Lone Peak Cirque Conditions? July 30

Hey everyone, I've got a small crew headed up Lone Peak this Saturday and am wondering if we need axes/crampons in the cirque to approach the summit wall climbs.

Has anyone been up there recently?

Would love to go as light as possible but don't want to risk encountering a steep snowfield without the right gear.

Thanks!

I made it to the base of Vertical Smile last weekend without an axe or crampons. The lower snow was manageable by kicking steps with approach shoes and using a rock as an axe- maybe a bit sketch but it seemed better than a nut tool (or carrying an axe up the route). The snow on the ledge below the route is quite steep but I was able to traverse along the moat (some stemming, some au cheval...) to the base of the route. Kinda sketchy, but seemed to work fine. It was a warm day which may have helped. I did have an axe at my pack and chose to leave it there rather than bring it up to the base of the route...

Have fun!

Thanks, I think we'll go light and give it a shot without ice axes, etc.

Let us know how it is. I'm planning an Aug 12th or 13th summit.

Conditions were great up there. Occasional snow crossing at higher elevations. Be very careful not to posthole while crossing snowy sections. No snow gear required. Plenty of water to filter.

We did the summit (via Open Book) car to car from Jacob's Ladder TH in a very long day (started at dark, ended at dark).

I recommend anyone going up to climb camp in the cirque and take time to enjoy the routes.

The first 3,000 ft of elevation gain from the trailhead absolutely suck, but don't worry it gets amazing shortly after merging with Draper Ridge.

Enjoy.

Brandon, after you get back from your trip up Lone Peak on the 12-13, please let me know how it is. I'm planning on going up probably the first weekend in September (conditions and water permitting), and I'm hoping that there will be enough water up there since it took so long for summer to get here.

MDW wrote: We did the summit (via Open Book) car to car from Jacob's Ladder TH in a very long day (started at dark, ended at dark).

I noticed the other day the Corner Cyn road is signed as being closed until 6 AM. Did you guys get up there before 6 and find the gate open?

I was worried about that too but didn't have any issues. We started up the road from Orson Smith trailhead at 4 a.m. and it was open.

Just a heads up two of my friends were ticketed $100 for being on the corner canyon road after dark.... Apparently it is closed after a certain time, I guess to keep kids from going up there and drinking/starting fires? Either way pretty lame to ticket climbers coming down from a long day for driving in the dark, guess they should have bivied in the parking lot til morning.

WARNING! Just got down from a 4-day trip at the cirque to find that absolutely all of our climbing gear had been stolen out of our car while we were gone. We had it parked at the Alpine trail head at the end of the dirt road; NOT the best way to end a great trip. Well over $1000 worth of gear was taken- a rack, new rope, climbing shoes, nuts, draws, a roll of toilet paper (?!), computer equipment, etc. NOT ok, to say the least. I realize it may have been stupid to leave the gear in the car for so long, but after driving over an hour to the trail at 10 pm we weren't too keen on driving stuff back and opted to hide it in the car instead.

Let this be a warning to everyone; don't leave valuable stuff in your car at this trail head! Oh, and the conditions were good, a little bit of everything... sun, fog, lightning, high winds, unpredictable! Gold Wall and South Summit Wall were still a bit snowed in, everything else is good to go.

Thomas, The conditions at the Cirque where great. We camped in the forest before the talus crossing with no tents - peaceful, beautiful with some serious mosquito action. There is plenty of snow, which I expect to last the rest of the season, so water is plentiful and should remain so. I didn't bother treating it, as it was available directly from the source in many areas. I wish I stayed up there another couple days to get more climbing in and some hiking and trail running. First time up there, didn't know how spectacular is it.

Headed to LPC the weekend following Labor Day. If anyone gets up there this weekend and feels informative, a snow/water report would be appreciated.

First time in the LPC....very excited.

Or, even better, if someone has a recent snow report in the last few days I'd love to hear it. Heading up for the weekend and wondering how the water supply is up there....

the ski season hasn't started yet so the snow report is a few months out. you'll be fine for water guys don't worry.

Was up at the Cirque for Labor Day weekend. Water update:
Plenty of water in the approach gully about 1/4 mile from the cirque all the way down to the meadow at the top of the henious climb. There is tons of snow still in the cirque proper and climbers have built a runoff/dam stream thing that flows nicely after the sun has hit the glacier all day, starting at about 4-5 pm. So if you need water in the morning, hike a ways down to the gully and get it, and if you need it at night you can get it straight from the glacier in the meadow. Plenty of awesome campsites right in the cirque, so don't settle for the meadow down by the ridge. No snow gear needed for approaches.

Here's the snow last weekend.

Such an awesome place.
I feel fortunate to visit.
And I will be back.

were you one of the parties on Vertical Overhangs? you can't ask for a much more classic route that that

did you spot the goat chilling in the cirque? never seen them actually hang out in the cirque until this year. pretty cool.

it's getting cold up there!

Hey guys! I'm heading up tomorrow, and I just wanted to see if there was a last-minute snow report. It looks like the snowfield right beneath the wall will still be in good shape, I just wanted to know if someone could confirm that with recent data. Thanks,

Thomas