much looser. Would have made for difficult climbing, but it was great for the glissade down. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/30/2025, By: ccherry
Info: 11k - 12k: Willows/Stream: A faint trail on climber's right of the stream through the willows avoids significant loose dirt and rock. It's easy to miss this in the dark and accidentally climb the loose terrain on climber's left, which is possible (us and others did it) but not fun. Stream Crossing: Cross around the fork where the stream widens and the slope flattens for safety. Avoid the cairned crossing ~50-100 feet higher, at least while the flow remains strong this early in the season. The cairned spot crosses a narrow, steep section where a slip would be high consequence. Snow Conditions: Continuous snow begins around 12,300'. Expect rough, uneven snow surfaces covered in ridges and divots roughly 1-2 feet wide and 2-4 feet deep. Snow was getting soft by 9am, and these ridges made glissading more difficult (though there is a track to follow). Gully Transition (~13,500'): We took the standard route to climber's left, but the steep snow on the right may be preferable while it's still in for a few reasons: Bergschrund Hazard: Where the route leaves the snow near the gully, be cautious of a bergschrund (crevasse-like crack) 5-10 feet deep. Loose Rock & Rockfall: This transition area and the gully itself features loose rock. Another party experienced a rockfall event here during descent, resulting in a broken ankle that required a successful evacuation. Exercise extreme caution in this zone. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/29/2025, By: goslenao
Info: Didn't have a permit so I camped just after the log jam. There were 2-3 nice spots just into the trees, up the hill from the creek, before the big switchback. Honestly didn't mind not having to carry a heavy pack up to the lake. Left camp at 2:15am and was on the summit at 6:15am. Beautiful sunrise! Just hiking boots to about 13,000. Microspikes worked fine for me, I just aimed a little farther left of the standard arrow on the route description and went basically right up the ridge where I thought it seemed the least steep. Had an axe but only used it a little while glissading. Worst part of the day was going up and especially down the loose scree on the side of the boulder field. Maybe there's a better line to be had but I feel like I crossed the stream in the right spot. Overall, beautiful area but quite a long hike! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/25/2025, By: Ecravy
Info: Ice axe and crampons needed 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/22/2025, By: maylemay1
Info: Got a 2:40 am start from the lake. We found the trail around the lake to be surprisingly annoying. A bit difficult to follow and you are constantly smacked in the face by the willows. Boulder field on the way up wasn't bad but felt like a slog on the way down. We crossed the stream at a spot that looked good and had to bushwhack some more willows to hit the trail on the other side but it wasn't too bad. We didn't see the cairn'd crossing until the daylight on the way down but chose to cross where we did in the morning again anyway since it looked better. The snow was nice and firm on the way up, much to my relief (my watch never read under 55 degrees in the tent). We took the direct route up which was fun, although a bit steep at the top. Not too much of a problem for my friends with crampons + axe but was a bit exciting for myself with microspikes + 2 axes. I was glad I brought the 2nd axe. We summited around 6:30 and made it back to the lake about 10:30. We took the standard route down to avoid the steep snow and had a nice glissade. The hike out from the lake was quite a slog after already going for so many hours. Just over 13 hours total from leaving camp to getting back to the car. On a side note, we saw search and rescue coming up on our way out and someone was air lifted off the mountain. Always a good reminder of how dangerous the mountains can be. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/21/2025, By: mtn14
Info: LOG JAM: The crossable portion of the jam seems to have shifted downstream relative to the photos in the route description. It was definately passable, but required testing the logs for a couple rollers and several dippers, but happy to have some handholds! I brought water shoes as a plan B, but were not needed at all; also thought of bringing snow shoes, but glad I didn't because they would have been more trouble than help. // STREAM CROSSING (just below snowfield): I found 3-4 spots that appeared to be crossing points, but only one was low risk (mainly due to slime/moisture buildup on the other spots), and it was different that the well-marked spot with Carins; I suspect this, like the log jam, is due to seasonal runoff levels. // SNOWFIELD ENTRANCE: Stepped on firm, solid snow around 5:30a, and got to the ridge crest about 6:45a, which was just in time, IMO, because the final switchback was turning mash potatoey. Post-holed only a dozen-or-so steps on the way up. // SNOWFIELD EXIT: Began glissading around 9:30a, stepped off around 10a, and was post-holing about 10% of the portions I had to walk. Side note: I recommend you get experience glissading before taking on Snowmass - talk about extreme learning curve! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/19/2025, By: kpritch238
Info: One of my favorite 14ers yet. Camped at snowmass lake, the log jam there was no issue. Left camp 2:30 and on summit by sunrise due to the lucky overnight freeze. With the snow I definitely agree w beta that snow made it easier, so I’d go now rather than later. Glissaded about 1.5k vertical and walked the rest back to camp. Watch for loose rocks between the lake and snow, we saw a few get knocked down the trail. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/16/2025, By: tbedient
Info: A few helpful updates. No snow to lake. Going around the lake is some patchy snow that’s frustrating. No flotation needed at all so don’t bring snow shoes. Big pointer is to make sure when you get around the lake you cross the creek low enough. In the dark it is easy to go too high and the scree gets very steep and loose and you can’t go any further. Download the trail map from this site and in airplane mode it shows you live where you are on the trail and use it often to stay on trail. After the creek crossing its clear trail to the snow field and then it’s all snow to the ridge. Used micro spikes to the last couple hundred feet and feel you really need crampons when it’s early and hard still. If later in the day when it’s soft you can kick step but it’s steep to the ridge. Once on the ridge there is a ways to go. Stay ON the ridge the whole way. There is some exposure but the rock if super solid and it’s much safer and easier. Resist the urge to skirt it down low. Much more dangerous. And yes coming down jump off the ridge at various points and have a fun slide. Even though we came down late morning there was no significant post holing when at the edge of the snow field. Hard hard day. If you can camp at the lake after the climb. Hiking out would have been physically very hard. Enjoy- Tim 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/8/2025, By: masonzastrow
Info: Sure sounds like one day made a huge difference in conditions! We started from the lake at 3 and also immediately encountered some very frustrating snow. It seemed like most parties kept boots on here in the morning, myself included. The snow on the scree slope is the way to go: one party today kept going up on rocks and was carelessly knocking down suitcase sized boulders at a group putting on crampons. That was really frustrating. From the snow on the scree field to the summit, most parties kept crampons on the whole time. One group summited with only micro spikes. The ridge scramble is in great shape, mixed snow and rock climbing but not as loose as I expected given previous reports. Every party today also used the slot described in yesterday's post to gain the ridge, I have attached a few pictures. Glissading down was amazing. Worst part of the day was the stretch traversing around the lake on the way down. We brought snowshoes and didn't put them on all day because we imagined we'd be sinking just as bad. There were enough dry or dry-ish camp spots for all campers at the lake, which seemed like more than the 13 parties which had reservations... hmmmm. Overall great conditions. Special shoutout to Michael for rescuing a snowshoe that fell off my pack while glissading. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/8/2025, By: shaines90
Info: Lake is totally melted out now and the creek is raging. Started from the lake at 3am, almost immediately hit nearly-constant snow cover which required snowshoes to progress safely and in a reasonable timeframe. Boulder field is totally dry, the snow gully to the right was filled in and firm enough for us to switch to crampons and ascend directly to avoid the loose rock on the talus slope. The snowmass itself was about 6 inches of fresh powder over a wet layer above a firmer layer, so avalanche danger will continue to be a concern at multiple points. We took a variation on the direct route, going one gap to the left through a small window and helping each other put our packs through first. The ridge itself was also covered in fresh powder above a layer of firmer snow and ice; we wore crampons all the way to the summit, and it got pretty spicy at points with some tougher class 3 moves required to stay in safer terrain. With the newer snow, I would not feel safe following the lower, standard route along the ridge right now. Summited about 9am, worked back down the snowmass being wary of triggering anything - plenty of loose wet avalanches all across the top of the basin after about 6:30 kept it spooky. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/1/2025, By: haho3278
Info: Climbed via east slopes route on 5/31. Start early enough to get to the ridge by the time the sun is rising, the snow conditions deteriorated rapidly after sunrise.