Couloir Season

[Flyingfish]

So I am fairly new to snow climbing but not winter hiking so I was wondering generally when snow conditions are right to start climbing couloirs. Mainly I want to know how late into the spring and summer they are still good to climb?

[justiner]

Spring to mid summer for Colorado. Winter ascents are possible but usually you have to be careful to nail conditions perfectly. Unconsolidated winter snow in the couloir and/or avy terrain on the approach makes for a bad day. I've done many routes in the beginning of July. Gotta start early to avoid wet slides; it's good to note the weather and cloud coverage the night before to guess how things will firm up.

[jaymz]

I usually aim for mid-May to start planning climbs, keeping an eye on conditions. Like justiner indicated, you can push it into July most years on certain routes. Dave Cooper's Colorado Snow Climbs guidebook, while by no means exhaustive, is a good place to start since he gives the best general timeframes during the year for each route.
In short, I'd say May and June are the sweet spot.

[Monster5]

I might start looking at south and east facing stuff late March to early June and North and West facing from late May to July or later. Some alpine ice climbs or couloirs maybe Oct to Dec.

While the season is an important consideration, other factors also influence the decision, including avalanche, weather, cornices, wind, sun, steep and narrow vs open.

Also, climbing vs skiing vs both. As a non alpine skier, I consider icy late season front pointing perfect and kick stepping through snow more than mid foot a slog.

[Flyingfish]

Thank you for the feed back and info. On my to do list are Dead Dog on Torreys and Cross Couloir on Holy Cross.

[SoCool]

On my to do list are Dead Dog on Torreys and Cross Couloir on Holy Cross.

So I'm not trying to sound condescending, but these aren't really the best couloir choices if you are, as you say, a beginner. Having done Dead Dog twice, and the Cross Couloir once, I can say that a slip or fall from somewhere near the top could end badly.

Whether you do, or choose something else, please update us!

[eyost11]

Agreeing with So Cool, maybe try Tuning Fork on the other side of Torreys and Cristo on Quandary for 1st and 2nd. Then Emperor on Torreys is nice, as is Lost Rat on Grays.
You just don't understand the commitment required to summit Cross or DD until you are 3/4 of the way up.
Progression from one that you have the option to turn around on would a safer approach.

[Monster5]

Eh if you have a good head, Dead Dog is reasonable for a beginner with an easier top out option towards the knife edge. Perhaps not your very first snow climb. I usually do a pre-work climb up and down DD a couple times every June. Nice and quick access, as with the Evans couloirs.

[SoCool]

Nice and quick access, as with the Evans couloirs.

Oh, speaking of Evans, it freaked me out a bit ascending the couloir called "Mt. Evans North Face Steep" on this website route description. It started out as short and fun, thought I was heaven, until I reached a patch of water ice and was unprepared for it. But I conquered it.

[Flyingfish]

these aren't really the best couloir choices if you are, as you say, a beginners

Not trying to say that those are the first I am going to run off and do but at some point after I gain some experience I would like to do them.

[SnowAlien]

Nice and quick access, as with the Evans couloirs.

Oh, speaking of Evans, it freaked me out a bit ascending the couloir called "Mt. Evans North Face Steep" on this website route description. It started out as short and fun, thought I was heaven, until I reached a patch of water ice and was unprepared for it. But I conquered it.

I wasn't even able to ascent the line because of the descending skiers raining chunks of ice on me (too early in the day). Damn skiers! However, it was a fun ski descent couple hours later once the snow warmed up.

[skycripp]

Relevant to this conversation: I consider myself a newbie to ice -- I have minimal experience with technical ice but will be getting more this winter. I have experience with winter mountaineering and am thus familiar with self-arresting, traveling in avy terrain, snowpack assessment, alpine hazards, etc. I'm a 5.13 rock climber. Point being: I'm not new to the mountains.

I'm aiming to climb dreamweaver once spring conditions set in. I'll have more experienced climbers with me but as far as my own well-being is concerned, will confidence with drytooling/pick placement and 5.13 climbing experience be enough? I've got an ambitious set of climbs planned for this winter to help me beef up my skills, but also have a habit of planning to climb things above my pay grade and then having to back out once dreams become reality (never bailed on a climb -- always have had the judgement to know my limits before setting off). I've reviewed the route and it seems pretty tame. Some dangerous run-out zones, but nothing a few cams and screws (if ice is still present) can't fix.

Am I being an idiot? Thanks in advance.