Uncompahgre in March

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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jmanner
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Uncompahgre in March

Post by jmanner »

Hey Forum,

Buddy and I were thinking about backpacking in and attempting Uncompaghre on the next nice weekend. Which leads me to my point: having read USAKeller's great report from 03/11/2012, does anyone have any other thoughts about conditions "down" there in mid-late winter? Or specifically anyone attempted it this winter and want to pass on some of their wisdom? -Thank ya
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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sstratta
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by sstratta »

It took me 4 attempts before I finally got to the summit, and even though none of those were in March, they were pretty close (February, April, and May). Here's my trip report:

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... m=tripuser" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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jmanner
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by jmanner »

sstratta wrote:It took me 4 attempts before I finally got to the summit, and even though none of those were in March, they were pretty close (February, April, and May). Here's my trip report:

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepor ... m=tripuser" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Perfect time frame thank you! I remember reading your trip report last summer! Good stuff! =D>
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by ameristrat »

jmanner wrote:Hey Forum,

Buddy and I were thinking about backpacking in and attempting Uncompaghre on the next nice weekend. Which leads me to my point: having read USAKeller's great report from 03/11/2012, does anyone have any other thoughts about conditions "down" there in mid-late winter? Or specifically anyone attempted it this winter and want to pass on some of their wisdom? -Thank ya
Keep an eye on the snow too. Remember last year was a very low snow year. If snow continues to not fall in Colorado, you can probably expect similar conditions. If it continues to snow like it's about to this weekend, it could be deeper / snowier / generally different. I daresay a partially covered Sunshine / Redcloud in January like we saw was pretty atypical. Keep an eye on TRs and Conditions Reports from that area.
You cannot stay on the summit forever; you have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know. - Rene Daumal
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Carl
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by Carl »

Looks like Bean's got the other March TR from our trip. We made two attempts. Turned back the first time a little above 13k because we were concerned about avy danger on that slope that is around 30 degrees. I'd be on guard in that area.

If you find firm snow or a broken trail the 15 miles and 5,500 vert can be done relatively easily in a day. We were back in Gunnison for lunch before 1pm cause Bean made us start too early.
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by Bean »

Carl wrote:We were back in Gunnison for lunch before 1pm cause Bean made us start too early.
Sounds like I made us start at the right time.
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by lodgling »

Bean is never early, nor is he late. He arrives at Powerstop precisely when he means to.
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by jmanner »

Thanks for the comments! I agree that to be back in Gunnison by 1pm seems like the exact right time to be done (if you have to drive back to the Denver Metro.)! By the way, how early is that!?!?!

If anyone is interested here is a avalanche report from Uncompaghre from 02/17/13: https://avalanche.state.co.us/obs/obs_r ... s_id=17635" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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jmanner
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Re: Uncompahgre in March

Post by jmanner »

Carl wrote:Looks like Bean's got the other March TR from our trip. We made two attempts. Turned back the first time a little above 13k because we were concerned about avy danger on that slope that is around 30 degrees. I'd be on guard in that area.

If you find firm snow or a broken trail the 15 miles and 5,500 vert can be done relatively easily in a day. We were back in Gunnison for lunch before 1pm cause Bean made us start too early.

Just got a chance to look at the trip report. I can't believe grass was visible in March!! :faint:
A man has got to know his limitations.-Dr. Jonathan Hemlock or Harry Callahan or something F' it: http://youtu.be/lpzqQst-Sg8

'Life is too short to ski groomers'

"That man's only desire was to stand, once only, on the summit of that glorious wedge of rock...I think anyone who loves the mountains as much as that can claim to be a mountaineer, too."-Hermann Buhl, Nanga Parbat Pilgrimage
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