Mt. Yale

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Condition Updates
2023-05-28 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-05-30, By: matthewgvigil Info: As most others previously stated, conditions start fine before becoming snow covered a couple miles in. Completed in trail runners without snowshoes or microspikes with a summit time around 11:30 a.m. Postholing didn't happened until after noon on the descent but extra gear still wasn't needed.	3
2023-05-27 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-05-29, By: tcphoto87 Info: The trail is pretty great for the first couple miles or so. A mix of dry and snowy patches. The bigger creek crossing was difficult because the main bridge is under construction and the other one was iced over so we had to find another spot to get across. After the turnoff to Yale it was a mix of dry again and eventually turned to snow that was easy to walk on top of without traction in the morning. After a couple switchbacks the trail became snowy again and that's when it became nightmarishingly terrible. The "summer trail" wasn't an option so we were following old tracks and postholing waist deep with every step. Once we finally got near treeline instead of dealing with it more, we turned left and went straight up the hill on this dry portion to meet up with the trail right at the edge of treeline. From there the trail was mostly dry again with a few large snowy patches to cross before the final switchbacks to the summit. At this point, I was beyond exhausted from all the previous postholing and stopped around 13,200ft to rest. My friend I was with kept going and was able to summit, but since I'd already done Yale before, I lost any desire to keep going to get it again lol. I decided I was done and headed back down. (After the saddle the the right side of the summit ridge where the summer trail goes was covered in snow and she went over the top of the ridge instead but said she needed an ice axe for that part.) I headed back down and same as going up, the area right at the edge of treeline up until this area a little before the switchbacks back down was a nightmare. I had snowshoes but didnt bother with them on the way up because of how steep/angled this area was, but decided to put them on for the way down. I felt like snowshoes made it even less enjoyable. The left snowshoe kept sliding down to the left instead of staying flat and twisting my ankle with almost every step and was still postholing just as much as without. I ended up taking them back off after a while it was so bad and they weren't helping. Once I got out of that suckfest the trail was great all the way back down. The one area that was holding snow below that had a few postholy spots but most of it was holding and was able to walk on top of it still. Was also able to cross the makeshift bridge that was icey earlier that morning without trouble. I personally wouldn't do this again until the area near treeline melts out, but it is doable. Attached a photo of my route and circled the part that sucked, the rest was great. We only saw about 4 other groups the whole day and the parking lot only had a few cars both when we started and when we left.	14
2023-05-27 Route: East Ridge from Silver Creek Posted On: 2023-05-27, By: artemavovk Info: Snowshoe postholing from the upper creek crossing until ~200 feet below ridge. The ridge itself has only one section that needs snowshoes/axe - above second grassy flat. Added photos for the other route from the top, looks snowy. Found someone's broken microspikes.	6
2023-05-16 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-05-17, By: RWSchaffer Info: The trail started snow-free but snow quickly appeared. By the stream crossing, more trail was snow covered than not (Picture 1, with the first two pictures taken on descent). Snowshoe tracks, boot prints, and postholes marked the trail to the base of the steep hillside. With a 2:00AM trailhead temperature of 38F, this snow was frequently not supportive of boot traffic. The steep hillside was covered in poorly consolidated, icy granular snow which hid the trail. Snow coverage was not universal, but there was enough that I was almost always on snow. Before dawn, the snow was frozen well enough to support my weight on snowshoes most of the time. Occasionally my snowshoes would break through and I'd create a short section of knee-deep trench. On descent at midday this snow was wet and gloppy. Trail reappeared briefly on relatively dry slopes above timberline (Picture 2). The slopes below the summit ridge held snowfields that hid the trail (Picture 3). These snowfields were again icy, granular and poorly consolidated. They easily supported my spike-clad boots when frozen in the early morning, but by descent in late morning I was postholing to my thighs, and once fell in to my waist, so I put on snowshoes for the descent. Icy granular snow continued in abundance on the ridge (Pictures 4 to 7). Many sections were completely encased in supportive snow, which made for a pleasant saunter in spikes. Some steeper sections required kicking steps and scrambling over and around rocks. I occasionally wished I had crampons which would have improved traction and reduced the need for kicking steps, but spikes were sufficient. An ice axe is mandatory, of course.	7	1
2023-05-08 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2023-05-08, By: doeeth Info: Snow shoes 1,000% necessary and didnt even do the trick. Never thought it was possible to post hole in Atlas helium snow shoes but thats what I just did for 2+ hours on the way back, it was pitiful. This trail is not accessible (unless you want to wade through heavy slush) due to the awful snow conditions until the snow melts most of the way or if it freezes over. In the morning it was reasonable to ascend, but by noon the snow below tree line was 1-3 feet of all enveloping, literally a snow shoe post hole purgatory. I would anticipate many other southerly facing sawatch 14ers would have some similar snow conditions below tree line. This route has low avalanche conditions at this time. No snow for first mile and below tree line, the route is generally not steep enough to slide. Things I learned from this hike: 1. class 2 with snow conditions can become steep snow (I turned around at 12,800+ ft when the ridge became around 45 degrees of approx 150 vertical feet of snow. 2. Crampons may be necessary for class 2 snow traction in high alpine, and to prevent balling of wet snow, which essentially made the microspikes slippery. This route is serious in these conditions. 3. You can post hole even with big snow shoes 4. I also turned around due to headache. Next time i would bring a stove and water filter, as well as perhaps take an ibuprofen, + continue to work on cardio 5. This route also required the use of an ice axe with knowledge of self arrest, cane technique, and crampon techniques such as French (keeping feet sideways) + American (front pointing forward) or mixed techniques for steep terrain This ridge is indeed a beast, especially during the spring. Also Ive done 10+ fourteeners and this is my first review. I appreciate others conditions updates and I hope to contribute moving forward. Id say this was even more technically challenging for me than east gully direct on crestone needle.		3
2023-04-28 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-04-28, By: JasonCrane Info: Unsuccessful summit attempt on Yale, topping out at 11.9k. We planned to hike Huron, but Thursday nights snow storm made CCR390 nearly impassable at 5am. So, we circled back to BV & were able to drive into Denny Creek TH for a 7am start. We established a new trench on Yale up to just above treeline at 11.9k. One of us wore snowshoes & the other booted. Back-to-back snow storms this week dumped a lot of snow on Yale. On Thursday night, Yale received est. 6+ inches of fresh snow. We encountered snow-loaded slopes above treeline & coupled with increasingly severe winds, we jointly decided it was best to descend. After driving out, Yale & Princeton had visible massive snow plumes from high wind gusts. CR306 held several inches of new snow in AM, but was mostly melted-out by early afternoon & easily drivable.
2023-04-09 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2023-04-10, By: colekics Info: The first mile or so of the trail was mostly dry with occasional snowy patches. After the short treeless dry section, snow became consistent on the trail, but it was all at an odd angle that made walking on it difficult so we threw spikes on. The entire trail to treeline was packed well so snowshoes were not necessary, but we kept snowshoes in our packs that we would stash at treeline in case the snow got slushy in the afternoon (which it did of course). Once on the ridge we started using our axes to navigate between rock bands along the ridge. Should've brought crampons, but I didn't realize how steep certain parts of the ridge would be. Half of the ridge was just class 2 climbing on the rock bands, and the rest was driving the axe handle all the way into the snow to get as much traction as possible. However, the weather was gorgeous with almost no wind except for occasional gusts. Sunny and warm as well. On the descent certain parts of the snow were "glissadeable", but by the time we got to treeline all the snow had indeed all turned into slush, so we put the snowshoes on. The part of the trail that had snow at an "odd angle" I mentioned earlier was extremely annoying to walk along with snowshoes on, so I eventually took them off but still slid a lot. Overall conditions were great other than the inevitable soft snow later in the day, and there should be plenty of tracks all the way up the ridge.	3
2023-03-19 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2023-03-19, By: Laxer04 Info: Good trench all the way to the ridge. Snowshoes were a must, especially on the way down with the soft snow. Spikes and axe were helpful on the ridge in spots. There was considerably more snow than we anticipated on the ridge. I attached a few photos. The snow was hard and crampons would have been better (I left mine in the car, oops). 10.5 miles 5100 vert To the woman who turned around - you made the right call. Goggles were essential with the relentless cold wind.	4	5
2023-02-20 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-02-20, By: gmarcotte Info: Used only spikes all the way up to about 11400, at the base of the steep clearing. The trail is great -- well-packed and easy to follow, didn't posthole at all. This slope was decently wind-loaded -- looked like about 6+ inches of drifted snow from the last couple of days, and had an ~2-inch wind slab on top. The previous trenches were still visible and go either straight up the slope or cut across to the left side hugging the trees. Either way you're exposed to the entire slope above and a densely-treed runout below in case of a slide, which was spicier than I wanted going solo, so turned around there. It was probably safe -- with a group + avy gear I think I'd go for it (carefully), but do be ready to evaluate it for yourself. The first part of the slope is pretty steep and slick -- an axe and crampons would have been ideal, but managed very carefully in spikes.		2
2023-02-11 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-02-12, By: JakeBortClimb Info: Started at about 3:00am. Very well trenched to the Yale trail turnoff. Need flotation from 11,500 to 12,500. Buddy's snowshoes broke, added about 6-7 hours of post holing, would not recommend. At 13,000, pretty icy but good snowpack for a straightline approach for the ridgeline. Ridge is a short, fun scramble. All in all great conditions right now, highly recommend for an introductory or mellow winter summit!
2023-02-04 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2023-02-09, By: CommanderDawn Info: I summitted Yale on Saturday from the Denny Creek side. I was in snow shoes re-establishing the previous trench from the right turn (about a mile in) until just after the tree line. The trench mostly followed the summer trail. The only really challenging part was getting up and around the section from 11300 to 11600, it was very steep, deep powder with an inch of ice on top. I tried to stay more in the trees. I had read that it is common for hikers to bypass this section straight uphill but I felt safer staying on trail with the previous trench and trying to avoid any dangerous looking slopes I knew were in this area. I definitely wouldn't hike this route (or this mountain) with a recent snowfall or if the snow has not consolidated. From the tree line to the summit it was a very long exercise of trying to walk from rock to rock to avoid sinking into the snow. I probably could have kept my snow shoes on and veered right around the wall instead of going straight up it. During the descent it would have been nice to have an ice axe as I had a few brief "impromptu glissades" on a section of slick hard surfaces that made me mildly uncomfortable, but I could have avoided it by taking my time and routing via rocks. A fair amount of exposed ground above 13000ft. One other group of 3 on that trail that day. Also it looks liked maybe someone had come up the Avalanche Trailhead side before I arrived at the summit.
2023-02-02 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2023-02-03, By: MtnChris20 Info: Blue bird day. Got a late start (just before 9am) and broke trail all the way up Avalanche Gulch. Struggled a bit with route finding, particularly in the last 1/2 mile to the ridge. Apologies to anyone that ends up in our trench. Snow was real wet near the end. Ridge was dry in places and I'd say traction was needed. A few big wind blown slabs on the ridge after 13K'. We summited very late (4pm) and made it back to tree line just before sunset. Clear sky and a full moon helped us back down to the TH.
2023-01-21 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2023-01-21, By: shapovalovm Info: The trench below the ridge seemed to be untouched and snowed over from the last weekend, but now thanks to the 5 people who went up today it is updated. You still need snowshoes, at least for the last 1500' before the ridge. On the ridge, traction is useful. The trail on the ridge was basically was non-existent and given strong winds up there, I would always count on having to navigate around all these rocky sub-peaks yourself. TH access is very easy and accessible by any car. Overall 5 people attempted today (incl me), at least 2 turned around. The other 2 were still going up and ~1h below the summit at ~2pm. I tracked 12 miles and 5400' of gain, probably due to the trench not following the summer trail. Despite unimpressive numbers Yale kicked my ass today: First snowshoeing out of the trees drained a lot of energy. Then that ridge with endless ups and downs and a good amount of climbing on rock/snow. And then the storm rolled in at around 1pm with high winds, lowered visibility and even a little snow.		3
2023-01-16 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2023-01-16, By: Chrisfish25 Info: There is a trench about halfway to the ridgeline before it disappears from new snow/wind. Made a new one. Nice ridge walk to the summit. A couple of short lived snow ridge walks and some short rocky up climbs. Awesome day up high. That makes 19 14ers in the past 11 days.		1
2022-12-05 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-12-05, By: Will_E Info: There's a pretty good trench the first 2.5 miles, it dead ended, I put on snowshoes there and broke trail to just beyond treeline. Some of the snow was fairly deep. After stashing snowshoes there were some unavoidable sections of snow that were a little post-holey, closer to the ridge I fell into a few nasty trap doors. Nice day, wind was a little lighter than forecasted, 21° at summit, clouds cleared up just before I reached the top.	13
2022-11-19 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-11-20, By: SionaRW35 Info: Some post-holing but snowshoes still not worth it. Microspikes are very helpful.
2022-11-12 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-11-14, By: yared0319 Info: Some postholing, but never needed snowshoes. Poles and spikes were a must, though. The deeper snow accumulations had the nice effect of smoothing out the boulder hopping sections. Only going to get deeper from here, though, so would be smart to carry snowshoes.
2022-10-20 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-10-20, By: RWSchaffer Info: Trail was dry to the ridge. Minimal snow on the ridge to the summit was not an issue (picture 1); nothing required beyond standard summer gear plus another layer or two of warmth. Picture 2 shows Harvard and Columbia.	2
2022-10-15 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2022-10-16, By: cj85 Info: There is very little snow on the route above 12,500 ft, all on the north facing slope. Spikes were not necessary.
2022-10-10 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2022-10-10, By: Troyister Info: No snow till the last 1/4 mile scramble to the top. The snow and ice was avoidable, no traction needed. Beautiful day with little to no wind.

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