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My wife and I did that about a decade ago, and I remember it being a big, big day for us.

I'm all for Cap-Snowmass to be added as the 5th Great Traverse! Although I do have a particular affinity for the son-of-a b%*ch of a route I am in love with it. In all honesty I do strongly believe that it should be seriously considered. i have done it, and can be done safely, and can be done in a day, albeit a long day.

oldschool wrote:albeit a long day

And you definately can't use a rope if your doing it in a day. Except for the rappel off Cap. That is one long bad boy.

Ok, even though I haven't done anything remotely that difficult or any of the classic traverses, after reading that TR of the cap-snowmass traverse I would have to say that one should be on the list.

Will be doing this on September 24th, weather permitting. I am hoping to complete the traverse in 3 hours- it's possible, right?

djkest wrote:Will be doing this on September 24th, weather permitting. I am hoping to complete the traverse in 3 hours- it's possible, right?

Possible for the fit and good at finding the fastest way through boulderfields. 3 hours is what we were hoping for. Good luck is about all I can say.

castricone7 wrote:We just did Snowmass Peak-Hagerman-Snowmass Mountain traverse from Trail Rdier Pass and had planned to continue across to Capitol and hike out in a giant loop. Whiteout conditions and our general malaise for the ridge changed that...but that is a badass ridge nonetheless. By the way, we did this as a loop from the Snowmass Creek TH in 25.5 hours (including missing the cutoff for the trailhead at 1 am and hiking in the wrong direction for 2 miles!). Marathon length. Peace.

Sounds like trip report material to me. What was your route up Snowmass Peak? I've heard the ridge between Hagerman and Snowmass Mountain is pretty chossy, blech. I just want Hagar's Way and I'll be happy.

stevevets689 wrote:

djkest wrote:Will be doing this on September 24th, weather permitting. I am hoping to complete the traverse in 3 hours- it's possible, right?

Possible for the fit and good at finding the fastest way through boulderfields. 3 hours is what we were hoping for. Good luck is about all I can say.

Well, we did the H-C traverse Saturday. Took us 3 hours, 5 minutes. I took a few long breaks down there just cause I was feeling lazy/apathetic. The weather was good. It was confusing at times which the best way to go would be. Took us nearly 2 hours to start ascending Columbia. When you get to the saddle @13,300', Columbia looks so close and yet seemed to get longer as I climbed higher.

No offense to anyone intended, it was harder than it looked and harder than I anticipated. For some reason, pictures make it seem less steep. We did find a route that I think may be as good as Bill's intended route. Near the middle when you come down that ridge- Bill suggests you go around instead of heading down that loose gulley. Well, we actually went down the "last gulley" and found it to be acceptable although my friend kept dislodging small rocks (1-2 pounds) that hit me- but no big deal. This not only cut some time and distance off the suggested route, but you also don't have to lose/gain as much altitude. It appears this option was not the dotted red route that bill outlines. I'll see if I can find a picture that precisely shows what we took. The most challenging part was the huge boulderfield in the "world of talus" (thanks Bill, that's a keeper!). I made some big jumps that had my friends shaking their heads.

This traverse is more work than maybe people are thinking, and to the the whole thing as a day hike was seriously exhausting for us. Longest. Hiking. Day. Ever.

Thanks for the followup, sounds like you had a similar (though faster) day to ours.

Nobody has mentioned the Sawtooth here (Bierstadt to Mt. Evans). I personally found this one to be more difficult (say time-consuming) than the Harvard-Columbia traverse, specially with snow conditions.