Mt. Sneffels Trip Report 05/01/2023

Report Type	Mini
Peak(s)	Mt. Sneffels - 14,155 feet
Date Posted	05/01/2023
Modified	05/02/2023
Date Climbed	04/30/2023
Author	dedicateddave

Sneffels - Snake Couloir
Started at 3am at the weehawken trailhead. Hardtail mountain biked up 4 miles and 1900feet on dry roads as high as we could (to the Revenue-Virginus mine). Stashed bikes, transitioned to skis at 5am. Skinned up and had good conditions. Was able to skin up without ski crampons all the way to the saddle/bottom of lavender col. Good sporty scramble up to summit ridge. Summited at about 9:45am. Rappelled down using preset sling anchors using 60m rope. (Probably down-climbable if necessary.) Skied the snake with good soft snow conditions up high, a little icy just above the crux/dogleg, and then skier's choice corn or pow under the crux depending on which side you ski. Only mild sloughing up high and easy to manage. Skied far right and transitioned at 11:15am. Snow was warming quickly and the ascent of the eastside of lavender col saddle wrapped at 12:45pm. I would not have wanted to be on that slope any later than 1pm in those temperatures (thankfully, we even had 20% cloud cover on that slope, which helped our cause). Transitioned, and skied nice butter back down the west side of the lower lavender col apron. Skied/double-poled all the way back to Bikes. Transitioned. High-fived. Ripped the bikes all the way back down to weehawken trailhead and ended at 3pm. Roundtrip: 12hours car to car. 17 miles. 7200 vertical feet. Safety: I will include photo of mountain forecast for this day. If the weather is similar, I would not recommend being on that lavender col east slope any later than 1pm. It was getting wet and I would not recommend ascending in those conditions. We saw some wet slide activity in surrounding SE facing slopes, but did not experience any slide ourselves. Safety: the road from revenue mine back down to weehawken trail was strewn with mega-icefall and large rockfall. Under no circumstances should you linger on this road in the afternoon, as we had to dismount our bikes and walk over 2 large deposits of ice and rock, each easily weighing hundreds, if not thousands of pounds. GAIA Track: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/25091aac9acc40f8d127c578ae6c78ec/?layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Sneffels - Snake Couloir

Started at 3am at the weehawken trailhead. Hardtail mountain biked up 4 miles and 1900feet on dry roads as high as we could (to the Revenue-Virginus mine). Stashed bikes, transitioned to skis at 5am. Skinned up and had good conditions. Was able to skin up without ski crampons all the way to the saddle/bottom of lavender col. Good sporty scramble up to summit ridge. Summited at about 9:45am.

Rappelled down using preset sling anchors using 60m rope. (Probably down-climbable if necessary.) Skied the snake with good soft snow conditions up high, a little icy just above the crux/dogleg, and then skier's choice corn or pow under the crux depending on which side you ski. Only mild sloughing up high and easy to manage. Skied far right and transitioned at 11:15am. Snow was warming quickly and the ascent of the eastside of lavender col saddle wrapped at 12:45pm. I would not have wanted to be on that slope any later than 1pm in those temperatures (thankfully, we even had 20% cloud cover on that slope, which helped our cause).

Transitioned, and skied nice butter back down the west side of the lower lavender col apron. Skied/double-poled all the way back to Bikes. Transitioned. High-fived. Ripped the bikes all the way back down to weehawken trailhead and ended at 3pm. Roundtrip: 12hours car to car. 17 miles. 7200 vertical feet.

Safety: I will include photo of mountain forecast for this day. If the weather is similar, I would not recommend being on that lavender col east slope any later than 1pm. It was getting wet and I would not recommend ascending in those conditions. We saw some wet slide activity in surrounding SE facing slopes, but did not experience any slide ourselves.

Safety: the road from revenue mine back down to weehawken trail was strewn with mega-icefall and large rockfall. Under no circumstances should you linger on this road in the afternoon, as we had to dismount our bikes and walk over 2 large deposits of ice and rock, each easily weighing hundreds, if not thousands of pounds.

GAIA Track: https://www.gaiagps.com/datasummary/track/25091aac9acc40f8d127c578ae6c78ec/?layer=GaiaTopoRasterFeet

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

BillMiddlebrook	Pics? 5/1/2023 2:55pm Any photos, we'd love to see the line
dedicateddave	Pics finally uploaded 5/1/2023 2:58pm Good timing, my photos were uploading as you requested pics ha
Marmot72	Helluva triathlon 5/2/2023 1:46pm Thats a stout trip! Mountain bike, scramble, ski- well done!!
Nobleman	Conditions in Couloir 5/3/2023 11:02am Thanks for the trip report, and nice job getting out! Were the conditions in the couloir getting wet during the day, or was it largely spared from getting too cooked? Aka, do you think it will it now be a total sheet of ice, or still skiable with relative enjoyment?
hikingboibus	Rad 5/9/2023 7:44am Fun running into yall up there, nice line -Ben
dedicateddave	Re: Conditions and Rad Ben 5/9/2023 2:12pm Conditions in the snake were quite nice. Very enjoyable for me up high in the snake and on the apron. A bit icy in the crux. Tough to say how much it's melted in the last 10 days, though. The aspect of the snake definitely helps to not get too baked, but it's been quite warm in that area. @Ben I realized that my trip report wasdidn't give you adequate props & thanks. Big shout out! I would've been too late if not for you graciously inviting us to rapp down using your rope.

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