3/14/2022 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 3/15/2022, By: csf-lhiver Info: Didn't summit. Hard packed snow all the way to tree line. Wore snowshoes but didn't need them (it's packed well) Lots of exposed rock with no snow to tackle the summit from the east side. Plan was to do the North Ridge. |
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3/13/2022 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 3/13/2022, By: swilson753 Info: Fantastic day on East Ridge of MLW. Solid bootpack from TH to Chasm Junction, then mixed rock hopping and consolidated snow up the ridge. No traction or floatation gear required, but poles were helpful on the descent. Be careful when glissading - the snow alternates between slush and ice. I saw a woman self-arrest this afternoon while butt-sliding. |
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3/3/2022 Route: Martha Couloir Posted On: 3/3/2022, By: lang_daly Info: Didn't need flotation the whole day, spikes and an ice axe would be a good idea for anyone heading to chasm lake. The Martha couloir has a lot of snow but little ice right now, going from steep snow pitches to rock cruxes. Descended the East ridge of MLW- any one heading up that way should be fine in just boots, maybe spikes. |
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2/28/2022 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 2/28/2022, By: Troyister Info: Great day and conditions. Trail in the trees in 100% snow, boot packed no post holing. Once above tree line to Chasm Lake Junction was snow and some wind blown bare ground. At Chasm Lake Junction went straight to the peak. Crossed 3-4 small snow fields and post holed maybe a dozen times. Snow was very sturdy. I did rock hop as probably 90 % of the way up. A couple tried going to Chasm Lake and turn around due to the trail not being booted in yet and didn't have ice axes. Trail to boulder field looked bare and snow covered in places, with almost no tracks. It was a great day, sunny, and only real wind was on the peak. At least 4 summited today that I saw. |
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1/30/2022 Route: North Ridge from Boulder Field Posted On: 1/31/2022, By: cloudkicker Info: Hard packed snow through the trees. Mixture of snow and bare rock to Chasm Junction. Mellow, low angle snowfield crossings to Granite Pass. Mostly bare rock through Boulder Field. We left the trail at the Boulder Field and made for the north ridge of Lady as this is BY FAR the easiest and safest way up MLW right now. There were some trapdoor features to watch out for getting to the ridge, and on the ridge itself, especially tucked between giant moraine boulders. With some caution and consideration it was fairly simple to pick a line up to and on the ridge that stayed mostly on top of the dry and solid boulders. The uppermost part of the ridge had no snow and was bare, grippy granite. Very fun class 2+ scrambling on this ridge. I didn't get a good look at a route up the east ridge from Chasm Junction, but that route sucks anyway so don't do it. Better to add a couple easy trail miles and then gain the north ridge. We brought, but did not use or need, traction or floatation. |
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1/23/2022 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 1/23/2022, By: ScottLovesRMNP Info: Easy boot track all the way to Chasm Junction. I headed directly up the steep east ridge over the boulders, and it worked well (and offered some wind protection) until I got caught in some deeper trap-door snow between larger boulders about 200-feet from the top. I carefully worked myself to the west ridge at which point the snow situation improved dramatically as the wind picked up dramatically! For the descent, I followed the west ridge down towards the Boulderfield and Granite Pass, then due to strong wind, I headed down into Jim's Grove basin below Battle Mountain. I rejoined the standard trail 2.5 miles from the Longs Peak Ranger Station and had an easy stroll down from there. Brought snowshoes and spikes. Never used the snowshoes, and I put on the spikes for some icy sections on the way down from Granite Pass. Relatively nice for a winter day, but this still wasn't an "easy" outing, especially the trip down, with all the blowing snow. |
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11/15/2021 Route: North Slopes Posted On: 11/15/2021, By: CoHi591 Info: Pretty dry up there. There was a thin layer of packed snow on the trail starting at the first creek crossing, but I didn't feel the need to put on spikes. Mostly dry at and above treeline, all snow is avoidable or inconsequential. Pics in a little bit of the surrounding area. |
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11/13/2021 Route: Marthas Posted On: 11/16/2021, By: astranko Info: Very much not in. Thin snow, with less than 6" in most locations over slabs. Had to dry tool most of it. The East Ridge is fine. Thin snow-pockets between talus. Normal for winter for MLW. |
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6/6/2021 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 6/6/2021, By: shapovalovm Info: Started at 5:40am via direct east face. Snow is packed and supportive until about 12300 and then I started postholing. Not too much, but enough to scoop some snow and make my boots wet. Don't be a smartass like me and don't ignore advice from a previous report, which recommends taking Longs Peak trail to the north ridge and just going up from there. It has less snow and is less steep. Having summited at around 8:30 I started going back via north ridge, but halfway turned right (east) and just plunge-stepped all the way down. The snow was just in the right condition. Arrived at parking at around 10:30. |
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6/5/2021 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 6/5/2021, By: soundchaser2112 Info: There's still a lot of snow on the Longs Peak Trail but it's well packed and supportive below treeline and postholing wasn't an issue even with the slushy snow in the late morning. I ascended the direct east face of Mt Lady Washington and postholed the whole way up. I descended the less steep north face route which is much drier so more rock-hopping, less postholing, a much more pleasant experience. It adds on a couple miles but I highly recommend the north route over the direct east route. Snowshoes not necessary, I just wore spikes. |
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4/10/2021 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 4/10/2021, By: Emilygrippin Info: Started at the Longs Peak Trailhead around 5:45AM, we hiked with boots only until the Chasm Lake Junction to cross some snowfields. The trail itself was a mixture of snow and exposed grass/rocks. Hiked until just before the boulderfield, then began our ascent. We did not stick around long on the summit because the wind was crazy! In fact, the wind was ruthless the entire hike until we reached the Jim's Grove Trail intersection on the return trip, then the wind ceased entirely. We saw a few other hikers going toward the keyhole and to Chasm Lake, but other than that there was not much foot traffic. Brought snow shoes but no floatation was needed. Happy hiking! |
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3/30/2021 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 3/30/2021, By: Jennanney82 Info: Packed trail all the way out of the woods and mostly windswept straight up Martha. Did not need or use flotation. Spikes could have been helpful in the early morning but we just booted it. Beautiful day-very windy at the start but she calmed down for us as we descended. Saw 3 other people going to the lake on our descent. Also, who's proud of me for finally posting a conditions report?!;) |
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3/6/2021 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 3/6/2021, By: jbealer Info: No snowshoes used, spikes all day. Fresh snow made boulder hopping troublesome, and slowed the pace to the summit. Blue bird day but was hit with wind on the summit until we got down the saddle. Not a great trail back to the bathrooms, soft snow, not packed but we made it work. Was a great day out for winter. |
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2/23/2021 Route: From Longs Peak ranger station Posted On: 2/23/2021, By: colin j Info: Put on snowshoes near 9800' and took them off near treeline; about 90% of the trail would have been fine without but the other 10% consisted of some gnarly postholes. Trail to Chasm junction and the east ridge to the summit are mostly windswept. Super windy going up but seemed to calm down in afternoon; I'm thankful for the large boulders found along the trail. |
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1/24/2021 Route: Camel Gulley Posted On: 1/25/2021, By: Hsbromley Info: Can't say I'd recommend this route in summer or winter, save for the beautiful views of the diamond on Long's. Booted from TH, donned spikes/axe from snowfields before Chasm lake to base of camel gulley. Used axe/crampons through the gulley; 100% needed. Snow was varied. Postholing/looser snow and solid snow bordering on ice were both encountered with mixed snow/rock alternatives off to the right at times. Once above the gulley to the camel rock on the ridge, we used spikes. Axes were overkill, but I kept mine handy. Snow was loose, but we tried to keep it on the rocks. West ridge to summit was dry. Descending the east face of MLW was the worst. New snow this week may make all this moot. |
