Shavano conditions

[robco]

Does anyone have any beta on Shavano conditions?

I was thinking of snowshoeing up Shavano this weekend. (Without really researching beforehand, I just assumed I could snowshoe up the summer trail and avoid the Angel because it might be too early for a stable snowclimb.) Now that I'm actually looking at the route, it looks like the summer trail intersects the Angel route partway up and might have avalanche danger itself. I've never climbed these peaks before, so hard to tell.

Anyone know how the snow coverage is? Do we need to bring our probes/beacons/shovels? Are snowshoes necessary? Which route is the best bet? Is this a good/safe time of the year to climb, or would it be wiser to find another mountain? Looking at TRs from previous years, it looked like there was almost no snow in November (but something tells me it might be different this time).

Thanks!

[BKS]

The slope is pretty mild on Shavano. The angel tops out at about 30 degrees on lower portion - mid to upper is even less than that. Standard route crosses the angel at about the head. The options from there to top in the snow are vast. The routes aren't that far apart and one could move from one to the other fairly easily.

My trip report from Memorial Day might help on gaining a sense of slope in angel and the options from top of the head of the angel to top. http://14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=5989&parmuser=bks&cpgm=tripmain&ski=Include.

Wish I had current conditions.

[dan_spors]

I was there two weeks ago. At that time, the snow was at most 6" deep, so snowshoes would be overkill, but microspikes would have come in handy. The trail just past treeline was hard packed and slippery--definitely treacherous with just boots on. I didn't summit due to conditions but turned around at 13,000'. Past my highpoint the trail looked much the same; no deep snow cover but plenty of hard packed snow on the trail.

[Monster5]

I was up there on Sunday. Drove to the 250/252 split with 4WD and parked there. I followed hunter tracks for .5 mi without snowshoes, but they were definitely necessary past there (~2.5 mi to the trailhead). The trail was pretty hard to distinguish. Hopefully, the road/trail has melted off but you definitely need to study the route or hope somebody else laid tracks this weekend.