Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

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dkoehler
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Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by dkoehler »

I'm a Southern Indiana flatlander coming out Wednesday with a buddy. We are planning on Elbert, Massive or La Plata on Thursday through Saturday. Does anyone know if there is any snow or need for Yaktrax?
coweitze
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by coweitze »

Some friends and I just hiked La Plata on Friday, 9/14 and there is a bit of snow from ~14,000' and higher. It is very minimal snow (~1-2 inches) from the storm that came through last Wednesday. Most of the trail was already clear but there were a few spots that were snow-packed where Microspikes or Yaktrax could provide some confidence but are definitely not required. We did not use anything and I would think if there is not another storm that comes through before your hike you will have no need for them. We also visually saw about the same amount of snow on Elbert and Massive (from ~14,000' and above).
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a94buff
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by a94buff »

From holy cross yesterday snow was evident on north sides of massive and Elbert above 13k or so, but didn't appear to be much and will probably be all but gone by then - forecast looks terrific. If I was planning on any of those 3 via standard routes I wouldn't bother with traction but that's your call.
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CarpeDM
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by CarpeDM »

I was just up on French and Casco yesterday, so saw these from the west. There did not appear to be any reason for traction assistance on Massive or Elbert - but possibly the upper reaches of LaPlata (although I doubt that snow will be there after today). We most certainly did not need anything on the French/Casco loop.
Massive from French Mtn 9/15/2012 (sorry for the dufus blocking your view)
Massive from French Mtn 9/15/2012 (sorry for the dufus blocking your view)
IMG2495_small.jpg (242.8 KiB) Viewed 729 times
Elbert from Casco 9/15/2012
Elbert from Casco 9/15/2012
IMG_2505_small.jpg (186.56 KiB) Viewed 729 times
LaPlata from Casco 9/15/2012
LaPlata from Casco 9/15/2012
IMG_2504_small.jpg (188.94 KiB) Viewed 729 times
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powdergator
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by powdergator »

Went up Elbert yesterday south east trail...trail completely dry, free of snow...so far!
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Doctor No
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by Doctor No »

Did Massive yesterday - all snow to the summit was avoidable. If you head over to North Massive, be ready to avoid snow.
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cutbackcoach
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by cutbackcoach »

Elbert's East Ridge trail was clear and dry yesterday.
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GnomeSherpa
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by GnomeSherpa »

Massive just got some freshies this morning. The last break in the clouds showed this round going lower in elevation. That being said, it looks like it is suppose to be sunny the rest of the week. It'll probably melt off pretty quick.
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EM_in_CO
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Re: Any Elbert or Massive Snow?

Post by EM_in_CO »

This photo was taken on the Mt. Massive Trail at 11,500 (~treeline) on 09/17/2012 at approximately 10:10am. Although the photo does not show it well, the snow was between 1 to 2 inches at the time and still falling heavily. The solid snowline went below 11,000 feet, but there was only a dusting below ~10,500.

After taking the photo, my dog and I waited for about 30 minutes to see if the storm would subside. It did very briefly and offered a quick view of the lower portions of South Massive, but no views opened to the summit. The lower portions of South Massive had a decent covering of snow. The forecast is calling for sun and warmer temps this week so this likely will melt.
Massive Green 009 (m1024).jpg
Massive Green 009 (m1024).jpg (233.82 KiB) Viewed 476 times
<Edit> The second photo is a look south (over Elbert's way) from ~10,200 on the Mt. Massive Trail. The photo was taken at approximately 12:10pm.
Massive Green 022 (m).jpg
Massive Green 022 (m).jpg (211.74 KiB) Viewed 453 times
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