Mt. Sneffels

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 8/8/2023, By: samfarmer789
Info: Complete summer conditions, parked at the sign for 4WD and it was exactly 8 mi total. Went up the ridge and down the standard route - ridge route was much more stable and fun lol I did not like the scree field down the gully of the standard route. Rock is loose so make sure you bring a helmet, it's a great hike!! 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/27/2023, By: Logan5280
Info: Route is dry, except for a short but steep snowfield in the couloir near the summit. Consider bringing a helmet because there are plenty of large rocks ready to slide. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/22/2023, By: slawrence2011
Info: Up ridge, skied snake and chossmaster, then hiked back via cirque col and descended Yankee boy. Snake seems out for skiing. Top ramp goes though suncupped, but below turn, rock made it unsinkable til it gets wide again. Redeemed myself by skiing chossmaster (informed of it's name by a couple people climbing N buttress, in to the ridge, much better snow. Then reascended cirque col, due to climbing snow one basin E of the E col, and was able to link to the Cirque col, in to the ridge. A few bonus turns between Cirque kismet saddle, but S side snow is basically gone. Snake should be in for climbing for a bit if you don't mind the rocks in there. Reminds me of typical bell cord conditions in late June with less runnels. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/18/2023, By: salittle
Info: A great day! Just a few snowfields to cross before you get to the scree/talus field, pick your line and stick with it! There is still hard packed snow in the couloir. Made it up just fine with micro spikes and trekking poles. Theres no snow at the notch or beyond. 

Route: Snake via Yankee Boy
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: Boggy B
Info: Went over Kismet-Cirque saddle. Descent off N side is casual. Cover is thinning though and that will probably make it less fun. The north side of Lavender Col isn't any better. Snake conditions alright. A bit mushy below the runnel at the dogleg. Bomber in the top half. Went for the left exit, which was a tad vertical getting into but otherwise not much steeper than the rest of the route. Snake should be good to go for quite a while. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: skz of Skrzynsko
Info: Snow in the upper couloir, we had ice axes and crampons on the way up; although someone walked up after us in just boots. I wouldnt be comfortable doing that with the snow/angle and conversing with him he indicated that he didnt really know any better and he turned around when he saw the v-notch. Dry from v-notch to top except for the 9-ish meter traverse or the col just past the notch. I plunged stepped with ice axe, no crampons, on the way down the upper and parter decided to down climb with just the ice axe and no crampons. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2023, By: Wentzl
Info: Just thought it would be fun to post photos showing how quick the snow is melting. The images on this report are taken from near the same points as my condition report of 6/19. Major changes include the V Notch being totally melted out and dry. Lots of snow above and below that point. Not ready for trail runners just yet! I carried crampons but not at all necessary. Used the axe for just 4 steps up the SW Ridge route and for much of the descent off South Slopes. Snow on the S Slopes route was very friendly for plunge stepping and sliding. Crampons or spikes NOT recommended. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/5/2023, By: DaisyofColorado
Info: There is still a lot of snow at the upper couloir. We used ice axe and microspikes but crampons would have been better. Going up the couloir around 10:30, snow was still hard in spots. We down climbed it around noon and the conditions were perfect. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/29/2023, By: syrupgravy
Info: Lots of snow from just below the switchbacks driving up to the high trailhead. The South Slopes route is melting out on the south face and will probably have a clear path soon (was loose wet scree or ice and scree). On the ascent we took the large couloir on the left to the Southwest Ridge. Couloir climbed excellently! On the ridge its mixed conditions so be ready for snow, ice, and climbing rocks with crampons on. Final pitch was a dry scramble to the summit. Came down the standard route and had deep snow all the way down to Lavender Col. Would not recommend downclimbing the Southwest Ridge in these conditions. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2023, By: Wentzl
Info: The word of the day is SNOW. Somehow, there is more snow up on Sneffels now than when I climbed it last month. Crazy. Anyone thinking about the SW Ridge route, bring all your snow skills. It will be that way for a while, couple weeks at least. I used crampons as early as the Wright's Lake trail cut off and kept them on until getting above the crux of the SW Ridge and onto the crest of the ridge proper. Didn't use them again at all, as the snow on the descent down the South Slopes was in decent condition and fun for plunge stepping. I would suggest anyone thinking about using the SW Ridge as a descent, if you have not been there before, wait for the snow to melt off a bit. 

Route: Snake Couloir
Posted On: 6/11/2023, By: GreatGlissader
Info: Still so much snow up there. Approach is rough from Blue Lakes TH. Creek crossings are okay, I had to move a few logs for the first crossing. Lots of snow on the approach, but not continuous. Side hilling steep snow on the final traverse to Blain Basin. Took us a lot longer to get to Blain Basin than expected. Camped in the basin at 11,100. Started at 3am with crampons on and had continuous snow to the top. Couloir was in great shape with very firm snow. We took the class 4 gully to the summit, 730am, it was pretty sketchy with unstable snow, no rope. The optional exit Roach mentions to continue east on the couloir is a pretty bad option right now because it involves steep down climbing and the top of the snow is corniced and very steep. Coming down from the summit to the v-notch was steep firm snow that still needed crampons. We walked down the easy couloir and glissaded 1000ft down the east side of Lavender. Great climb, but with all the snow I would wait another few weeks for the snow to melt to make the approach and final climb more enjoyable. The snow will be around for a while. 

Route: Birthday Chutes
Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: Christensenje
Info: Skiers left chute is a much better ski right now than lavender. Had a blast on really smooth snow. Dropped at 10:30. Corn in lower half. Slightly firm still on the top portion. Lavender is a tougher ski with how much its been traveled. Do this one instead. :) 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 5/29/2023, By: Agstrohmeier
Info: Agree with previous conditions. Skied today, dropped at 10:30. We started early but waited quite a while at the top for it to soften. Upper couloir skied decent but was pretty muddled with the bootpack in the middle. Great skiing from lower couloir, down the scree slopes and to the car. Notch is probably easier in it's current condition than in summer conditions, a pretty easy step through. Then easy ridge walk to the summit. Some of the chutes off the top looked connected through but there's a lot of wet slide debris. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 5/29/2023, By: runningbuff
Info: Continuous snow from the trailhead. Icy enough in the morning (started at 7:30) to boot up the entire way to the summit, but it was softening up fast by 10:30 or so. Skiied lavender col from the notch near the top. Catchy, wet snow in the top section going down at about 11ish. Much nicer in the main couloir until getting down below the upper trailhead. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 5/26/2023, By: durkan
Info: Drove up to lower 4wd th (stock 4runner). Snowshoes not needed in the morning, but the heel bar proved effective all the way to the top of the south slope. Transitioned to crampons after, and notch was filled in enough to keep them on until summit. 2 skiiers and one other hiker out.