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2014 Colorado Snow Climbing Thread

Dan Vinson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2010 · Points: 40

How has Indian Peaks been?

I'm relatively new to snow/ice and want to start off mellow and work up from there. Any places to start are much appreciated!

ixf729 Rietz · · Boulder, CO · Joined Mar 2009 · Points: 25

Climbed Martha this Saturday. Good snow with ice on the last 3 steps. A really fun day!

Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974

Anybody been on or near Dragontail lately? Hoping to take the kids up there next weekend.

Eric Klammer · · Eagle, CO · Joined Oct 2012 · Points: 2,070

Went up Dragontail early Saturday. Fun but not great, as there were still quite a few sections of less than consolidated snow. Topped out a little before 7 and it was already getting pretty warm as well, get up it early!

Mark E Dixon · · Possunt, nec posse videntur · Joined Nov 2007 · Points: 974
Eric Klammer wrote:Went up Dragontail early Saturday. Fun but not great, as there were still quite a few sections of less than consolidated snow. Topped out a little before 7 and it was already getting pretty warm as well, get up it early!
Thanks! Hopefully next weekend will be colder.
Jason Maurer · · Colorado · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 790
Scott McMahon · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,425

Conditions are great in RMNP, but lots of late afternoon sliding going on.

GLD · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jan 2012 · Points: 83

Was up on E Ridge of Mt Bancroft and glissaded down between it and James around 3 PM on May 3. Snow would have been great to ski, maybe a little past its prime. We had cloud cover most of the morning though.

Jason Maurer · · Colorado · Joined Jun 2009 · Points: 790
Scott McMahon wrote:Conditions are great in RMNP, but lots of late afternoon sliding going on.
Yep, I think we were skiing by 11:30 and it was pretty heavy at that time. Didn't seem to get a good freeze up in the couloir, or it just heated up super fast.. Major Roller balls, one hit me in the chest and almost knocked the air out of me. Fun times!!

Climbing the upper section on Elevator Shaft.
Scott McMahon · · Boulder, CO · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 1,425

Same here on Saturday. "Almost" got out the skin glop. The Dream dome chute slid we think the day before we think. Still got some creamy turns in, but the upper half was filled with debris.

VRP · · Morrison, CO · Joined Jul 2013 · Points: 45

Climbed and skied Lamb's yesterday. Stayed firm with the cloud cover and wind for the climb. Skiing down around noon it had softened up and was really nice starting about half way down. Something like three parties on Martha's and a party on Alexander's but it looked pretty thin. Didn't see any tracks on upper Kiener's.

tim edinger · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 0

Has anyone been down in the Grenadiers this Spring. I am planning to climb Wham Ridge and Arrow peak on 14 June and I'm curious about the snow pack. Any information would be very helpful. Thank you!

Kevin Mckenzie · · Washington, ME · Joined Aug 2011 · Points: 21

Did Shooting Star on James Peak on Sunday. Pretty good. There was already a good boot pack, otherwise it would have been pretty rough with how deep and soft the snow was. There was some avy debris at the bottom, hard to tell how old it was but things were sliding a little around us. I would probably wait for things to settle a little more before going back.

Jason Killgore · · boulder, co · Joined Sep 2008 · Points: 165
J1. wrote: Yep, I think we were skiing by 11:30 and it was pretty heavy at that time. Didn't seem to get a good freeze up in the couloir, or it just heated up super fast.. Major Roller balls, one hit me in the chest and almost knocked the air out of me. Fun times!!
I have a pretty high tolerance for mediocre snow conditions when it comes to steep skiing, but it took very little deliberation to keep walking past the top of elevator and ski the smooth and mellow south face of hallet on Sunday. Freeze was very shallow even when we were on it earlier in the day. Gonna need a good reset storm to smooth out all that mank.
Eric Kramak · · Denver, Colorado · Joined May 2011 · Points: 45

Because no one wanted to go climb rock with me today I went ahead and took a stroll up Martha this morning. The conditions were absolutely perfect - snow was pretty close to Styrofoam and the ice was plastic and more than fat enough to take shorter screws if you wanted to place them. It's a bit of a trek for an hour of climbing but was totally worth it.

All my pics are on my phone which is not playing nicely with my laptop. Will get some up after I have a nap.

Edit: phone not syncing with computer...but have some conditions pics on my facebook here Martha looking good!

The Blueprint Part Dank · · FEMA Region VIII · Joined Jun 2013 · Points: 460
eric kramak wrote:Because no one wanted to go climb rock with me today I went ahead and took a stroll up Martha this morning. The conditions were absolutely perfect - snow was pretty close to Styrofoam and the ice was plastic and more than fat enough to take shorter screws if you wanted to place them. It's a bit of a trek for an hour of climbing but was totally worth it. All my pics are on my phone which is not playing nicely with my laptop. Will get some up after I have a nap.
Psyched to see them, I might go up and solo it this weekend.
Tom Nyce · · Flagstaff, AZ · Joined Nov 2010 · Points: 45

Anyone climbing/skiing "down south" these days? Like the Boxcar on Mt Wilson, or Snake couloir on Sneffles?

Taylor-B. · · Valdez, AK · Joined Oct 2009 · Points: 3,186

North Face Descents of Quandary TR.
14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo…

Also, the North Face along with the North Ridge of Democrat are in good condition. You can still skin and ski 99.5% of the way, but the valley floor is melting out fast.

The North Ridge and the North Face of Democrat.

Gretchen 81 · · Longview, WA · Joined Oct 2011 · Points: 60

Tom Nyce- a couple post down describes Snake right now: 14ers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.…

Natalie M · · Aspen, CO · Joined Dec 2011 · Points: 2,747
Tom Nyce wrote:Anyone climbing/skiing "down south" these days? Like the Boxcar on Mt Wilson, or Snake couloir on Sneffles?
I'd like to, but not until I can get a 3 day weekend :(

Last weekend, La Plata was a really good ski
Hiking up.

North face ski descent.
Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Colorado
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