Mt. Sneffels

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 4/6/2026, By: Splitboard14ers
Info: There is a Winter closure gate just before Camp Bird Mine, this will add between 5-7 miles approach to the lower/upper trailheads. There has been reported from 12-16" inches of new snow since the date of climb, this could change the conditions mentioned here considerably.

It was dry dirt road up to the fork in the road between Governor Basin to the left, and Yankee Boy Basin road to the right. Approx 4-5 miles to this point. From here it was snow coverage. The snow was firm and supportive (mostly) up to the lower trailhead. I stayed in boots during this section, and as there were multiple creek crossings and sections not ideal, it didn't make sense to skin yet.

From the lower trailhead I began to skin. I skinned up to the upper trailhead and across Yankee Boy Basin to the base of the peak. I transitioned to boots and hiked up a ways, then found the snow to be firm, and transitioned to crampons. I stayed in crampons and climbed up the South East face until the Col, then up the snow gulley (couloir) to it's top. At the top of the couloir, I took of my crampons and placed them on a rock on the left side of the couloir at the base of a rock wall, my plan was to return this way and collect them on my way out, but it seemed a good idea to reduce weight for the obvious climb to Summit, in what seemed like no snow conditions.

I climbed a section of class 4 rock to reach the ridge above. From there it was a short walk up to the Summit. Once on Summit there was snow along the ridge, and I decided to snowboard it back into the couloir. I made a slight change of routes on my re-entrance into the couloir, and strapped in for the ride down, forgetting about my crampons only 10 feet above where I was.

I rode down the gulley in prime Spring snow, nice and soft, then down the rest of the South face to the base of the peak and across the Basin. Then I remembered my crampons. I did not chose to climb back up the peak a 2nd time to retrieve them. So if you are reading this and plan to climb, I would very much appreciate if you could retrieve my crampons for me, and bring them down. I can meet up with you to retrieve them. My phone number is (970)333-3156

I hiked across a short section of rocks then strapped back in and rode out as much as I could until reaching the lower trailhead. The snow had warmed and was isothermic making it poor riding conditions. I transitioned to boots for the rest of the exit. I worked through 1-2 miles of mixed frozen base and slushy snow till reaching the junction back to the road where it was dry.

From there it was 4-5 miles back down to the Winter closure gate.

Start: 03:32am
Summit: 10:53am
Finish: 2:04pm
Total Time: 10.34
Total Miles: 14.94
4932' vertical feet. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 3/20/2026, By: ericahlstedt
Info: Looking fairly dry on lavender col....from winter closure gate road is dry for first 3ish miles and 1500ish feet. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 2/5/2026, By: jacolc
Info: I start at 5am. Probably 2 h to late. Parked just below gate, but car camped below at more flat spot. Road plowed to upper Thorin Mine (3.3miles 1550' gain from gate), but icy. Used snowshoe from there to ridge at about 13500. Fallowed old ski track to about 12000'. Above snow was windblown until below Blue Lake Pass. Below the summit snow start wet (exactly at noon). No cornice at top of couloir, but some mini cornice at Class 2+ spot. Now cleaned. Car to car 14.1m 5.8k' 11h28' 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 12/14/2025, By: Will_E
Info: Nice conditions on Sneffels this weekend. The normal seasonal gate is closed, the road is plowed beyond the gate about 3 miles. I put snowshoes on there, kept them on a little past Blue Lakes Pass. The trenching was pretty average, deep in spots, easy in spots. Snow up the steep slope to the pass was bulletproof. I stashed snowshoes a little way up the ridge, no traction needed today. The 2 short gullies were holding a fair amount of snow. There was a cornice over the first gully, I dropped in maybe 5' or 6', getting up was a little bit of work due to my less than average height. Snow here and there on the ridge, but nothing super difficult. Beautiful weather, not much wind, and views for days, as usual for this time of year. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/22/2025, By: Boggy B
Info: No snow on the way up this afternoon but it nuked from the summit down to the road. Nothing stuck but it got another good soaking. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 9/21/2025, By: snizzap
Info: Started around 5am. Great conditions. Ascended SW Ridge. Some route finding needed but relied on 14ers.com pics and notes. No snow on the climb. Descended south slopes. Need care in not dropping rocks on others. Poles and helmets really recommended. Went down the right side to avoid dropping scree on others. Weather was threatening so be prepared. About 5 hrs round trip with route finding, waiting for other hikers and not pushing. Thanks to COFI out working on the trail. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/16/2025, By: Lizzy123inaz
Info: Route up until the gully is clear of snow and dry. Into the boulder gully there is snow along sides and mud in a few areas. The V notch had snow on the footholds and some ice and wetness on its inner left side. The handholds on the right were free of snow and ice. Remainder of route packed down snow on a couple flat sections but not bad. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/14/2025, By: Boggy B
Info: Currently there's a bunch of snow, from the bottom of the south slopes onward. V-notch is trickier than when dry. It should mostly burn off in a week or so but expect icy/slushy/wet conditions for the time being. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/16/2025, By: EvanJula
Info: snow and ice above 12,500-13,000 feet. Crux was icy but passable to the right. Very busy with a 15-minute delay due to people getting "gripped" on the Crux. Gets slippery once the snow starts to melt around 10-11am. Waterproof shoes are a must, and microspikes would have been nice. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/29/2025, By: ColoNativeGal
Info: Up SW Ridge and down the std route. From the recent storms the previous day, plus overnight and that morning, things were a little damp, but not an issue. We did encounter some frozen ice balls and ice from time to time on the ridge and at the summit, but if you were careful nothing was an issue. No traction needed, just care on damp class 3 rock. Otherwise still summer conditions. I did use an old pair of spikes during the "unpleasant and loose" class 2 section of the std route and they were helpful for stability along with 2 poles coming down. I do think the dampness was also helpful for traction in that section. Great climb, great views. Route finding on the ridge in the dark was tricky, but the 14er app was super helpful as was some daylight. Made it to the outhouse in a stock F150 no issue. Made it to the upper TH in a lifted Rubicon no issue. Some tight turns, definitely want some clearance and skills. Saw lots of Jeeps, LX 470, Xterra and side by sides at the upper TH. Some 4runners and a Taco a little further down in some parking spots. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 9/3/2025, By: Kestrelrun
Info: Solo summit day on Sneffels. A little damp to start before sunrise coming up from the lower parking area at the road junction for Pearl Pass. All straightforward hiking until the base of the gully and then it’s find the line of least resistance, or in this case, least slippage. Lots of scree if you try to go up the middle and it’s not pleasant. I chose a line up the edge of the larger rocks and boulders; overall felt more secure but watch for some loose and wobbly rocks. About a third of the way up, someone dislodged a beach ball sized rock just below the saddle and a handful of us had a couple of breathless moments watching it bounce halfway down the gulley before wedging itself between two bigger rocks. No harm in the end and a reminder to be cautious pushing off rocks even if they feel secure. I stuck to the right side going up the collier and never felt unsafe. The vertical wall gave me so good handholds in a few spots when I wanted to challenge myself with a few pulls upward - lots of fun! The V-notch is not bad going up; look at where your footholds are and be sure of your grip when you need the upper body assist to pull yourself through it. I thought it was easier coming back down (and I’m not tall, only 5’8”) but I reminded myself where the footholds were and made some I had a good handhold before starting to downclimb. Conversely, I saw a guy butt-scoot down and he said it was less scary for him. If a spotter is available, whether a friend or just another climber, ask for help. Nobody is going to say no in that situation. The rest is a quick, easy scramble to the top and while the summit is smallish, there’s enough room that we had about 12 people up there at one point and we weren’t on top of each other. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/18/2025, By: SoopCanStan
Info: Southwest ridge is fun, more choose your own adventure type of thing. No snow obviously. Although we did take the standard way down, got caught in front of some college aged kids hucking rocks down the slope like the geniuses they were. Not a single helmet in sight in their group of 10. I would opt to take the west ridge back down. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/10/2025, By: paigemoney
Info: Southwest Ridge up and down. Route finding was trickier on the descent. On photo 21, pay close attention to where you enter the gully—on the descent, it’s not obvious when you need to go right. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 8/8/2025, By: CWill83
Info: This was my 2nd summit of Sneffles. Took the standard route. Scree field is, as always, a pain in the butt. More stable rock on the far left and right side. Either way, it’s a long, arduous slog. Past that, the couloir and gully were fine. V-notch going up, not bad. Then an easy scramble to the summit. V-notch going down is much more scary, lucky I had people below to help guide me. Going down, be prepared to slide. A lot. Highly recommend poles and staying to the left and right sides. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2025, By: tubular444
Info: Ascended SW Ridge, descended S Slopes: Drove to outhouse parking in stock 2door Wrangler X. The road to that point is really no big deal for any 4WD, in my opinion. Do yourself a favor and take the Ridge on the ascent! SW Ridge was sooo freakin' fun. The exposure was really not bad at all (and I'm a little queasy for heights). The rock is mostly solid and super duper grippy. Just test your holds etc. On the descent, we took Southwest Slopes. Somehow, we accidentally skipped the V-notch and popped out in the very bottom of Lavender Couloir, so I can't really speak to conditions there. Choss is not as bad as we expected because we had poles. Defffffinitely bring poles if you're gonna go down Slopes. It took us around 45 minutes from the upper TH to the top of Blue Lakes Pass, then roughly 90 minutes from the pass to the summit, and then about 80 minutes to get back to the upper TH.