Gannett Peak/Wind River Range

Not sure what month these are from, but they are from 2015 from the Freemont Co website.

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Gannett Peak 2015 Dinwoody glacier

Warbonnet, can you ask some of your geologist/scientist friends if they know of any existing LIDAR data for Gannett Peak or that would Cover the range?

Welp looks like I'm having to push my trip a bit later Around May 5th, I picked up a replacement kit for some parts on the Snowshoes just in case, Bought some Ski's though they may not cut it, not sure yet I just have to figure out some bindings, though I think I have some unique bindings picked out and I can still wear my Nepal Evo GTX's . And on top of it all I might end up sloshing it out alone. I got a little hiking around Mt. Elbert in Colorado a few weeks ago, hard consolidated snow and ice, it was a bit rough to walk on though I figured out I'll need a bigger pack my 70l won't cut it, broke in my boots a bit. DavisMeshke, did you make it out there yet?

Got back yesterday. A few thoughts...

The snow conditions are heinous. 1-2 inches of hard crust over a decent consolidated layer 1 ft thick, with another layer beneath that quickly turning to sugar. Titcomb basin snow was awful. A bit lower down, near Seneca lake, held nice powder that was a dream to ski. Made survival turns on Bonney pass hardpack.

Incredible weather. Only day without sunshine was yesterday. The weather deteriorated and we were hit by a big storm on the way out. Temps were in the 30s at 10600 ft. The sun was nice for drying out ski boot liners.

The glacier is in okay shape. Everything is covered in hardback and made skiing across the glacier a breeze. Skiing back to Bonney pass is a different story. Never once thought about crevasses. Never roped up.

We didn't summit Gannett. Postholing up the entire route until we arrived at the bergshrund gully. The gully itself held nice powder snow over a consolidated layer. Made it to 200ft beneath the summit ridge, then turned back.

Over flow on the lakes was never a problem. Instead of bringing fuel to melt snow, we dug down to the over flow layer and used that water.

Bring crampons. Bring warm layers for night time. I used a 0 degree bag and felt fine the whole time. If you're confident in your ski setup leave the snowshoes behind.

For the time being, it looks like spring may be upon us. 35-46 degree weather for the forseeable future. Be prepared for spring slush and corn. The top of Bonney pass is a no fall zone. I glissaded down but down climbing may be more acceptable given the snow conditions.

If you are unsure about snow conditions, dig a pit and perform some tests. If you don't know how to do this, you have no business up there. Bonney pass is a time bomb; the hot weather will make those deep layers unpredictable in the coming weeks.

That's all I can think of at the moment. If you have other questions, lemme know.

Thanks DavisMeschke on the update, I'm working out skis right now, bindings etc. It should be pretty interesting by the time I get there, which now seems like early May.

Yo,
Am overseas but will be back in the forum in the next few days. Apologies; am remotely located on a project w/little access to the Net.

Gitrinec, I owe you numerous replies.

In the meantime re: flagging, am interested in your choice of green as one of the colors. Presumably you researched this at colebrothers & other sites? If so, then I suspect you compared the luminosity ratings and/or other info? Always interested in your tireless research.

Interesting that red is far down the scale; counterintuitive. As you know, this type of tape is highly luminous in bright daylight....haven't used green but wondering how visible it is in daylight and whether it gets buried if placed, for example, in green foliage (as in a forest)? But green is rated higher on the scale...

Haven't posted this yet (perhaps I mentioned it somewhere in the string), but I place wands for BOTH hazards as well as route (some climbers mark only hazards, others only route -- never understood this rationale other than to save numbers of wands but that is seldom part of my thinking -- it's less about the number than the placement).

I also consider the return (of course) but also do so that on return, certain flags are placed (for example) so that they are always passed and retrieved on climbers right or left. If this system is used, passing on right or left serves the purpose of directing the returning climber away from hazards (and not INTO them, esp. in whiteout conditions).

Gitrinec wrote:Not sure what month these are from, but they are from 2015 from the Freemont Co website.

Gitrinec,

Exceptional photos...the firn is obvious, amazing and interesting.

Some of these crevasse fields are bad boys/girls to navigate, with a few big yawners thrown in to keep one's attention. The checkerboards are a nice added touch -- don't want to be reading the newspaper when in this territory.

Any way of finding out which months these were taken?

Warbonnet

Warbonnet, it looks like at least from what I can find those images are from Spring/Summer 2015. Unknown exact month.

A Google earth flyby from elkhart pass to Gannett peak.

youtube.com/watch?v=el-kOQK…

Does anyone know if later into May skis would be needed the whole trip in to Gannet or should I just bring skis along when driving up, just in case.

Bring 'em, especially if you're coming in from the Pinedale side. Pretty likely to be desirable from the Trail Lake side, too. You'll be glad you did.

Thanks Andrew, My trip has been pushed into later May but I've got my skis now, just need to have the bindings mounted and get them waxed, This lowlander town doesn't have any places to do that at. I've been watching the weather reports for up there and it seems like they are still getting snow, along with Colorado.

In the last 3 weeks or so we've gotten about 4-6 feet of new snow in the winds. In town everything is melted out but it's still cold enough in the high country so that snow will be here for some time. For reference last May there was still about 3 feet of snow at Elkhart park trailhead but was gone by the beginning of June. Higher elevations obviously hold snow longer.

DavisMeschke, ya I've been following the weather up there pretty closely , thanks man, it's good to have some inside weather info from someone from up there. NWSChat - NOAA's National Weather Service

I've got my skis, boots, bindings, etc Though I'm debating on whether to mount the bindings myself or not.

If you don't have experience mounting bindings, take it to someone who does. It's easy to screw up mounting, especially without a jig.

Just the paper one that came with the bindings.

Still, with that peice of paper you can still get screw holes off by a couple millimeters, which is enough to mess up the overall screw pattern on your skis. If you drill a hole wrong, you can't just re-drill; there's a good chance that the binding will pull due to the ski losing a lot of its strength.

If you don't have a ski shop near you it would be a good idea to send it off to one with a good reputation. If I remember correctly, you're going to Colorado soon? Take it to a shop there and they should be able to get it mounted for you in a matter of hours.

With something as important as mounting I would trust it to someone who knows what they're doing. I can mount most frame AT bindings, but I don't even try to hand mount Dynafit bindings because of the attention to detail that goes into it.

DavisMeschke,

Makes sense, That's probably what I'll do, just have a place mount them on my way up to Wyoming, not sure if I'll hit Colorado on the way up or not, things have changed a bit, so Colorado is still up in the air. Though I may have to, I probably should call around and find some place that is on the way.

Didn't make it all the way back to Gannett a few weeks ago but around Seneca Lake spent the night and hiked back out in the rain and hail the next day, I was heading up to Rainier to climb and didn't want to tear up my feet, so got to Rainier did a day of training and on the climb the next day rubbed my heels raw, lol.. No blisters or anything in the same boots in the Wind River Range for 16 miles but rubbed my heels raw going up Rainier which me and 2 other people turned ourselves around and went back down because of this, so I guess Gannett will be Next year, I'm debating an April trip again. But it's nice to be more familiar with the Terrain. Hoping to get some Skiing in this winter.

Mountaineering boots and blisters go together like spaghetti and meatballs. Some people don't have a problem but I'm yet to find a pair that doesn't leave skin flapping off my heels. Preemptive duct tape on my heels is what works best for me.