south mt elbert

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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marianne
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south mt elbert

Post by marianne »

Has anyone been up Elbert from the south lately? Conditions of the trailhead and the route would be nice to know.
Thanks
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dpage
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by dpage »

Conditions reports from 1/5/13
http://14ers.com/php14ers/peakstatus_en ... ecnum=2014" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Hope that helps.
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ChrisinAZ
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by ChrisinAZ »

I didn't get a great look at the Black Cloud Trail route from the south, but what I could see of the steep slopes below the ridge showed a mixture of semi-bare slopes and maybe 4-6" of snow. Didn't see enough there to be a major avy concern.

The South Mt. Elbert Trail going up the east ridge is currently doable with no special equipment. Should stay that way this weekend unless a lot of snow falls.
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason."
— Jack Handy


Mah peaks
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shearmodulus
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by shearmodulus »

Climbed it on 22 December. South TH was clear (could see the pavement). The road part of the trail was hardpacked snow but looked to be softening up at the end of the day, we used micro spikes on this section. Once we got into the trees on the singletrack, we switched to snowshoes to get the extra traction and climbing wire on the heel. There was a good trench all the way up to the treeline, and from there on out it was wind-swept and clear, switched back to spikes for the last 2,000 feet elevation gain.

We had contemplated camping at the north Elbert TH and doing both Elbert and Massive on a two-day trip but the road in to the TH was snow-covered and we were driving through tracks in the snow. With the weather coming in, I didn't like the prospects of driving out without chains (I have a huge 4x4 pickup) if the forecasted 12 inches were to drop on us.
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Hoot
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by Hoot »

Anyone make it up Elbert on the East Slopes trail via Twin Lakes in the past week? I'm assuming there's still a trench in the trees and a largely windswept ridge above tree line.
Bethie
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by Bethie »

Hey Hoot, The CMC group did not go up this past wkend.
Beth
"Wherever you go, there you are..."
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Hoot
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by Hoot »

Bethie wrote:Hey Hoot, The CMC group did not go up this past wkend.
Yep. I got that report. :wink: Conditions sounded good last weekend. I'm just wondering if the route got much snow over the past few days.
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illusion7il
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Re: south mt elbert

Post by illusion7il »

Summited Mt. Elbert using East Slopes on Wednesday 1/9 via Lower South Mt Elbert trailhead. Anything should make it to lower TH, and 4WD needed to get to upper TH. Solid Bootpacked trail all the way. My buddy wore a pair of well ventilated Ascis running shoes and somehow his feet never got cold or wet. ***Not Recomended*** The High was 26 with a windchill factor of 0-10. Conditions may have changed with the tiny storm that rolled in late week.
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