9/27/2016 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 9/28/2016, By: RWSchaffer Info: Late summer conditions. I ascended Ellingwood's Southwest Ridge route and descended its South Face route until it joined Blanca's Northwest Ridge route which I took to Blanca's summit. Ellingwood's South Face route is completely dry. And there are only small patches of snow, easily avoided, between the talus along the ridge on the other two routes. |
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9/11/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 9/11/2016, By: Trotter Info: No snow at all on route, conditions are great for a fall summit |
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8/29/2016 Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek Posted On: 8/30/2016, By: ridergirl Info: We attempted Ellingwood yesterday. It had rained the night before for hours and turned to snow and ice on the mountain. The last 200' to the summit is composed of thin layers of ice hiding under piles of snow. We wondered if spikes would have been helpful for the remainder of the ascent but ultimately decided they may have been more of a hindrance considering all of the variables. Regardless, we turned around rather then gamble with an icy class 3. It was pouring rain by the time we got back to the car around 7pm. The entire canyon and peaks were socked in. Unless there are several days of warm temps and sunshine, save your efforts. |
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8/28/2016 Route: Southwest Ridge Posted On: 8/29/2016, By: IsaacD Info: Beautiful day up on the SW Ridge. Summer conditions - no snow the whole way up and down. This route was really fun - get it while you can! |
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7/15/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 7/18/2016, By: jeffs Info: Summer conditions with the exception of one minor detour around a snowfield. Faint trail is an understatement but we made it just fine aiming for the ridge prior to the false summit. :) |
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7/10/2016 Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek Posted On: 7/11/2016, By: JQDivide Info: No snow left to climb in C2. We went up C2 but there was only a patch of snow near the top, avoidable. Loose climb, but still a better option than C3 for the distance. Approach: don't be fooled, it has to be more than the 4.5 miles stated. I think the entire route is longer than the 12.7 listed in the route description. Possibly up to 15 miles according to GPS. Great hike, long descent with the loose rocks, scree and talus. |
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7/1/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 7/4/2016, By: thebeave7 Info: Ascended the trail up to near Crater Lake where things disappear completely into snow. The lake is still partially frozen. One could navigate around much of the snow on the South face, but there would be several mandatory snow crossings to link up the rocky areas. There was a lot of water running down the face and we never found a distinct trail/route up the face because of dense fog and driving rain, so a better route might exist. We started the traverse to Blanca and made it to the cliff bands, but abandoned due to horrid conditions. No snow was encountered along the ridge or on the initial part of the traverse, and assume its clear. We descended by glissading the snowfields (ice axe in hand) which was made for quick descent back to Crater Lake. One could probably get by without any traction (crampons/microspikes) but it depends on your comfort level crossing short moderate snow slopes. If you want to glissade down definitely use an ice axe as many of the snowslopes runout straight into rock and an out of control slide would be very painful. |
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6/26/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/27/2016, By: Dan_Suitor Info: I did not summit Ellingwood, but on my climb to Blanca, I took these pics. The approach (before the split) was mostly snow free. A few snow fields to cross. Only a small amount of postholeing near the edges of the snow fields. One field with a good vertical pitch needed microspikes earlier in the day, but softened up nicely later on. Others without spikes opted to take some crappy rocks up to avoid the hard slick snow. |
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6/25/2016 Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek Posted On: 6/27/2016, By: oldgrayhair Info: I hope that my photo from S. Zapata Lake is available for display; I am not tech oriented. I tried to make the C3 portion of the route, but took the upward traverse too early and ended up in the wrong portion of the upper bench. The area around S. Zapata Lake is very wet. The 1st stream crossing via the log is manageable, but can be crossed easily by using the rocks and the small log while holding on to the big log. The 3rd stream crossing is much easier by continuing past the main crossing for 10 yards, and broad jumping a smaller portion of the creek. I will just go back and finish the Sangres in the Lake Como area; I am on the drive for my final ten (10). |
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6/13/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/14/2016, By: mprice422 Info: As per other reports, road up to Lake Como is dry. After the lake, intermittent/discontinuous snow to the upper basin below Ellingwood and Blanca where it then becomes continous. Minor postholing (We started at 5 AM). We went up the snow on the way up and missed the normal summer route which goes around the waterfall, but on the way down we went this way and it was great to avoid snow. That route around the waterfall is clear of snow until the next basin. Snowshoes probably aren't needed if you start early because the snow is compact. We did however bring them and did not use them. Crampons and ice axe recommended because the final slopes are pretty steep and have significant run out. BY 9:30 AM on the descent, the snow was very slushy on the upper slopes. FYI*** The creek flow on the road up the road on Lake Como (~ 1 mile before the lake) is very heavy right now due to snow melt. At both 1:30 and 4:30 PM on two separate days it was not passable for the normal route without getting completely soaked. Water up at least to mid calf. However, just a few yards upstream of the typical route, there is a thin branch that has fallen and made a great path. 3 of us successfully made it over it with our packs on both ways. There are two branches to hold onto above it. Would recommend to avoid getting wet. |
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6/11/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 6/11/2016, By: TaylorHolt Info: Dry to Lake Como. Snowshoes needed shortly after the lake. Crampons and ice ax needed for Ellingwood standard route. Traversed multiple snowfields with dangerous runouts on the ascent. Snow softened up around 10am for safe plunge stepping on the descent. Blanca ridge is dry but snowshoes/crampons recommended for accessing the saddle. |
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6/7/2016 Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek Posted On: 6/7/2016, By: hollyhammons Info: Got to the trailhead on 6/6 and hiked on the trail until we camped at around 11,500 ft. The trail was completely dry up until then, other than the stream crossings that were a lot bigger now with all of the snow melting. Once we started out hiking in the morning, we decided to ascend up the talus and small snow fields to get to the lake as opposed to the standard route through the trees. This turned out to be a lot more time consuming then we expected. By the time we arrived at the C2 couloir, the snow was too soft to trust in a climb. Sadly, we decided that a climb up the couloir would be unsafe and we did not end up summitting. The snow before sunrise was very hard and in great condition, but softened and saw the sun fast. The snow is definitely melting fast up there. |
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5/29/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 5/30/2016, By: mikemalick Info: Snow was continuous from Lake Como. Unless you are on skis, snowshoes are a definite help--especially later in the day. There is still a ton of snow up there. Folks were heading up Blanca, but at the split to Ellingwood there were no tracks at all up the South Face when we got there. Do yourself a favor and start early. By the time we started descending the face after noon, it was way to wet and soft with all that sun. Still plenty of snow along the ridge to the summit as well. |
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5/15/2016 Route: North Ridge via South Zapata Creek Posted On: 5/15/2016, By: AnnaG22 Info: Trail to lake is dry for the first three miles, intermittent but avoidable snow for most of the fourth miles. After that, there is pretty thorough snow coverage, but decently consolidated and wouldn't be worth bringing snowshoes due to the amount of sidehilling. We didn't get past the lake due to weather, but if the snow below is any indication, should be decent barring further precipitation. Key takeaway: don't bring your snowshoes. |
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5/4/2016 Route: South Face Posted On: 5/4/2016, By: lodgling Info: As you might suspect, there is a ton of snow up at Lake Como. The only question is how long it will stay in one place. E, S and W faces started shedding their loads yesterday and I suspect more occurred later today. Blanca is also looking really good -- similar to last May. Snow starts in earnest just before the creek crossing. |
