East Vail Gore Range 13er's

[traderaaron]

Any conditions update for the East Vail area Gore Range 13er's, specifically around Gore and Deluge lake basins and Snow Pass?

[Matt]

As of yesterday:
The Deluge Lake trail is dry, steep, & infested with tourists (up to the lake) and mosquitos (up to 11k or so).
Snow Pass is dry, and there's no need for an ice axe, spikes, etc., to climb Snow, Valhalla, or Grand Traverse.
Views into the distance are hazy, but Gore peaks are pretty clear.
Feel free to shoot me a PM if you need more info.

[gdthomas]

To confirm much of what Matt has said, as of 6/23/12 Bighorn, DeLuge and Gore Creek trails are snow free. I imagine Booth Falls and Pitkin are as well. Although there are plenty of snowfields above 12,000' on mostly north facing aspects, everything I could see from Grand Traverse appeared passable w/o having to deal with snow, including Snow Pass.

[traderaaron]

As of yesterday:
The Deluge Lake trail is dry, steep, & infested with tourists (up to the lake) and mosquitos (up to 11k or so).
Snow Pass is dry, and there's no need for an ice axe, spikes, etc., to climb Snow, Valhalla, or Grand Traverse.
Views into the distance are hazy, but Gore peaks are pretty clear.
Feel free to shoot me a PM if you need more info.

Great, that's what I expected to hear. I am thinking about backpacking the Gore/Snow/Deluge as quick loop and hitting those peaks early next week before July 4th. (This time without getting lost on the old Deluge Creek trail)