 |
 |
| 710 Tenth Street, Suite 220 Golden, CO 80401 303.278.7525 x115 |
P.O. Box 997 Boulder, CO 80306 800.332.4100 |
| www.14ers.org | WWW.LNT.ORG |
Travel on Durable Surfaces - In the Snowmelt Season
The snow will soon be melting in the high country, and as the avalanche hazard abates, skiers and climbers eager to enjoy Colorado’s highest peaks will soon be spring skiing, snowshoeing, and mountain climbing. While a solid snowpack is a durable surface, and travel on it entails minimal impacts to vegetation, early season travelers should be aware of the following ways to reduce damage to alpine plants during the snowmelt season.
The most common damage done in this season is trail widening by hikers who don’t want to walk the middle of a muddy trail. Wear waterproof boots and gaiters, or go ahead and get your feet wet. Your boots will dry overnight, but the tundra may never recover.
In early season trails often disappear into snowfields. Try to stay on the route, and if you can’t, try to travel on rock or solid snow. On some routes cairns have been constructed so that hikers can find the trail during this sensitive time. However, once snowfields have melted, these cairns may appear overly large. If you see large cairns along an obvious trail in midsummer, remember they were probably constructed for the snowmelt season.
As snowfields recede in the spring and early summer they become slushy and thin. These areas are very susceptible to permanent damage from trampling. Plants newly emerged from under the snow have not had a chance to green up and their stems to harden. They are easily pushed into the mud or torn from wet soils. Avoid thin snowfields and newly melted out areas.
Good spring skiing and glissading routes often start and end in these fragile areas. Consider altering your route to enter and exit snowfields on durable surfaces such as rock, trails, or the dry side of a gully.
Spring and early summer are wonderful times to enjoy Colorado’s mountains. There are few crowds, and opportunities for solitude and adventure abound. The snow still covers roads, trails, and other signs of human effects, and with a little imagination one can look through the eyes of the early explorers, and feel their sense of wonder at an unknown country.
|
|
| 710 Tenth Street, Suite 220 Golden, CO 80401 303.278.7525 x115 |
P.O. Box 997 Boulder, CO 80306 800.332.4100 |
| www.14ers.org | WWW.LNT.ORG |