Sneffels Snake Couloir/Dogleg Couloir

[skier25]

I think that snake/dogleg are the same thing?

What is the rappel like off the top of Sneffels into the Snake? How difficult is topping out of that couloir in high snow? I looked at the reports, and am contemplating it on skis. Any input would be appreciated thanks.

[drex27]

Climbed and skied the Snake (Dogleg) last year in early May. Amazing climb and thrilling descent. I believe that the final 100' rock pitch is rated 5.6, w/o snow. Two more experienced climbers in our group free climbed, while myself and another roped-up. I thought the first few moves up a small chimney were the most difficult, then mellows out after that to not much more than a steep snow climb. Its pretty straight-forward, but there's a lot of air under your boots. The rappel isn't anything fancy and a nice horn at the summit for an anchor.

Blaine Basin is amazing and I'd recommend an overnight camp to get an early start on the couloir.

[joe4186]

I would appreciate conditions if/when you check it out....

Thanks

[burningthebushes]

We did it mid-may last year. We used one way up and another down. Up, we picked a little gully just before the summit. It went into a notch and then took a bit of snowy 4th class to get to the summit. The way down we followed Roaches description and went off the summit to the SE and then cut back under the summit to the couloir. This was much more exciting and put us on exposed, very steep snow, for a 30' traverse from the ridge to the snake. There are a few options so you can see what looks good to you when you get there.