Mt. Harvard

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/20/2016, By: jdcoleman
Info: A buddy is on top of Yale at this exact moment and just sent me this picture of Harvard/Columbia. I want to climb it tomorrow and have been reading the post-holing horror stories below - so I asked for the pic. Looks like the heat wave over the weekend really toned down the route, a LOT: 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/17/2016, By: Krispy
Info: We got kind of a late start from the trailhead (5:45am), so let me just say right off the bat that that may have contributed greatly to our misfortune. From the trailhead up until about the base of the peak itself was mostly clear sailing, with only a few snow patches here and there. Once the real altitude gain started, though, things got a little dicey. There are still a couple fairly significant snowfields starting at maybe 12,000 ft that might admittedly have been much easier to cross with an earlier start. For us, however, it turned into a grueling post-holing purgatory. I was breaking trail for the group and at one point had my entire right leg sink in up to my hip and get stuck so badly that I had to literally be dug out. We talked to one seemingly veteran of the mountains that claimed all snow could be avoided, but if that is true it is only so for more experienced/daring folks than us. Another guy we talked to who also seemed to know what he was talking about said that it was hell and unavoidable in parts, so I guess it depends. At any rate, there was snow basically all the way to the summit, which we fell about 100 ft short of gaining because it seemed a little too dodgy for our liking. The hike back down was a pain in the ass with all the snow melt and wet feet, but at least the higher fields are suitable for glissading. Maybe give this one another week if you want to avoid snow. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/30/2016, By: Bean
Info: The face is still very fat and will be for at least a couple weeks. A good freeze Friday night meant staying in trail runners until 13,200'. Started at 5:30am, summit at 9, back to the car at 11. I actually intended to head to Columbia but missed the turnoff (as did one or two other groups) and ran to Harvard when I realized it. Very good coverage still, snow was a few inches of fresh over bulletproof with a poor bond which meant ski crampons were essential but that the descent was very fun. Continuous skiing to 11,200', then quite a bit of snow from there to the car. Expect significant postholing if you're late in the day.

On a general note, the southern end of the Sawatch is starting to look a little bare, while the northern peaks are as white as I've ever seen them. Everything is in near Leadville. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/21/2016, By: SnowAlien
Info: Skied the peak today as a day trip. Long approach, which we did in the dark. No freeze in the trees, so lots of postholing. Coverage is good, including the summit. Firm corn conditions today due to wind. Ran into another skier party on the summit. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 5/15/2016, By: SavonW
Info: Nice and solid snow on the trail until 10am. After that snowshoes are necessary. Watch out for wet slides later in the day. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 3/11/2016, By: Furthermore
Info: Despite the favorable snow, this route was still a slog. To ensure I was able to get both Harvard and Columbia, I decided to do this combo as an overnight. A well fit individual could do the combo in a day and most folks could probably now day trip either peak. Poach this trench while it's installed! If you like it, buy me a beer at the next HH.

Road Conditions:
Despite how enticing the snowpack on the road is 0.2 mile short the 2WD parking area at the beginning of the French Creek 4WD road, do NOT drive it. Being naive, which I generally am, I didn't think much of it and drove it anyways. As soon as I started down the hill, I knew it was going to be problematic on the return. In fact, my arms hurt more today than my legs do from the trip due to the 2 hours of shoving and winching (sorry, aspen tree) that I did to get my car unstuck. Don't underestimate that hill on the return. Looking back on the photo, what in the f*&X was I thinking? That's right, I wasn't.

The Approach:
I ended up skinning the entire approach but considering the lack of snow below 10,000, I would probably prefer snowshoes. There were rocky areas on the first half which I couldn't ski on the return unless I completely wanted to trash my skis. It is safe to say, I think one wouldn't need floatation for the first two miles up the French Creek 4WD road and if they did, the effort would be very minimal.

Once on the French Creek trail, trailbreaking was laborious (mostly easy, some moderate) until treeline. Now that a trench is installed, the trailbreaking would be minimalized but still required. Snowshoes or skis mandatory.

The Climb:
Once out of treeline, the snow is a windblown hardpack with very little laborious trailbreaking. The East slopes of Harvard are mostly windblown and clear of snow. I also completely underestimated the caliber of slog that Harvard entailed. That last 400 feet/0.25 mile really blows as it requires time consuming, snow covered, large boulder hopping.

Due to high winds, some fresh snow, and being solo I was a little apprehensive on the direct traverse to Columbia so I gave the ridge a wide margin of safety. Columbia's north rib offered a mostly snow free, and enjoyable climb to the summit. I know lots of folks hate Columbia, but I think that north rib offers the most enjoyable, albeit steep, climb to the summit.


1) Don't be an idiot.
2) Snow-free East Slopes of Harvard.
3) Time consuming summit ridge of Harvard
4) Route up Harvard.


GPX, for current trench poaching pleasure, can be found at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d11pfeajlevb0kp/AACaHokgGMHM1hSY1mDO0Jkva?dl=0 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 10/25/2015, By: wattsup
Info: We hiked to bear lake under the full moon this morning. It's ankle deep snow to the lake and a easy path to follow but we couldn't find the standard trail. There are a few trails that venture off but end up in knee to waist deep snow. Since we didn't both have gators or gps with standard route we decided not to push a trench through. Still gorgeous and you can still make it to the upper TH even in a 2WD as of this morning. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 10/13/2015, By: JROSKA
Info: Still completely dry on Harvard standard route. Didn't do the Columbia traverse, but there appears to be just a bit of snow on the north facing slope. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 10/11/2015, By: My-Therapy
Info: Great day to be in the high country today. Trail was mostly dry and even dusty in spots. No snow at all on route. Saw maybe 10 people total all day today and even had the summit for almost a hour all to myself. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 10/9/2015, By: RichardLawler
Info: I climbed Mt. Harvard and Mt. Columbia on 10/8/15 via the standard traverse route. Snow was manageable and I did the entire route without microspikes. It was a perfectly clear day without any wind which made it very hot and exhausting on the traverse. All the snow I saw on Harvard that morning had melted off by 1pm. Only place that if it got any worse could require microspikes is the final ridge ascent of Columbia. The snow was about 4-5 inches deep with no ice underneath. I'd recommend bring spikes in case but otherwise the conditions are basically summer. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 9/29/2015, By: LizWeiss
Info: Absolutely no snow enroute to Harvard and the traverse is also clear. We screwed up on the Columbia descent and went down the completely wrong gully, but again, totally dry and snow-free. Fall colors are at their peak and if the weather continues to be nice the routes should remain dry and beautiful! 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 8/31/2015, By: pgenelin
Info: Did the combo of Harvard and Columbia today. Got a late start at 8am, but weather was forecasted to be great. The route up Harvard was no issue, trail is well marked and easy to follow. Started the traverse over to Columbia around 12:30pm with the thought we would take the ridge the whole way. Got to a point in the ridge and it looked like the only way was the trail dropping off to the left. Took that down a steep and loose chute, which ended up spitting us out much below the ridge and into the gully. Decided to just take the gully and bouldered our way up to Columbia along-side the ridge. Added a few extra miles and the route was not clear, but the bouldering was pretty easy. Made it to the summit of Columbia around 3pm, stopped for a quick bite to eat and headed out on our descent. This is where things got tricky. The typical descent down Columbia is AWFUL. Steep with very loose dirt and rock the entire way down. In my opinion, worse than the descent down Bross (and I thought that was in bad shape). Really hoping REI puts in the money for trail restoration on Columbia (vote!). Eventually made it back down to our car around 5:30pm. My fitbit read almost 20 miles by the end of the trip. I can see why many people choose to do the combo in two days. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 8/23/2015, By: pcrotty41
Info: Did Harvard to Columbia traverse today. Weather was good, Harvard no problems and traverse over to Columbia no problems until the gully section. The gully section and the remainder of the route until you gain the Columbia ridge is a shit show and very difficult to figure out (at least for me). Very difficult route finding and difficult to interpret the pictures of this section. Study pictures #15 and #16 closely...I avoided the main death gully, but got caught up in a second smaller one and did not completely descend the east ridge. Cairns are few and far between at this point and the right turn @ 12,800 is also super tricky. Picking through the talus is mind numbing and finding the route is very frustrating.

The down climb of the west slopes of Columbia is a complete disaster. This is easily the loosest runniest chauce pile I have encountered. Probably a better idea to climb Columbia first if one were to do the traverse as others have suggested. The west slopes of Columbia is a very slippery down climb and hope REI applies the money to improve this trail (I certainly voted for it). 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 8/10/2015, By: ds925
Info: My girlfriend and I just did this and its was very difficult and dangerous coming from Harvard to Colombia. The route to Harvard was decent and accurate however: the decent from Harvard over to Colombia is not marked and it's very difficulty to locate a trail. We did tons of bouldering and sliding down very steep talus and loose rocks at 1 point I was very afraid I was going to get hurt and fall because the rocks are incredible loose. We were very lucky to make it to the top to Colombia and had very good weather but I am warning everyone to really consider not doing these 2 in the same day because of how dangerous the rock slides are to get over from Harvard to Colombia.
We met some really nice hikers and had great company. The total hike took us 14 hours to complete and lucky enough we camp in the night before. Feel free to message me if you have additional questions I can answer. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 7/30/2015, By: Sunshineof1985
Info: This was quite the hike! I consider myself in decent shape and had already climbed 13 peaks before climbing these two yesterday and it took my partner and I 12.5 hours!! MAKE SURE YOU PRINT OFF ALL THREE DIRECTIONS: Harvard: South Slopes, Harvard to Columbia: Traverse, and Columbia: West Slopes. To get the full details visit my blog at sunshineof1985.com. I'm planning on climbing them all this summer and these two make it 14 and 15.
*GEAR (to bring):
GPS, extra socks, phone, SPOT Satellite Tracker, Map, hiking boots with 2 pairs of socks on, long-sleeve, wind-guard, light weight puffy coat (I didn't have to use it), Yak Traks, poles at your discretion (could help on such a long day), first aid kit, toilet paper, day pack with water (100 oz at least), food (2 cliff bars, 2 granola bars and trailsmix), sunscreen, lip balm.
*Road Conditions: Minor potholes and a little rough in some parts, but a 2WD should have no problem making it to the trailhead.
*Trail Conditions: A couple wet spots in trees, but shouldn't get your feet soaked.Luckily other hikers put clues on the forks you'll pass so you know which way to go. Little exposure. Do bring your Yak Traks if you're climbing both mountains as we ran into a lot of snow especially going to Columbia. It almost would be nice to have poles as well. There is a steep, very slippery, very long gully making your way to Columbia. Once you climb Columbia, the trail down is mostly the same: steep, slippery, very very long gully. I'm glad we went the way we did (Harvard first).