Ice conditions in Long's Peak/Mt. Meeker Cirque

I've been thinking about getting up to RMNP and doing some routes in the Long's Peak/Mt. Meeker Cirque such as Alexander's Chimney, Dreamweaver, and Dark Star. I was wondering if anybody knew what the ice conditions were in the area and especially on Alexanders. What does this route typically look like in mid May? Any beta would be great, thanks.

A bit off from Alexanders but I did Martha on Sunday. It was more snow then ice and the ice was not fat at the crux. Dreamweaver and Alexander's seemed to connect but I could not see any ice from my side of the cirque...looked to be mostly snow. Since they are north facing I would expect thinner ice then then the south facing Martha. My best guess is it would take a week or two of good melt/freeze for them to firm up. So probably not this week with the predicted snow...maybe next week?

Anyone ?

Basecamping from the Boulderfield in a week or so.

Also,I have never ever seen a bear up there. How serious are the park folks about having to carry a bear canister? Are most overnighting climbers blowing it off?

Thanks.

Brad6260 wrote:Anyone ? Basecamping from the Boulderfield in a week or so. Also,I have never ever seen a bear up there. How serious are the park folks about having to carry a bear canister? Are most overnighting climbers blowing it off? Thanks.

I did Martha on Saturday. There was a lot of snow on the approach and floatation would have been nice. If it snows again, definitely bring snowshoes or approach skis. The narrow part of the Couloir was pretty nice AI climbing with good sticks and front pointing under a few inches of slough. The crux up high was about 15ft in duration, mostly vertical, and was kinda thin.

There are bear cannisters at each of the Boulder field campsites as I recall. It's still very much winter up there, so I'm not sure I'd worry about seeing a bear at that elevation. If you ask me, there's no reason to basecamp at the Boulderfield to do routes in the Long's/Meeker Cirque as you still have to walk around Mt. Lady Washington to get there from the Boulderfield. I always just sleep in my car in the parking lot.