Lamb's Slide Conditions?
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Howdy, my two best friends from Tennessee are flying out to visit me this week. I'm planning on taking them up Kiener's route on Long's Peak, however, they don't have crampons, and I'm trying to figure out if we need to rent them. I've got a mountaineering axe and two ice tools for us to use for self-arrest and whatnot, but my guess is, that if there's not a dry path up, what snow there will be covering the slide will practically be ice, and kicking steps sans crampons would be a total no-go. |
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Yes, definitely crampons. I've been inquiring into the conditions as of late, and Lamb's Slide is absolutely alpine ice right now. Here's my thread over at 14'ers.com regarding the conditions. Alan Arnette posted some great photos. |
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+1 crampons. |
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I posted more conditions in this thread |
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Lamb's Slide is in poor condition right now... little snow, ice melting fast with lots of running water and falling rock. Here's a photo from last week. Be safe! |
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There is also some major rock fall danger right now. I watched multiple 25+ lbs rocks come shooting down in the afternoon. I also heard some major rock fall at night. |
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We did Kiener's on Saturday and approached Lamb's Slide around 6am. It is really dirty and ugly, mostly soft ice or snice on top of harder ice, with some runnels of running water. Crampons and axe are mandatory. As Tony suggested, we decided to climb the Rib to the east (climber's left, mostly 3rd class) and traverse 180' across the Slide to the bottom of Broadway. It was fairly easy to cross (the surface ice was quite soft), especially since we each brought along an extra ice tool, and just to be safe, we put in a few screws. |
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r_m_high wrote:We did Kiener's on Saturday and approached Lamb's Slide around 6am. It is really dirty and ugly, mostly soft ice or snice on top of harder ice, with some runnels of running water. Crampons and axe are mandatory. As Tony suggested, we decided to climb the Rib to the east (climber's left, mostly 3rd class) and traverse 180' across the Slide to the bottom of Broadway. It was fairly easy to cross (the surface ice was quite soft), especially since we each brought along an extra ice tool, and just to be safe, we put in a few screws. Note that one guy had no trouble ascending Lamb's Slide directly -- with crampons and a single ax -- so that is definitely an option, but I'd be sure to start up early to avoid the inevitable rock fall risk later in the day.How's the rock quality for anchors on the broadway side? Since my friends will be wearing strap on 'pons, I'd like to keep em on a tight belay across the slide. Also, any use for pickets? Or are we talking just screws? |
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Just went up today and was handed a big ego check by Long's, once again. I thought I could handle climbing Kiener's car-to-car...and I bonked right at Chasm Lake. I'm really disappointed in myself, but back to Lamb's conditions. |
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Slide looked rough on Sunday (7/29) from above. Cables route may be worth considering as an alternative. It's dry and certainly safer this time of year. |
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TILLEYdoes wrote: Cables route may be worth considering as an alternative. It's dry and certainly safer this time of year.The Cable Route is not dry, as of 8/1. Running with water bringing the difficulty up a number grade or two. Still very easy and doable, just be aware. I think Keyhole Ridge is a far better alternative to Kieners than the Cable. |
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Anybody seen the conditions on any of the other RMNP snowfields? Was thinking about just doing a walkabout this weekend, but don't really want to solo up steep rotten alpine ice. |
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"Good luck! Bivy if you question your ability to car-to-car it. It's tough lugging 30-40lbs of adequate equipment up there" |
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JustinJD. wrote:"Good luck! Bivy if you question your ability to car-to-car it. It's tough lugging 30-40lbs of adequate equipment up there" Was thinking about heading up to Longs friday night and was going to try and score a bivy permit. I've never actually requested a permit before...are they hard to get? Do they limit the number offered? Just curious. Thanks, And I'm assuming Cables and Kieners are still wet. Was thinking about Clarks Arrow. Any suggestions?Not hard to get based on demand, but yes they are a pain to get. $20 "administrative fee" to sleep under a rock on land you already paid for, and you have to drive all the way past Estes Park to get a permit at the main office. They close at 6pm I believe, so good luck getting there in time after work. |
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David Appelhans wrote: Not hard to get based on demand, but yes they are a pain to get. $20 "administrative fee" to sleep under a rock on land you already paid for, and you have to drive all the way past Estes Park to get a permit at the main office. They close at 6pm I believe, so good luck getting there in time after work.You can pick them up at the Long's Peak trailhead before the ranger leaves for the day. (4pm?) I think the maximum for the Mill Glacier area is 14 climbers per night. |
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Guy H. wrote: You can pick them up at the Long's Peak trailhead before the ranger leaves for the day. (4pm?) I think the maximum for the Mill Glacier area is 14 climbers per night.Yep, what he said! Don't drive to Estes just for the bivy permit. You *can* get them at the Long's Peak TH Ranger Station. Just call for hours. =) Agreed, it's a silly amount of money for the amenities, but that view in the morning is worth every penny. |
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Tony T. wrote: Yep, what he said! Don't drive to Estes just for the bivy permit. You *can* get them at the Long's Peak TH Ranger Station. Just call for hours. =) Agreed, it's a silly amount of money for the amenities, but that view in the morning is worth every penny.Yes, indeed. Furthermore, unlike regular backcountry camping permits, you can call ahead of time and reserve a bivy permit by phone from the Backcountry office. The Ranger there recommended we get to the Long's Peak Ranger office by 4:30pm to pick up the permit, since it is staffed exclusively by volunteers and thus no guarantee how long they will keep the office open. We arrived pretty close to 5pm, thanks to some weather and heavy traffic in Boulder, and the volunteer Ranger was still there to give us our bivy permit, thus saving us a trip up to the Park's main entrance (the Backcountry Office closes at 7pm). |
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r_m_high wrote: Yes, indeed. Furthermore, unlike regular backcountry camping permits, you can call ahead of time and reserve a bivy permit by phone from the Backcountry office. The Ranger there recommended we get to the Long's Peak Ranger office by 4:30pm to pick up the permit, since it is staffed exclusively by volunteers and thus no guarantee how long they will keep the office open. We arrived pretty close to 5pm, thanks to some weather and heavy traffic in Boulder, and the volunteer Ranger was still there to give us our bivy permit, thus saving us a trip up to the Park's main entrance (the Backcountry Office closes at 7pm).Thank you for the tip. I would have just driven through to the main office and this will save me a ton of time. I'm hopeful that there won't be another 13 people up there tonight. Now if I could just figure out who I lent my bivy sack to things wil be easier. |