Mt. Harvard

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/21/2026, By: matt9094
Info: Clear, sunny day. The cold, constant wind above tree line was annoying. There was no snow. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 9/13/2026, By: spen_c_boy
Info: Tagged Harvard & Columbia on 9/12, first by ascending Harvard's South Slopes, hiking the Traverse, and descending Columbia's West Slopes; standard route.

I left the car at the trailhead at 3:10, summit Harvard at 6:30, summit Columbia at 9:40, back to car at 12:30; total time of 9 hr 20 min.

Primarily came here to say that the traverse took longer than anticipated, and I was moving as swiftly as I could. I probably descended from the ridge too soon instead of making my way east as far as possible, so that didn't help. There were some super fun class 3 sections I downclimbed, which is why I believe I got off route a little bit because the beta photos don't look like the sections I came across.

The talus fields included in the traverse are of course tedious, albeit not too difficult to navigate.

Biggest thing I took away was give yourself plenty of time to hike the traverse. Smooth sailing the whole day otherwise. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 8/24/2026, By: John619
Info: Great day on Harvard. Camped in the Horn Fork basin at about 11,500. It's a beautiful area and I had it all to myself. That last few feet at the top block felt more like class 3 than class 2 but at 70 everything seems harder... 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/28/2026, By: nohandz
Info: There was snow right below the summit, but I didn’t have to cross it, unless I went off route. It got down to only 52F last night near the TH, though was windy AF, particularly the last 500-1000’. Somewhat hazardous at times. 7hr RT. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/20/2026, By: IHikeLikeAGirl
Info: Happy Juneteenth!
Summer conditions...and hot. One, not-worth-mentioning, snowfield to cross before final steep ascent to the summit. The snowfield, on the crux, mentioned from 6/12 is not an issue (see pic). Not even sure if it still covers the trail, we ascended climber's left of it. Surprisingly busy for a Friday, parking was nearly full lots of backpackers. Maybe others had off Juneteenth?

Just a note. We car camped at the, CT, Segment 13: (Silver Creek Trailhead). The vault toilet did not smell...it was exquisite. :) 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/12/2026, By: Alpine_Exchange_36
Info: Trail is in good condition. No snow on the lower basin and only one stretch where there is some and thats right before the crux of the trail. Spikes would be helpful, but its a long way to carry them for such a short stretch. Its not more then like 15yds. You can avoid this bit of snow by going around it but for the time being, if you want to stay on the standard trail you do have to go through it.

With any luck it'll be gone soon and Harvard wll be effectively snow free 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 6/7/2026, By: shaines90
Info: Started about 4:45am from the trailhead after camping about 0.5 miles down the road the night before. Pretty much dry trail until well up into Horn Fork Basin. There is one fairly high runoff creek crossing right now, then a couple of bigger snowfields on the final slope to Harvard; saw some people opting to climb talus on the slope rather than cross the snowfields in steeper areas. Harvard side of the connecting ridge to Columbia is pretty much totally dry and a slog of boulder hopping, then a couple of major snowfields on the ascent up to Columbia's ridge, all of which are pretty well-tracked now. After getting off the summit block, the descent down Columbia is totally dry all the way back. Did not need microspikes or axe, poles were sufficient for stability. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 5/26/2026, By: jakeandorbake
Info: posting this tuesday but summited sunday of memorial day weekend

i don't know the why or how based on slope aspect or luck of the draw on snowfall, but the collegiate and further south sawatch stuff has some potential for major snow sloggin, as opposed to massive which was fun and clear. probably melting fast this week, but for most people right now, I'd heavily recommend spikes and/or great poles for the traverse - even harvard alone to be honest. snow even in the woods starting at 11k

the last headwall up harvard, and much of the back bowl, actually was a booter more or less. that made the non-rock-hopping traverse sections mentally easier because the line was visible from miles away. the rock hopping parts were admittedly a little sketchy though - certain types of boulder fields felt obscured and confusing. also, imo, if you happened to be too late in the day, the steeper snow would definitely be too soft to confidently kick steps into

going back down the standard columbia way, things were so much better. intermittent but not bad snow. that was the real fun of the day

7.5 hours RT 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 5/14/2026, By: maxb2005
Info: The road to the trailhead and the first few miles of trail had no snow. After that, most of the trail is covered. In the morning most of the snow was well packed and did not require microspikes or snowshoes. As the snow melting it got a lot harder to traverse. The basin is also covered in snow until the real scramble starts. We got there around 11am and didn’t bring snow shoes which made traversing the high snow fields very difficult. The summit block itself and preceding couple hundred yards are practically clear of snow. We definitely recommend bringing snow shoes and descending through the high snow fields was a nightmare without them. We would sink up to our knees or sometimes hips in snow without them. It was not an easy hike by any means, but with proper preparation it won’t be too crazy and for sure worth it! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 4/25/2026, By: AlejandraOutside
Info: The road to the trailhead was completely clear of snow, as were the first couple miles of the trail. After that, snow covers most of the trail. This was not a problem in the morning during the ascent because cold temperatures the evening before had frozen the snow, and it was easy to walk on the crust. Without micro spikes, which we never used.

The basin is also full of snow until the hike over the hill that one goes over before the Harvard summit comes into view. After traversing the high snow fields, we stowed snow shoes for the final ascent, but we did follow an established boot track on the snow field leading to the summit. My buddy did use my my ice ax to cut in steps for a short, hard track of snow near the summit. The summit block itself and preceding couple hundred feet are clear of snow. We were very grateful for snow shoes on the way down as the softening snow could have been a post holing nightmare, which was definitely evidenced by deep holes left by others. The snow is deep throughout the basin.

Not an easy day, but if you’re gritty and determined she goes for now! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 4/6/2026, By: notidealbutfine
Info: Departed N. Halfmoon TH at 4:45AM. Nice bootpack on trail for ~2.5 miles. I was able to wear trail runners and stay on top of the snow until the bootpack stopped. From there I switched to mountain boots and snowshoes and broke trail on continuous snow until ~12,600' just before gaining the south facing shoulder, which was totally dry (as was the rest of the route). Switched back into trail runners for the final push to the summit. Pretty much wore snowshoes the entire way back due to slop. Would have been an awesome ski; go get after it! 13.96 miles / 4,652' gain / 8 hours, 49 minutes 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 2/16/2026, By: aksean22
Info: Really nice day up Harvard on Saturday. I parked my Crosstrek 0.4 miles below the summer TH, but by the time I got back most of the new snow had melted and there were several new tire tracks. I think just about any vehicle can make it all the way now.

I followed the remains of an old trench up to treeline where it disappeared and broke trail the rest of the way. There was more snow than I expected, and flotation is definitely needed above the Columbia/Harvard split. With a few portages I skinned all the way to the ridge at 13700'. There is lots of trapdoor snow and rock hopping the rest of the way, which was very slow going. A mix of walking and dodging rocks back to treeline, then skied pretty good snow the rest of the way back to the car. There's a great trench in if anyone gets it before the next storm! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 1/18/2026, By: Skimo95
Info: Refreshed the trench to treeline, super highway at the moment. Fresh snow and no tracks after treeline, snowshoed to bear lake split. Would have preferred skinning but wasn’t sure of the snowpack at the moment. Dropped shoes and used spikes from switchbacks to summit. Storm came in halfway up, but pretty wind scoured on the ridge. Booting was either windboard or sugar steps. I do not think crampons or axe are worth it at the moment. No issue parking at upper trailhead in a F150, I think crossovers with good tires will be fine as well. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 1/5/2026, By: AlejandraOutside
Info: Was able to get to the upper trailhead in a Subaru with excellent snow tires. I didn't encounter any issues, but snow did get deep on the road in spots, and I would not advise doing it without both AWD/4WD and snow tires.

As reported, bootpacked and firm to Columbia/ Harvard trail split. From there one could say there was a trail packed in, but that framing is somewhat generous as it did sometimes consist of 18" boot post holes. I didn't use snowshoes on the way up because I'm inexperienced with them and stubborn, but they would have helped. I did use them on this section descending and was glad I did. The packed in trail does veer from the standard route, so pay close attention and use your own navigation.

Things got hairy at the section above treeline where the trail begins to ascend steeply. The trail in place did not follow the standard route, instead veering north; perhaps more along the lines of the snow route. I ascended some scrambly bits southward and rejoined the standard route, wishing I hadn't stashed my snowshoes along the way.

The standard route up the final ascent to the ridgeline is now non-passable, IMHO. I ended up in snow up to my stomach just trying to move from boulder to boulder. 2 of 5 attempts which I witnessed that day were successful. The successful climbers mentioned they'd post an update, but I do know they did not follow the standard route.

Did not summit. WILL be back. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 1/2/2026, By: RyanOlsonDDS
Info: N Cottonwood Creek TH easily accessible with medium-clearance AWD/4wd. A Crosstrek or better will be more than adequate. Used snowshoes once on the way up because we followed a bad boot track into some willows. Did not need flotation on the way down (but always good to have it if there’s any chance of snow softening in the afternoon). The summer route is well-booted (stick to trenches that are as close to a summer GPX as possible). Some postholing here and there but snowshoes would’ve been very unpleasant. No traction necessary but microspikes would probably be a decent choice if you prefer to slide around a little less.