Snowmass - West Slope/"S" ridge Beta

[Krullin_14ers]

Hey guys, planning on Snowmass this saturday from lead king basin. First question is, would you say the road is lead intense from crystal up to the trailhead, or from marble. Ive got the outback and am pretty sure it can be done from marble. Just recently I've heard some talk that the other route from crystal might be easier. Second, what do you think of the 2,500 final pitch up the west slope to the summit? Would you prefer the S ridge? Have also encountered some folks stating the rocks are more stable on the S Ridge. Ive done much research and it appears that the S ridge takes away a lot of steepness once you get on the actual ridge. For those of you who have done either, please offer your thoughts/how long it took you, it would be much appreciated. I will return the favor with a detailed trip report as these two routes don't get much attention.

Thanks
Alex

[dpage]

I went up the S ridge and down the west slopes without snow. The west slopes kind of sucked. You could step on large talus and cause rocks to shift 20 feet away. Not that it went far, but without kicking rock down my wife caused a microwave sized boulder make its way toward my head. This made the west slopes tedious. The S ridge was a blast though.

[pmeadco]

We went up a few weeks ago and followed the route as described on this web site, which I think is the same as what Roach suggests, and didn't have any issues with loose rocks.

I can't say much about the roads from Marble since we hiked in from Schofield. The section of road from Crystal up to Lead King that we walked looked passable with an Outback to me. Some steep rough spots but I don't recall any big clearance hurdles.

[Wildernessjane]

We did Hagerman a couple of weeks ago from Lead King Basin. We drove up the Lead King Basin side from Marble on the way in and then down through Crystal on the way out. The drive down through Crystal, in my opinion, was "less intense" because the narrow shelf road was much shorter and not as exposed. However, I do not think it could be done in an Outback because you would need more clearance. Some locals had talked someone out of doing it in a stock Ford Escape for this reason. By the way, there was a fair amount of standing water and a stream crossing on the way in on the Lead King Basin side. We didn't pay much attention to how deep it was because we were in a lifted Wrangler but I think this could sketchy in an Outback. There were also some rough spots early on before the stream crossing that would require you to be creative.

[FCSquid]

I've gone up the 'S'-ridge and down the west slopes also. The west slopes never really felt dangerous to me, though 'tedious' is a great word to describe it. As long as you're careful about rockfall, you should be okay. There's a natural drainage down the face of the west slopes which we found was safer to avoid due to rockfall concerns.

I don't think it's accurate to say that the 'S ridge takes away a lot of the steepness once you're on the ridge'. The final push (top of the 'S', if you will) holds some of the most technical bits on the route. This is the place where you can't let your concentration lapse.

Lastly, both routes to the trailhead go through Marble. After you leave the town and hit your first real 4WD sections is where you have the choice to go through Crystal or take the long way. I haven't been through Crystal, but everything I heard was that it was a really nasty road - expect stuff to break. Though the regular road is much longer (big climb and descent), it was pretty smooth the whole way.

If you'd like a detailed report on the route with North Snowmass thrown in, here's one I put together a few years ago: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... ki=Include

Good luck, have fun!

[SnowAlien]

Geneva lake TH is definitely 4wd/high clearance/short wheel base territory. I turned around in Forester after 1st mile going towards Crystal. It's just not worth the risk. Lacking the 4x4 ride (or friends with it), I hoofed in from Maroon lake parking lot over Buckskin pass last fall, completing a chunk of 4 pass loop in the process. Totally worth it in my opinion, if you have extra time for backpacking and not in a rush. S ridge on Snowmass and SW on Hagerman are some of the best routes out there, really fun ridge scrambling. West slopes on Snowmass are nearly not as bad as the reputation, if you're careful. Have a blast.

[highpilgrim]

I haven't been through Crystal, but everything I heard was that it was a really nasty road - expect stuff to break.

You can also park just past Crystal, anywhere from the end of town to the junction of 3 and 317. There were a number of places to pull off and park there. My stock rental AWD Chevy Traverse made it there without difficulty.

And, the hike up the road from there to the junction with the other approach on Lost Trail Road is really pretty nice and only adds a mile, mile and a quarter. You also get to see the Crystal Mill if you go this way.

Win, win.

past Crystal.jpg (320.37 KiB) Viewed 2024 times

[Krullin_14ers]

Wow, thanks for all the info guys. I had a look at that trip report, really helpful!

So I'm understanding there are two routes in via car

1. Carbondale>Marble>Lead King trailhead
2.Cardondale>Marble>Crystal>Lead King trailhead

I'm hearing mixed reviews on which one is less harsh. Heard from a ranger that crystal side may be easier. Contrary to this, 4WD sites state not going thru crysal is easier. IM CAUGHT IN A PICKLE!

[TakeMeToYourSummit]

GEDV0253b.jpg (348.22 KiB) Viewed 2004 times

Here's a look down the West Slopes taken as I work the traverse from North Snowmass to Snowmass proper. (7/18/15)

[pmeadco]

Or just hike in. You can go from Marble or the Schofield town site via Crested Butte. You can get a 2wd passenger car to either place. Marble is at about 8,000' and Schofield is about 10,300'. It adds a few miles of hiking but you don't have to hassle with the roads up to Lead King Basin.

[Breckskier]

We just did this last weekend. I have also done a fair amount of 4 wheeling in the area.

1. Crystal is definitely not suited for an Outback.
2. Lead King Basin from Marble, which is what we took in a lifted XJ, could possibly be done in an Outback if you are very confident in your driving skills and are not loaded down with 4 people + gear as you'll need all the clearance you can get in a few spots. As far as 4WD trails go its fairly moderate but definitely pushing the limits of an outback.

The S Ridge is AWESOME and if you're going in from this side is a no brainer. I wouldn't even entertain the thought of ascending the West Slopes. The West Slopes sucked worse than anything I have ever experienced and is the first time that I ever felt the danger and overall suckness far exceeded anything I've read on this site. Usually I find it to be quite the opposite. Part of the problem was that we didn't find the route to the rib at the top and attempted to downclimb the upper portion of the gully which was 40+ degrees and EVERYTHING moves. We kicked steps down a snow line in the middle for 200ft which was a blessing. Immediately after stepping back onto the rock we sent a HUGE boulder all the way to valley floor 2000 feet below, and we were being VERY careful.

Once we made our way onto the rib the danger eased significantly but it was still a miserable 2000 ft slip and slide. From this point on its similar to Columbia's West slopes only steeper, looser and longer. I would suggest really hunting for the rib at the top. We were following what seemed to be a semi used path but it lead us right into the middle of the gully which is definitely NOT the place you want to be.

I'd also definitely want to camp at Geneva Lake, cause that spot was awesome. We just camped at the TH.

[DeTour]

We were advised by locals to take the northerly Lost Trail Road and made it in a rented SUV. Don't recall the exact model but it was nothing special, seems like an Outback would be comparable. But we were ahem, perhaps less concerned about minor cosmetic damage than an owner might be. Thing about that road is, it has some bad spots pretty early on - as referenced by SnowAlien a few posts prior - but beyond those, much of the road is not bad, with long sandy sections. If you are willing/able to creep through the bad spots, you'll have some much smoother sailing much of the way. It gets rough again when you drop down into Lead King Basin on the other side.

I'd add my recommendation for S Ridge. Much of it is quite solid, especially if you stick to the crest of the ridge as much as possible. Problem is, there are some potential killers on that ridge and it's hard to tell which ones they are. I watched a huge boulder move when my daughter put her hand on it, by far the most terrifying two second of my 30 14ers. It makes me shudder just to think of it now, years later.

But the west slope certainly has more rockfall risk, especially near the top. If you ascend the S Ridge and descend the west slopes, as we did, you don't have the benefit of having ascended the route - and I believe those large unstable boulders are harder to spot from above. One other thing: that west slope is generally cliffy near the bottom. Do your research on the route if you are only descending it. We did not, and got a little off the standard route near the bottom. We found a way without too much trouble, but I could see the potential of getting in some very steep, unstable stuff if you aren't careful there. Coming back down the S Ridge is definitely worth considering.

Those are the warnings. On the flip side, that ridge is a fabulous experience and should be considered one of the classic 14er routes IMO, with something like 1,800 vertical feet of almost uninterrupted scrambling. The lake was beautiful, with the experienced slightly tinged by the fact that there seemed to be a lot of use of pack animals in the area, along with the associated dung. But we were much later in the season; maybe it's not so much an issue now.

FCSquid's TR was a tremendous help to us, we printed it and took with as we do with route descriptions on other routes. Another really informative TR was posted by PKR in 2007: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... ki=Include. Mine might also be helpful: http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... m=tripmine