Condition Update | Mt. Blue Sky

Peak:	Mt. Blue Sky
Route:	West Ridge from Guanella Pass
Range:	Front
Posted By:	the_hare
Date of Info:	1/12/2022
Date Posted:	1/13/2022

Condition Update
Road has a very nice bootpack but I'd still recommend gaiters from here on for the occasional off-track posthole. The "shortcut" for the second switchback isn't trenched now. The trail through the willow marsh has a decent bootpack except for where the moose have destroyed it. Moose tracks abound everywhere here even on the road. No moose for me today tho :( There is a packed down snowshoe trench shooting off the main trail just past the first large pond, will attach picture of location. It goes over the hills in the marsh to the northeast and continues on to a small kidney-shaped pond just west of the low-angle Scott Gomer drainage at 11,860 ft elevation. I ran into this trench after branching off from the summer Sawtooth return trail. The person who made the trench apparently climbed the boulders to gain the drainage above so I followed. The drainage slope northeast of the creek is snow-covered, it has a hard crust that supported me at times but I mostly punched through to mid-calf. I crossed the beautiful frozen Scott Gomer Creek with microspikes, the snow on the banks has a thick windblown crust that held me but the creek is still very slick. The northwest facing slope on the other side of the creek and the slopes onwards to Evans W ridge has light patches of crusty snow and avoidable snowfields. The trail through the boulderfield on the ridge has small snowdrifts at some points but they're mostly avoidable. Summit is clear of snow. Will attach pictures of the Sawtooth. Looked super loaded on the east side. The big steep gully that holds the Sawtooth return trail looked bare for the most part. I did not see a trench going between the gully and the main trail. Great day for my 10th total winter 14er. Perfect weather and not too strenuous of a hike. Scott Gomer creek in the drainage had an incredible glacial blue color to the ice. What a wonderful & peaceful time snowshoeing through the middle of the frozen willow ponds after dark under moonlight too.

Condition Update

Road has a very nice bootpack but I'd still recommend gaiters from here on for the occasional off-track posthole. The "shortcut" for the second switchback isn't trenched now. The trail through the willow marsh has a decent bootpack except for where the moose have destroyed it. Moose tracks abound everywhere here even on the road. No moose for me today tho :(

There is a packed down snowshoe trench shooting off the main trail just past the first large pond, will attach picture of location. It goes over the hills in the marsh to the northeast and continues on to a small kidney-shaped pond just west of the low-angle Scott Gomer drainage at 11,860 ft elevation. I ran into this trench after branching off from the summer Sawtooth return trail. The person who made the trench apparently climbed the boulders to gain the drainage above so I followed.

The drainage slope northeast of the creek is snow-covered, it has a hard crust that supported me at times but I mostly punched through to mid-calf. I crossed the beautiful frozen Scott Gomer Creek with microspikes, the snow on the banks has a thick windblown crust that held me but the creek is still very slick. The northwest facing slope on the other side of the creek and the slopes onwards to Evans W ridge has light patches of crusty snow and avoidable snowfields. The trail through the boulderfield on the ridge has small snowdrifts at some points but they're mostly avoidable. Summit is clear of snow.

Will attach pictures of the Sawtooth. Looked super loaded on the east side. The big steep gully that holds the Sawtooth return trail looked bare for the most part. I did not see a trench going between the gully and the main trail.

Great day for my 10th total winter 14er. Perfect weather and not too strenuous of a hike. Scott Gomer creek in the drainage had an incredible glacial blue color to the ice. What a wonderful & peaceful time snowshoeing through the middle of the frozen willow ponds after dark under moonlight too.

Comments or Questions

14er101	Route 1/13/2022 11:44am Do you think the conditions are good on Scott Gomer creek to climb up it directly? Also, did you ever get a look down the steep gully?
greenonion	Willows 1/13/2022 10:06am Was there enough snow to keep you on top of the willows?
the_hare	re: 1/13/2022 12:11pm @14er101 maybe if you had ice climbing gear! there were some small frozen falls you'd have to climb up. I'd honestly be scared of sliding all the way down, the ice was super slick and impenetrable even with spikes. I'd probably say not good to climb up but I'm not too familiar w ice like this. And no sorry I didn't look down the steep gully, I just have that pic from the bottom @greenonion yes for the most part the snow covers the willows but it was still a gamble. In the flatter more windblown areas sometimes there was windblown crust thick enough to support, sometimes not but for the most part I had decent flotation. Further down the basin the snow was less consolidated and so there was a bit more postholing into the willow bushes
14er101	re:2 1/13/2022 1:35pm Thanks, appreciate it!
cloudkicker	That was our trench 1/13/2022 2:55pm That was our trench
stickmann	Nice 1/13/2022 4:09pm Congrats on another snowflake, with Humboldt only 5 days ago? What's next?
JasonCrane	Wooooooo! 1/13/2022 4:32pm Evans is a good one in winter. I'll be slogging up that gully the last week of January! Thanks for the info. & saw your summit of Humboldt, as well. Congrats!!
greenonion	Thanks and a little more... 1/13/2022 5:52pm Thanks and a little more...
the_hare	Re: 1/13/2022 8:19pm Re:
greenonion	Muchas gracias 1/13/2022 11:13pm Smiley emoji here. Thanks for a great report and details!

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