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Hi, I was wondering what the conditions are like on Humboldt. Are snowshoes needed? Is there avalanche danger? Any special equipment? etc.
Thanks

We attempted Marble on the 22nd. At that time there was about 6 inches or so lower on the S. Colony road. I put on snowshoes at the Rainbow Trail junction but the others put them on earlier. Humboldt's east ridge looked pretty dry at the time but there has been over a foot of snow dumped on the area since then (per forecast, I don't have 1st hand info). We turned around at treeline as the avy danger was extreme. The slope was gentle but the "whoomps" were strong enough to knock the snow off the nearby trees. Once the trees got short/sparce, it got pretty dicey even though the slope was probably only around 15 degrees. When we got back down, we could see there was a potentially hazardous slope above us so I'm glad we made the decision to turn around.

The East Ridge route is considered the best winter route. It involves a lot of bushwhacking and route finding below treeline. Snow shoes will be needed for sure.

The route traditionally has low avy danger and doesn't hold snow above treeline on the ridge. You could likely get away without an axe or spikes.

SilverLynx wrote:I've been calling around this morning about Humboldt conditions. I'll let you know if I hear anything one way or another. Trying to make a decision about Saturday...

Saturday looks perfect

Not sure if this helps or not, but my friend pix messaged me this photo of the Sangres from her house in Westcliffe on 12/22. Yesterday she said they received a few more inches from the Christmas storm.

USAKeller wrote:Not sure if this helps or not, but my friend pix messaged me this photo of the Sangres from her house in Westcliffe on 12/22. Yesterday she said they received a few more inches from the Christmas storm.

I want to wake up to that view every morning !!

SilverLynx wrote:Thanks for posting that, Caroline! Every little bit of information we can get helps.

The guy at the CAIC I talked to on the phone said he would appreciate it if we got back to him on the conditions for the Sangres.

You should let Kevin Baker know this too. He's doing the Crestones

Hiked this today - no Avy danger, no snowshoes necessary. We used spikes and poles - pretty simple. We left some good trail for you too. Be ready for a long day! We're driving home now from the climb and left Denver at 3 am. If you have more questions, pm silverlynx, ameristrat (me), and lemmiwinks. One of us can let you know whats going on when we get back in a few hours.

Thanks for the update. We just got to Westcliffe. Planning on starting at the winter closure at 5:30 tomorrow morning.

Have a safe drive home!

Fiacra - hope to see you up there sometime tomorrow. Fepic1 and I are planning to start around 6:00.

Be safe guys and have fun!

conditions are good. no avy danger. trench to treeline. snowshoes/axe not needed.