Shavano Critical Update

[ajkagy]

Carnegie- Again to truly grasp the destruction take a 55g barrel of Lincoln Logs and dump them down a flight of stairs. Place two Army Men at the base of the stairs as 'hikers'. A logging company could perhaps make significant progress on clearing the downed trees 'this year', but with all due respect to the FS, I question the ability of the FS to have the resources and manpower available to dedicate that level of progress required perhaps even if given the end of 2013. A far more realistic expectation would be a re-route of segments of the trail and addressing of the unfallen trees in the near-term. I agree with sgladbach- the worst I've ever encountered too. Had anyone witnessed this level of destruction down in Denver, everyone would probably come to the conclusion this was the result of a tornado. Although possible, it's not probable in that terrain.

You'd be surprised how fast a team of guys with chain saws could clear trail...has anybody proposed maybe organizing a day to get a ton of people out there for a volunteer clean up?

Most likely a microburst, but you can't rule out a tornado since they can touch down anywhere...even at 14k feet in the mountains.

[MrFrumpylane]

Carnegie- Again to truly grasp the destruction take a 55g barrel of Lincoln Logs and dump them down a flight of stairs. Place two Army Men at the base of the stairs as 'hikers'. A logging company could perhaps make significant progress on clearing the downed trees 'this year', but with all due respect to the FS, I question the ability of the FS to have the resources and manpower available to dedicate that level of progress required perhaps even if given the end of 2013. A far more realistic expectation would be a re-route of segments of the trail and addressing of the unfallen trees in the near-term. I agree with sgladbach- the worst I've ever encountered too. Had anyone witnessed this level of destruction down in Denver, everyone would probably come to the conclusion this was the result of a tornado. Although possible, it's not probable in that terrain.

You're right to question the resources that the FS has to tackle this problem. I still know folks who work in wilderness/trail crew and they tell me that budgets have been slashed in recent times- meaning, small crews. Past experience tells me that they are most likely to reroute the carnage portions (assuming the trail is under their jurisdiction - much of the 14er trails in my FS district when I was employed were not).

[Boggy B]

[bbutzin]

Question... if the Shavano trail is in such bad shape, is that going to push people toward the old Jennings Creek TH to Tabby? I know we're not *supposed* to use that trail, but I am just curious if people are going to.

[skerrane]

My thoughts would be to head up from Brown's Creek as opposed to Jennings. I'm actually trying to plan that for later in the summer

[scottrappold]

It sounds like many, many areas of southern Colorado were hit hard by the windstorm.

Winter winds took a big toll on southern Colorado trails
Hikers should prepare to find downed trees
May 08, 2012 9:12 AM
R. SCOTT RAPPOLD
THE GAZETTE

Southern Colorado hikers and peak-baggers heading to the high country this summer will face a challenge besides exhaustion and thunderstorms.

As the snow melts, the U.S. Forest Service is assessing damage from a Nov. 11 windstorm that blasted the southern Sawatch range in Chaffee County and the Sangre de Cristos in Custer County and the news isn't good.

“Due to the severity and potential hazards created by this natural event, it may be necessary to administratively close trails to public use this summer to protect public safety and allow sawyer crews to perform operations," said San Isabel National Forest Ranger Paul Crespin in a news release.

Officials said many trails and roads are blocked by downed trees, and in other areas unstable trees could collapse on their own.

Rest of story: http://articles.outtherecolorado.com/ar ... ounty.html

[tmathews]

Question... if the Shavano trail is in such bad shape, is that going to push people toward the old Jennings Creek TH to Tabby? I know we're not *supposed* to use that trail, but I am just curious if people are going to.

You can still use the Jennings Creek TH to access Tabeguache (and Shavano). The closed route is the southwest ridge, but if you hike along Jennings Creek further into the basin you can access the west ridge at the saddle between Tabeguache and Carbonate Mountain and follow the ridge to the summit(s). There isn't a lot of space for vehicles to park around the TH, though.

[RJansen77]

Question... if the Shavano trail is in such bad shape, is that going to push people toward the old Jennings Creek TH to Tabby? I know we're not *supposed* to use that trail, but I am just curious if people are going to.

You can still use the Jennings Creek TH to access Tabeguache (and Shavano). The closed route is the southwest ridge, but if you hike along Jennings Creek further into the basin you can access the west ridge at the saddle between Tabeguache and Carbonate Mountain and follow the ridge to the summit(s). There isn't a lot of space for vehicles to park around the TH, though.

Terry is correct on this. We climbed Tab via this route last October. There is only room for a few vehicles to park, no room for camping (at the TH) and it's not the most exciting Sawatch hike (in my opinion). Still could be a nice way to avoid the trees though.

[mikemalick]

Question... if the Shavano trail is in such bad shape, is that going to push people toward the old Jennings Creek TH to Tabby? I know we're not *supposed* to use that trail, but I am just curious if people are going to.

You can still use the Jennings Creek TH to access Tabeguache (and Shavano). The closed route is the southwest ridge, but if you hike along Jennings Creek further into the basin you can access the west ridge at the saddle between Tabeguache and Carbonate Mountain and follow the ridge to the summit(s). There isn't a lot of space for vehicles to park around the TH, though.

I just cracked open my 2nd and 3rd editions of Roach's Colorado's Fourteeners books and what you are saying about further into the basin appears to be exactly what Roach advocates. The 2nd Ed still showed the SW Ridge Route along with the hike further into the basin whereas 3rd Ed no longer shows SW Ridge. Take the basin route all the way to the saddle just as you said.

[RyanSchilling]

Question... if the Shavano trail is in such bad shape, is that going to push people toward the old Jennings Creek TH to Tabby? I know we're not *supposed* to use that trail, but I am just curious if people are going to.

You can still use the Jennings Creek TH to access Tabeguache (and Shavano). The closed route is the southwest ridge, but if you hike along Jennings Creek further into the basin you can access the west ridge at the saddle between Tabeguache and Carbonate Mountain and follow the ridge to the summit(s). There isn't a lot of space for vehicles to park around the TH, though.

I just cracked open my 2nd and 3rd editions of Roach's Colorado's Fourteeners books and what you are saying about further into the basin appears to be exactly what Roach advocates. The 2nd Ed still showed the SW Ridge Route along with the hike further into the basin whereas 3rd Ed no longer shows SW Ridge. Take the basin route all the way to the saddle just as you said.

I took this route via the Carbonate saddle to Tab many years ago, and it's quite pleasant.

[semitrueskerm]

Does anyone who did this climb and saw the distruction have any pictures of it? I did the Tab/Shav climb in October, and I can't fathom how bad it sounds.

[sgladbach]

If someone told me I could "do anything a man could do", I'd be insulted. I can do a lot more than that.

Women won't be equal to men until they can walk down the street bald with a beer-belly and still think they are sexy.