Mt. Harvard

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 6/8/2025, By: AurumSun13
Info: If you want to have the hardest hike of your life, then you should do this traverse now. The combo itself is already difficult as a +15mi 6K elevation gain route, but add in melting snow and you get a real challenge. Floatation was a requirement going between the two peaks and for most of the basin going up to Harvard. Being not that experienced as a snowshoer, the traverse itself took me ~3.5hrs. Personally, I recommend waiting a few more weeks for more of the snow to melt. Right now it's in the horrible sweet spot where it can be stable early in the morning but turns into a postholing nightmare by midday. Gaiters were definitely a good choice, although my feet got wet anyway. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 5/25/2025, By: creid27
Info: If you want a tough day then the Harvard Columbia traverse is for you right now. I camped around 11,100 then by 11'300 it is all snow covered. I started around 6am and there wasn't enough crust so I put on my snowshoes for a mile or so then it was crusty enough for no snowshoes. The conditions worsened throughout the day and it took 3 hours to go from Harvard to Columbia. Snowshoes were required for the saddle and Columbia approach. After descending Columbia and going back to camp, snowshoes were post holing from 11'400 back to 11,100. After about 11,000 the snow thins out and no flotation needed. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 5/17/2025, By: stickmann
Info: Continuous snow starts at 11,200 feet. There is still a lot of snow, especially in the upper basin and the standard route slope. The upper parts of the south face are thin but the lower 3/4 are still in. I didn't bring flotation and used a solid trench that was put in before, thanks. I would have needed flotation if it were even a few degrees warmer today. Decided against the traverse to Columbia after seeing a lot more snow than I expected along the ridge. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 5/15/2025, By: jmanner
Info: Didn’t Ski it but got a good view from Yale. It doesn’t look in. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 12/22/2024, By: Themanisme
Info: Parked 1.5 miles from the TH skinned to about 12,000' standard trail looked mixed snow/rock the face was 40% rock and trail was 70% loose sugar 30% concrete slab where wind exposed
The weather was great !! Lets Go !! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 11/2/2024, By: bigfoot1
Info: snowy and drifty above 13k ft, pretty deep postholes. there should be a packed down path now, at least 5 people went up and down today. no tracks going up to columbia from any trail. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 10/25/2024, By: wanderlust073
Info: TLDR: some snow and ice but nothing crazy, just enough to slow things down quite a bit. With the sun and warmth, this should all keep getting better by the day till the next storm.

Intermittent stretches of packed snow/ice the first mile or two of the trail. Very, very slick in the morning and still pretty slick in the afternoon (shaded areas).

There are a few downed trees laying over the trail, only one of which requires any sort of effort to get over.

An ice dam is building at the stream crossing at 4.5mi/11750ft. The rocks were covered with ice in the morning and the surrounding sections of trail were flooded/iced over. Ten yards upstream through the willows is a narrow section with rocks that can be easily hopped.

Mainly nuisance snow below 12k. Ankle deep for the most part, and the trail is easy to follow. Coming down in the afternoon there was a fair amount of melt. Miles of trail are squishy mud under the sun.

Above 12k the snow is more of a mixed bag. Primarily trudging along sinking in not quite to the top of your boots, but depending on where the wind loaded things I'd have a random postholes knee deep or (rarely) mid thigh. The trail had been completely obscured. I ended up kicking steps in and taking a direct route up to the ridge for most of the last mile.

Coming back down with the advantage of the bird's eye view and a few hours of sun vaporizing things, the trail was easier to make out and I was happy to stick to it - so anyone getting out yet this weekend should hopefully have a decent boot track to follow assuming the trail doesn't end up completely revealed by the sun.

Waterproof boots and gaiters are your friends. Spikes aren't necessary but would certainly speed things up through the ice stretches.

Some goats hanging around on the ridge. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 10/15/2024, By: shoenfeld13
Info: No snow whatsoever. Great conditions overall. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/30/2024, By: loriburroughs
Info: Perfect conditions! Fall colors on point! No snow at all except some tiny pockets on the summit, but nothing to be prepared for. The bull moose is still active and was spotted on the trail at 5am by another hiker, just fyi. Around high 30s before the sun is up and mid 50s with the sun which felt hot while moving!
The final pitch you really should take your time- class 3 for sure on the left side but honestly couldnt find the class 2, so I guess its on the right side? Not hard at all, but if you have a dog, definitely try to find the easier route unless you have someone that can help get them up and down :-) 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 8/31/2024, By: Troyister
Info: Great day completing the Harvard-Columbia Traverse. My Garmin log in at 15.9 miles and 6100 feet of elevation gain. The trailhead was full at 3:15 AM when I arrived and I got a last spot (to be expected on the Sat of Labor day weekend with perfect weather). I drove my Honda Accord Sport with no problems just took it easy, and saw numerous other sedans at the trailhead. The creeks are running strong so water is available frequently in the Horn Fork Basin. For the Traverse there is a intermittent trail. The route is fairly obvious if you do your research first and know what to look for, I did check my Gaia Maps a couple of times to verify. The key point is how far to down climb before turn south to Columbia. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/29/2024, By: catward77
Info: Amazing evening on Harvard! Took just over 4 hours to summit, right in time for a 14er sunset all to ourselves. Very brief section at the final push felt a tiny bit more technical than easy class 2 but experienced hikers shouldn't find it hard at all. Took about 3 hours to descend in the dark. Perfect sunset, ridiculous stars & milky way... 10/10 evening hike! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/28/2024, By: gmarcotte
Info: Saw a moose around 6am right near the first set of tent spaces in Horn Fork basin. Recent AllTrails reports suggest it's been hanging around in that area recently, so be aware. Didn't cause any problems, but another group said it was showing some territorial signs. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/23/2024, By: hsfedina
Info: Technically, did first 2+ miles the night before and camped. Trail in 100% condition everywhere. Easy to follow up to about 13,600. Lost the trail on final ascent but could see summit and everyone up there so no big dealjust went up. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/11/2024, By: Ariella6
Info: Trail mostly dry. Some spots where it is muddy. Walk through it not on the fragile alpine plants. The area that is recommended for bouldering to top is still snow covered but found another way up. So many wildflowers right now! This was definitely super beautiful! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/30/2024, By: tlgold1990
Info: Lots of mud and water on the trail. Some of the creek crossings are high and it's hard to cross the rocks without getting your shoes wet. A couple snow fields leading up to the ridge, did not use microspikes but after it's warmed up, you will be sliding a bit.