Little Bear, April-May

[uwe]

Hi,

I'll be leading (2) CMC trips - April 26/27 & April 27/28 up Little Bear Peak.
I'll be sure to post some beta notes for you.

Uwe

[nyker]

Thanks Uwe

[KyleS]

We're going to attempt this as well - not this weekend but possibly the 20th/21st if anyone else is interested... Otherwise, I'll post a conditions report afterward.

Also, looking from the San Luis Valley this morning, the Blanca Massif is getting hammered. Probably the same wet, heavy snow as we're getting on the San Juan side of the valley.

[ETA]

I'm looking at the weekend of April 20-21, depending on the weather forecast as it gets closer. I would likely drive down early Saturday and hike to the lake, climb up and pack out Sunday. I'm an average climber and will not be moving fast, if conditions aren't good I'll turn around and save it for another day. It's a great hike up Como Road and I can't wait to get back there.

[globreal]

If you get out here and the conditions don't cooperate, you can still get this peak via the South West ridge which in my opinion be quite avy safe if the standard route appears not to be. Here is a TR when I climb in March 2011:

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

I'd hate for you to come out from New York and not be able to climb.

I am targeting climbing Little Bear this Spring, the goal being to do it with some snowpack to *ideally* minimize rockfall, etc.

I am planning to do it as an overnighter; i.e. to hike up my favorite road again then camp around or above the lake and got for it in the early morning. Timing TBD but I'll be watching conditions until Memorial Day, which seems like the far end date for suitable snow conditions.

For those who have climbed it in Spring snow conditions, I'd welcome your thoughts and suggestions.

Thanks!

Rob

[MonGoose]

KyleS, ETA,
I'm interested in joining along next weekend for Little Bear. Hiking into Lake Como on Saturday and doing Little Bear Sunday before hiking out would probably work best for me.


globreal, Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it's possible to do the SW ridge from Lake Como. Don't you have to start around 9,000'? We won't know what the Hourglass looks like until we get pretty close.

[BenfromtheEast]

Please correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think it's possible to do the SW ridge from Lake Como. Don't you have to start around 9,000'? We won't know what the Hourglass looks like until we get pretty close.

Greetings, THE MonGoose! SW ridge of LB from Lake Como is possible. But please see Surf's "Tour de Little Bear" TR for what not to do. Our descent route would be much more fun to ascend. But on descent, I'd have to recommend sticking to the ridge much longer than we did, then contouring around and past LB Lake to the notch back to Lake Como. This would take forever, and double forever if you wanted to inspect the Hourglass first. Maybe if you did it on a cool, cloudy day you could get back through the LB Lake and Lake Como areas without postholing to your ears. I'd say you should either decide to do the SW ridge the normal way, or have an extra day for the SW Ridge from Como if the Hourglass doesn't look good on the first day.

[BillMiddlebrook]

Is there anyone down in the San Luis Valley area who can post a photo of the Blanca group? Most interested in snow conditions of the Hourglass on Little Bear.

Thanks!

[jdorje]

Is there anyone down in the San Luis Valley area who can post a photo of the Blanca group? Most interested in snow conditions of the Hourglass on Little Bear.

I was going to post this Sunday, but forgot. It's before the recent storm though...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/133 ... .48.53.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[nyker]

If you get out here and the conditions don't cooperate, you can still get this peak via the South West ridge which in my opinion be quite avy safe if the standard route appears not to be. Here is a TR when I climb in March 2011:

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

I'd hate for you to come out from New York and not be able to climb.

I am targeting climbing Little Bear this Spring, the goal being to do it with some snowpack to *ideally* minimize rockfall, etc.

I am planning to do it as an overnighter; i.e. to hike up my favorite road again then camp around or above the lake and got for it in the early morning. Timing TBD but I'll be watching conditions until Memorial Day, which seems like the far end date for suitable snow conditions.

For those who have climbed it in Spring snow conditions, I'd welcome your thoughts and suggestions.


Thanks!

Rob

Thanks globreal, appreciate the thought. I have been thinking of that in the back of my mind...

[nyker]

..... It's a great hike up Como Road and I can't wait to get back there.

ETA, May the Force be with you!

[big_red_pride]

I have a question as a friend and I are looking at hitting up LB as a snow climb. How much longer do you think the Hourglass will hold the snow before it turns into ice? I assume know one will have an exact answer, but if there is some ideas historically how long it will hold snow that would be helpful. Thanks!