Traverse down Harvard toward Columbia gets semi-technical. Would recommend staying low until reaching the saddle right before the ascent up Columbia. Rock is very loose and my group wished we had brought helmets for this portion. Another tricky section of this trail is down Columbia via the West Slopes. Descent is very steep with lots of loose gravel from about 13,500' to 12,500' if I had to guess. Additionally, there is a portion where it looked like the trail had been washed out by a rock slide. We tried to do some make-shift switch backs, which worked out relatively well. Leave lots of extra time if you plan to do the combo. From the top of Harvard to tree-line of Columbia took us almost 5 hours, due to these short but difficult sections.
|
