Peak Condition Update | Little Bear Peak

Peak:	Little Bear Peak
Route:	West Ridge and Hourglass
Range:	Sangre de Cristo
Posted By:	DynamicPursuits
Date of Info:	4/5/2015
Date Posted:	4/6/2015

Details
There is about 8 feet of water ice in the hourglass. The fixed ropes are available but buried at the bottom of the choke point. Snow on the face was mostly firm and good for tow-sized steps. Some short sections were front-points, others ankle to knee deep. Overall, conditions were good and quick, except for the ice. We took snowshoes for the approach but never used them. Only about 20 post holes were dug on this trip thanks to a solid path through the soft stuff laid by earlier skies and climbers. Snow on the road start around 10,300 ft. After it transitions 15 or so times between dry road and soft snow up to 4 ft deep.

Details

There is about 8 feet of water ice in the hourglass. The fixed ropes are available but buried at the bottom of the choke point. Snow on the face was mostly firm and good for tow-sized steps. Some short sections were front-points, others ankle to knee deep. Overall, conditions were good and quick, except for the ice.
We took snowshoes for the approach but never used them. Only about 20 post holes were dug on this trip thanks to a solid path through the soft stuff laid by earlier skies and climbers. Snow on the road start around 10,300 ft. After it transitions 15 or so times between dry road and soft snow up to 4 ft deep.

Comments or Questions

BillMiddlebrook	Yikes 4/7/2015 2:20pm Wow, that’s thin. Thanks for posting
Rainier_Wolfcastle	Wow 4/7/2015 3:32pm I can’t believe it, I guess the year I got it(Memorial Day weekend in fact) was more the exception then the rule. Lynx, that baby is going to require a pitch of ice climbing...until it is wet slab climbing...until it is a bowling alley.
aliciaf	Hmmm 4/7/2015 5:58pm Can the section of ice be avoided at all by going around it on the rock?
scootmanjones	SW Ridge Action 4/7/2015 7:23pm Anyone up for a attempt via the long SW ridge route?
wineguy	Yikes! 4/7/2015 7:37pm Cool photo of ice in the hourglass. I can feel my bowels getting loose.
DynamicPursuits	More info 4/7/2015 11:22pm Thin, indeed. This weekend finally provided the motivation to sharpen my crampons before the next "snow climb". Regarding the rocks shown to the climber’s left – they were wet and a bit polished. Climbing the ice seem like the safer route to us. Admittedly, my partner and I were equipped with one axe and one tool each so we were prepared. We considered wrapping a prusik around the fixed line but decided we were ok without. Upon inspection, the ropes look to be in good shape for this purpose. They are, however, frozen in place at the bottom of the ice section and unavailable for the very beginning of the dicey section. If you head up, be prepared for more ice than shown in the picture. Where I stood to take the photo looking down the hourglass is hard snow. It looked thin to me and lurking underneath is more ice. I imagine more will be exposed next weekend. Hope that helps. It was a great climb.

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