3/11/2012 Route: 3 Elk Posted On: 3/14/2012, By: janetlightburn Info: With 2wd the last .8 miles of the road to the 3 Elk TH was not passable, which made my day a 12 mile close to a 12 mile day instead of a 10 mile day. Minimal snow to the 3 Elk turn off but after the next mile the snow got much deeper. No human tracks to follow but luckily there was an elk track to follow, where the snow was a little less loose than what was outside the elk track. Seems the elk knew where he was going because the track lead almost to treeline. After treeline there was windblown snow and tundra along Columbia‘s east ridge, and tons of false summits. It took me 4.5 hours to the summit. During the early morning ascent, the snow between 11500 and 12000 was frozen, but it got pretty soft on the way down and I probably should have stayed further north on the ridge to decrease the avalanche danger. Down safely though. |
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2/11/2012 Route: SE ridge Posted On: 2/12/2012, By: Yikes Info: Driveable to Harvard Lakes TH with SUV and some luck - deep snow. Trench is back in to treeline; snow depth varies from bare ground to 32". Snowshoes not needed once you get above the big hill at treeline. The ridge was mostly dry. Most of the snow on the ridge was crusty and supported weight. No evidence of any avy danger; the only questionable slope was the one at treeline and it didn't exhibit any signs of instability. |
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10/9/2011 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 10/10/2011, By: bhaydin Info: Very quiet day with near perfect conditions. Three Elk Trail has little snow (1-3 inches) until just below treeline. There is a well tracked trail regardless, so no troubles there. Climbing the headwall was pretty straightforward until just below the ridge. In the gully I climbed, there was at most 18" in the deepest parts, but nice and firm snow. The ridge is pretty windswept, but several areas are holding snow making boulder-hopping a little more precarious. Image 1 = Meadow looking at route; Image 2 = Gully view; Image 3= East Ridge from summit; Image 4 = Horn Fork Basin from summit (note Bear Lake) |
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9/24/2011 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 9/24/2011, By: sad2 Info: Hiked Columbia SE Ridge on Sat. 9/24. Only two short patches of snow along the route. Nice route if you like solitude. Not a good route to do on a windy day as you will be above treeline for 4-5 hours. |
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9/5/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 9/5/2011, By: carolyndeluca Info: We hiked this route on Sept. 2. The trail conditions up the gulch and on the shoulder were very poor. Erosion, loose rock and soil made the ascent very difficult. I would check out another route which might be preferable to this one. |
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8/11/2011 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 8/11/2011, By: stlhngntuf Info: No snow what so ever - dry through the forest along the lower ridge - this is a long, long, up, up route but worth it. there are no climb times for this route but took me 7 hrs. 40 minutes which includes 20 minutes at top. Read the information on staying low to eliminate elevation gain/loss but be careful and don‘t drop to low, especially on way back. |
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7/19/2011 Route: Harvard to Columbia Ridge Posted On: 7/20/2011, By: mrschaible Info: The Harvard to Columbia ridge route still has a great deal of snow. You will cross several snow fields on this route, but post holing was not a problem. Traction devices were not required as the snow was soft enough to get traction and the snow fields were not very steep so there is little exposure. I would expect the snow to be there for a very long time. Route finding is very difficult when you drop down into the back side of the ridge so really pay attention. There were very few cairns and only two sets of people tracks in the snow that were very old. |
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7/19/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 7/20/2011, By: mrschaible Info: Route is snow free except for one small patch at the base of the slope that can easily be crossed (or circumvented)with no postholing or traction devices required. The slope has a great deal of loose rock and dirt so the climb can be a challenge and the descent is really exciting! |
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6/11/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 6/12/2011, By: gprandall Info: I climbed Mount Columbia on Saturday, June 11. Aside from the low-angle lower portion of the gully on the west face, the west face itself is snow-free. You could avoid the really ugly scree/gravel portion of the gully by climbing the snow-field to the left (north) but you would probably want crampons and an ice ax if you were there early in the morning. There are several small snowfields along the summit ridge, but there‘s no need for crampons and an ice ax up there. The bottom line is that there is no necessity for crampons or an ice ax at this point to do the standard route on Columbia. |
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5/29/2011 Route: East Ridge from Three Elk Creek TH Posted On: 5/31/2011, By: Gene913 Info: Trail is clear but not entirely snow-free from TH to junction with Colorado Trail at 10,270. Continuous snow starts at 10,500 with very little possibility of locating established trail by sight. GPS was helpful but did not have snowshoes so it was posthole purgatory! The meadow at treeline was snow-free and a welcome relief from the post-holing in the trees. The ascent from the meadow to the headwall at 11,500 was mushy snow and more post-holing. The bench at the top of the headwall at 11,500 is snow-free but most everything above that is snow-covered. Downloaded some free open source pano stitching software to create the attached pano of the basin as viewed from 11,500. Saw no evidence of slide activity in the basin but maybe better trained eyes than mine may spot something in the pano. The wind was overwhelming at this point. Could not see a decent non-snow ascent route and knew that the winds only would get stronger on the ridge so I made the decision to turnaround since I had only a dog partner and no human partners. Did not see anyone else on the route that day and no evidence of anyone being there before me. Hope this is helpful for others considering this route in the near future. Image 2 shows snow-free top of the headwall at 11,500. Image 3 was taken from above the top of the headwall and looks down onto it. |
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3/19/2011 Route: Southwest Couloir Posted On: 3/22/2011, By: BillMiddlebrook Info: Continuous snow from below the trailhead all the way to 13,600' near the summit ridge. The summit ridge was mostly snow-covered except for the large, flat area just before the final pitch. The southwest couloir is full of snow and we exited the left (west) side of it near 12,300' and climbed the west side. The snow was wind-crusted and there were areas of deeper, blown-in snow along the edge of the couloir - due to the recent winds. We skied the entire couloir and found variable conditions and some areas of trap-crust over 6-12" of fresh, blown-in snow. |
