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My brother and I wanted to get a ski descent in this past weekend and agreed that Sneffels was our best bet. We were able to drive up to the mine Friday night and that is where we set up camp and attempt to get some sleep (it was quite the loud night due to all the activity at the mine). It wasn't too cold when we started at 5am, maybe a bit below freezing, and quickly warmed up once the sun hit us.
Right around 7:45am we were able to make it to the base of the Lavender col where we ended up meeting up with another party who was planning to do the Snake couloir.
We were able to skin up the col about 1/3 of the way and then had to boot up due to the fact that the snow really hadn't softened up too much and we were slipping trying to skin up (there was a 3rd group skinning up while we were skiing down and the snow had softened enough for them to skin to the top of the col. While booting up, we assessed the conditions of the Birthday Chutes and determined that our best option would be the far skiers left because there was the least amount of debris in that chute and the line looked solid overall. The boot up the col was pretty easy and we were able to make it to the top in no time.
The sun had become pretty intense by the time we reached the gully and it was a welcomed sight to see some shade! There was very minimal wind, if any, as well which made for very optimal climbing and skiing conditions.
After a quick jaunt up the gully we reached the exit point and found that there were two possible exits. The group in front of us took the lower route while we tried to go straight up the chimney. After reaching a choke point in the chimney, I decided it would be best with skis on my back to down climb a bit and take the lower route.
All we had left at this point was a short stroll to the summit and made it to the top around 9:20.
We relaxed and chatted with the second party for about 40 minutes allowing the snow to soften up a bit and then we were on our way.
We should've waited at least another half hour because the snow at the top was pretty bulletproof and it was a bit challenging to get an edge.
Once we got down into the actual chute and off the main face, the snow was soft, smooth, and stable which made the skiing pretty awesome.
The conditions in the Lavender col on the other hand were nothing to write home about but it was still fun nonetheless! Try to hug the skiers right because thats where we found the best snow.
Gilpin was looking mighty sexy by the time we got to the base of the col so we decided to skin back up and get some more turns in.
We were rewarded with some nice, soft corn and got in enough turns to make the trip back to the car very pleasant.
Shortly after 12pm we were back at camp and ready to indulge the ice cold beers waiting for us! Overall we were very pleased with the conditions because the dust layer was pretty much non-existant and the snow was incredibly stable and soft for the most part.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Benners, your skin track up Gilpin was much appreciated. Better quality skiing over there than on sneffels.
I would imagine that line will hold for several more weeks, but the access will not be as good. We were able to skin from the car, but I don't see that lasting much longer
i've never been to the area before, what would you guess the RT stats are for sneffels from where the road is closed?
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