Temps that snowshoes are needed on Quandary??? HELP

[ChrystalSunshine]

Hoping to do Quandary tomorrow early. I am in from out of town and could not get snowshoes on the plane, but have crampons. I have climbed 14ers mostly in the summer and all of my winter hikes have been at a much lower temperature. Breck is forcasted at 20/47 degrees tomorrow. With a 6AM start, wondering if folks with more experience with these spring temps can tell me if I am going to be in trouble without snowshoes. I figure the trip up, temps starting at 20ish and dropping 4 for every 1000 feet should be okay, but not sure about coming down. Any input is appreciated. Thank you!

[dpage]

Better than Breck's forecast is Quandary's
http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/weather.p ... 106.106430" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You could look at the hourly graph to determine when it's going to be cold enough and plan from there.

[JQDivide]

Crampons will not be needed.
Take a look at the "Conditions" reports.

[MountainHiker]

When I do Quandary in the winter I always use a trekking pole and pack MicroSpikes. Crampons are overkill. But if I didn't have a pole or spikes I would rather pack crampons than be up there with no traction. People often do Quandary without snowshoes in the winter, but without you are more dependent on not losing the track. If it does warm up you might have some memorable post holes. If you lose the track, especially below treeline, you could do a lot of post holing. I've worn snowshoes when I could have done without them. I have also endured a few post holes rather than have the weight. Look at the forecast and pack for the weather. Heed the sign at the trailhead that warns of staying on route on the return. The standard route is considered "easy" by fourteener standards, but getting off route can lead to SAR event sketchy cliff outs. Never forget a minor incident in the summer can turn real bad in the winter.

[ChrystalSunshine]

Thank you all very much. I also brought some spikes that are something between crampons and micro, so I'll take those If crampons are overkill. I'll definitely make sure I stay on trail and will be taking an ice ax as well as trek poles. It's too late to rent snowshoes now so I may come back with some posthole stories. I'm the posthole queen and have gotten so used to it that I don't even curse anymore

[ChrystalSunshine]

Okay. I lied. I STILL curse when I posthole every step. Went to wrong trailhead bc it was dark. It was the closed monte cristo trailhead with a road that you walk on first. There were several cars parked there, so I thought it was a go. Passed the trail up twice bc the wind was so strong that it was covering up any footsteps from the prior travellers. By the time I hiked back the second time and saw the trail , it was sunny and warm and i postholed every step, not to mention, I was in avalanche path at times and didn't have avy gear. Finally came out after hiking more miles than I would have to get to summit and talked to some folks at the REAL trailhead who told me I did the right thing to bail bc I was definitely not on the winter trail. Ill be going back tomorrow if any of you want to meet an idiot.

[AlexeyD]

Okay. I lied. I STILL curse when I posthole every step. Went to wrong trailhead bc it was dark. It was the closed monte cristo trailhead with a road that you walk on first. There were several cars parked there, so I thought it was a go. Passed the trail up twice bc the wind was so strong that it was covering up any footsteps from the prior travellers. By the time I hiked back the second time and saw the trail , it was sunny and warm and i postholed every step, not to mention, I was in avalanche path at times and didn't have avy gear. Finally came out after hiking more miles than I would have to get to summit and talked to some folks at the REAL trailhead who told me I did the right thing to bail bc I was definitely not on the winter trail. Ill be going back tomorrow if any of you want to meet an idiot.

Not to rub salt in the wound, and really more of a general question than one directed at you specifically...but, still, I have to ask: why do people find it necessary to get a pre-dawn start for a mountain like Quandary this time of year? Apart from time constraints related to personal obligations, I really don't see a reason for it. This time of year there is no thunderstorm hazard and around 12 hours of daylight to work with. In my perhaps unfair opinion, if you are actually PLANNING on taking more than 12 hours to do Quandary up and down (I'm not talking about unforeseen delays - that is what headlamps, emergency rations, etc. are for), you may want to consider a different objective. Anyway...perhaps this is all just a projection of my deep hatred for getting up early, but just curious to hear people's reasoning.

[AyeYo]

Okay. I lied. I STILL curse when I posthole every step. Went to wrong trailhead bc it was dark. It was the closed monte cristo trailhead with a road that you walk on first. There were several cars parked there, so I thought it was a go. Passed the trail up twice bc the wind was so strong that it was covering up any footsteps from the prior travellers. By the time I hiked back the second time and saw the trail , it was sunny and warm and i postholed every step, not to mention, I was in avalanche path at times and didn't have avy gear. Finally came out after hiking more miles than I would have to get to summit and talked to some folks at the REAL trailhead who told me I did the right thing to bail bc I was definitely not on the winter trail. Ill be going back tomorrow if any of you want to meet an idiot.

Not to rub salt in the wound, and really more of a general question than one directed at you specifically...but, still, I have to ask: why do people find it necessary to get a pre-dawn start for a mountain like Quandary this time of year? Apart from time constraints related to personal obligations, I really don't see a reason for it. This time of year there is no thunderstorm hazard and around 12 hours of daylight to work with. In my perhaps unfair opinion, if you are actually PLANNING on taking more than 12 hours to do Quandary up and down (I'm not talking about unforeseen delays - that is what headlamps, emergency rations, etc. are for), you may want to consider a different objective. Anyway...perhaps this is all just a projection of my deep hatred for getting up early, but just curious to hear people's reasoning.

I keep wondering this too when I see people's start times. Why not wait until it warms up? 8-9am works great this time of year.

[AnnaG22]

By the time I hiked back the second time and saw the trail , it was sunny and warm and i postholed every step, not to mention, I was in avalanche path at times and didn't have avy gear.

Wait a second, if you found the real east ridge trail, where were you that you were in or under avy terrain?

That said, best of luck tomorrow! The correct trail is about 100 feet past the summer TH sign but on the left side of the road, hopefully it will be more obvious for you!

[AlexeyD]

By the time I hiked back the second time and saw the trail , it was sunny and warm and i postholed every step, not to mention, I was in avalanche path at times and didn't have avy gear.

Wait a second, if you found the real east ridge trail, where were you that you were in or under avy terrain?

That said, best of luck tomorrow! The correct trail is about 100 feet past the summer TH sign but on the left side of the road, hopefully it will be more obvious for you!

Could it be that she went up the Blue Lakes Road instead?

[AyeYo]

By the time I hiked back the second time and saw the trail , it was sunny and warm and i postholed every step, not to mention, I was in avalanche path at times and didn't have avy gear.

Wait a second, if you found the real east ridge trail, where were you that you were in or under avy terrain?

That said, best of luck tomorrow! The correct trail is about 100 feet past the summer TH sign but on the left side of the road, hopefully it will be more obvious for you!

Up the lake road to the closed trail head before the Quandary Tunnel. Probably went up through the trees on the south slope on the approach area.

[MountainHiker]

I strongly suggest studying the Quandary Peak route and trailhead pages on this site. Printing out a map is a good thing. Print 2, maps can blow away! The paper map can be protected by putting it in a large zip lock bag. A topo map with UTM grid can be printed at caltopo http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=39.39721 ... 1&z=14&b=t
Don't rely solely on your phone for navigation. If you need a signal for any apps you'll drain the battery (which you might need in an emergency as a phone) Even if you can save the battery somewhat by having everything stored off line, phones perform best on nice days when nothing is at stake. Actual hard copy map & compass skills supplemented with GPS will come through for you in a storm when a touch screen phone will fail.