5/28/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 5/29/2011, By: jmcgirr47 Info: from Denny Creek route.. trailhead to crossing the creek was good.... don‘t wait to put on snowshoes.... Nearing treeline, lots of mushy snow made hiking and snowshoeing very difficult. Snow above treeline is mushy - if it‘s late in day and/or just warm, expect a tough slog - going up and coming down. The ridge on top was NOT bad. |
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5/13/2011 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 5/13/2011, By: miztflip Info: The new snow has really mucked up the high peaks. The first mile was fine. After that snowshoes are a must. Getting to the ridge was the worst snow although it is in and out of snow the whole way up the ridge. It got hot early and was pretty soft by 10am. That being said, the route goes and is safe, however the fun factor was a big fat ZERO for now. |
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5/8/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 5/9/2011, By: ilium Info: The hike up was beautiful. The snow was deep, but no post holing, and no need for snowshoes. The Southwest Slopes route was optimal. However, be prepared to post hole even with snowshoes on if you venture off the elusive trail on the way down. Mark your waypoints well, and you should be fine. |
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3/20/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 3/21/2011, By: scholbiwan Info: Road clear to Denny Creek TH and 2WD passable. Hiked up a broken in trail to tree line and camped. Found an igloo that looked to be a week or two old, which we used as our kitchen area. Summited the next day with no trail above tree line. Most of the snow above tree line was hard packed with a few soft spots here and there where we either post holed it or put our snowshoes on. A little windy on the summit, but otherwise a beautiful sunny day. |
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2/26/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2/28/2011, By: knuckyboy Info: TH was not plowed Saturday AM but i imagine it will be soon. I broke trail in 10 inches of new storm snow for over 2 miles (near 2nd creek crossing) and realized the blizzard was not going to let up anytime soon for me to get an attempt on the summit. I retreated and went back and skiied powder in Vail. A fair amount of snow had fallen on the trail and I might wait for the new snow to settle before going up. |
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2/13/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 2/13/2011, By: hollamby Info: Weather turned out better than expect, although the last 30 minutes of hiking was windy. Overall this route is quite exhausting at the time being. There is a correct trench up about 2 1/4 miles - 2 1/2 from the TH. This is were it gets interesting. After the 2.25-2.5 mile the route is suppose to be "Shortly after some small meadows, the trail climbs steeply up a hillside. From 11,300‘ to 11,900‘, hike northeast and then east through the forest." but the trench continues up the gully, and adds unnecessary effort/time. The snow was very difficult today. Very soft below treeline (which was fun for skiing back), but very hard above treeline. Not very good skiing above treeline. I personally wouldn‘t hurry to go climb Mt Yale in the current conditions. Pic 1- Example of snow above treeline. Very hard and strange to ski Pic 2- The ski line off the summit Pic 3- Example of snow above treeline Pic 4- Nice snow below treeline |
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2/13/2011 Route: East Ridge Posted On: 2/14/2011, By: Rainier_Wolfcastle Info: Mt. Yale - East Ridge via Avalanche TH 2/13/11 Getting to TH: no problem for any vehicle. Used micro-spikes on 50/50 dirt/ice up switchbacks from 9,200‘-10,200‘. Used snowshoes on good trench from 10,200‘-11,700‘ up to turn-off from CO Trail. Used micro-spikes up ridge to turn-around at 13,400‘. Ridge is mostly clear on North side with crusty cornices on South Side. Required some class 3 sections to avoid South side cornices. Turned back at 13,400‘ because after 13,000‘, winds became sustained at 30 mph (darn NOAA w/forecast of 15-20) from NW and scrambling on North side offered no respite. Oh, and despite its name (Avalanche TH), this route has zero avy concern. |
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1/16/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 1/17/2011, By: treefrog2005 Info: Perfect trench up Denny and Delaney creeks - boots only. Snowshoes very helpful once above treeline. Avy danger minimal as of this posting. Road open to 2WD vehicles to Denny Creek TH. |
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1/7/2011 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 1/8/2011, By: Dancesatmoonrise Info: Good trench in up Denny and Delaney. Boots only up Denny; snowshoes preferable after fork into Delaney, especially in afternoon. Alpine fairly scoured; boots and spikes only. The current trench enters the alpine below 13605, quite a ways north of the standard route. Be aware of this when descending. TR up in a few days. Road open and clear to Denny Cr TH. |
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12/12/2010 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 12/12/2010, By: Monster5 Info: Trail boot-packed to Yale junction. Snowshoes highly recommended from there to tree-line. Lost the trail near the meadows after 2nd stream crossing and bush-wacked in approximate location of new trail. Microspikes would be useful up high. Low/no avy danger on new trail if you stick close to it. Typical wind up top. Didn‘t get many conditions pictures |
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12/4/2010 Route: Southwest Slopes Posted On: 12/4/2010, By: StikMan Info: Denny Creek trailhead is reachable by car - some ice tire track as you arrive at the trailhead, and a small amount of ice in the parking lot, but not enough to deter any type of vehicle. The trail is well boot packed from the trailhead to the Browns Pass/Hartenstein Lake junction (Image 1). The Mt. Yale trail from the junction is not as well packed, but still visible (Image 2). We lost the new CFI trail in a clearing shortly after a creek crossing about 2 or 2.5 miles in. We also had some problems finding the trail on descent just above tree line and elected to follow the chose-your-own-adventure path we forged on the ascent. The trail from 13,000 feet up the slope to the summit ridge has some snow buildup, but is visible most of the way. The slope above tree line is wind scoured to only an inch or two in spots (Image 3). The areas that are currently windloaded are primarily low angle (Image 4). |
