Snowmass Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/12/2023, By: Abowser7
Info: Perfect conditions for Snowmass Mountain. Log jam is passable and completely free of snow. Snow conditions start around 2 miles before the lake. There is still one large dry spot that can fit about 6 tents to camp by the lake. No postholing on the way up, snowboarded down to the lake. started at 1 am 6/11, summited at 7:00, got back to the car just before 5:00pm. Crampons are a must. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/11/2023, By: Alexarcher
Info: Camped at the lake, still pretty much one big dry camp spot which is very shareable. Did the direct variation along with approx. 8 others who all summited I believe. Started at 2 am and the snow was perfect all the way to the notch. Mostly rock after the notch but some snow fields below the crest make the scrambling a little more sketch so I tried to stick the crest as best I could since I took off my crampons at the notch. Made the summit at 5:45 am so the snow was still good for the way down. Consistent snow starts a little after the logjam and was fairly supportive I thought, a little post hole action here and there. Beautiful trip. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/4/2023, By: ryantasto
Info: Hike up to lake on the 3rd. Approach is free of snow for first 4.5 miles. Then some patchy snow till jog jam which is crossable. Then mostly free of snow till top of switchbacks from which snow covered till lake. One main dry spot by lake that can fit a few tents. Started on the 4th at 2am. Snow had hard/stable conditions. Then at 4:45 reached 13,600 where took a turn for the worse.(right below the bump approach)Sinking past knee with a 3-4" surface crust with 10" soft crystal layer beneath. Turned around due to avy concern. 4/5 groups that day turned around. Was able to pick up a 2'x2' piece of the slab in hands Needs to go through a few more freeze/thaw cycles to consalidate the softer layer 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/5/2023, By: Raccoon40
Info: My friend was saying ideal conditions to climb this peak would be about 2-3 weeks from now - there's still a lot of snow up there. Snow free basically until the log jam, a few members of my team did a little bridge construction and we were all able to cross the log jam without getting our feet wet. Pretty consistent snow I'm guessing about 1 mile after the log jam. Still really just 1 dry spot to camp - I think people managed to fit 4 tents in this area (it was really nice that people were willing to share this space). Started our summit push at 230am. Only needed crampons (one of my friends was able to do it in microspikes) an ice axe and hiking poles because the snow was pretty firm up until we were post holing (in snow like the other report mentions above). We also had concerns about the snow and the area being avy prone so we turned around. I uploaded a picture of roughly the route we took, where the line ends is where we had concerns about the snow and turned around. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/30/2023, By: blonde_dinosaur
Info: Backpacked to the lake on Sunday, 5/28. It is 9 miles to the lake, not 8. Not much snow until about 5.5/6 miles in, then we put on snow shoes. On Sunday, there was still a snow bridge. On our way back out Monday, it was gone. Your options are to cross one of multiple log jams with high water, or to bring shoes to cross in. Water is pretty high and I crossed in my boots and it went up to my knees (I am 5'5). Lots of snow leading up to the lake and you would definitely posthole without snowshoes. To get to the route to Snowmass, you have to cross the stream over a few logs. We camped on this side of the lake. We started at 3:30am and the snow was great and supportive. Sun started hitting everything around 5:45/6am, and as many have said the snow melts fast. So start earlier than you think you need. We did a variation of the direct route and kept to the ridge to reach the summit. Beautiful day, hardly any wind at the top. The way down we were able to glissade down the Snowmass. Long day out on Monday. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/28/2023, By: Laxer04
Info: Similar to other updates recently. Mostly dirt trail for the first 5 miles or so. The snow bridge is still in at the log jam (see photo) but melting fast. Snowshoes were helpful in spots and definitely past the log jam.

There is one dry camp spot at the lake (see photo), get there early to secure it!

We camped at the lake and started hiking around 4AM, reached the summit at 8AM. Mostly ideal snow conditions to the ridge, but it had softened up considerably by the time we were glissading down. In hindsight I wish we had started around 2/230AM to have better snow for the descent. The ridge was pretty straight forward and easy, a couple spots with snow to cross. There was around 30 people on the mountain on this Memorial Day Weekend! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/23/2023, By: Grisel
Info: Trail is mostly dry for the first 4 miles, after that we put snowshoes on but did have some dry patches here and there. Definitely snowshoes at the log jam which has 3 different snow bridges to cross over that t stayed solid later in the day. Snow was mostly solid all the way to lake. From lake, I would take snowshoes off and put crampons on to get to the other side due to the pain that is the side hilling. Working up the Snowmass in the morning was solid but as the sun rose, the snow softened quick. Snow was steep up to ridge and the ridge itself had many a snow trap door. Id recommend staying on the western side or ridge proper. Touching the eastern side is an accident waiting to happen. Summited at 10:30am and glissaded down the direct route. Snow at this point was a post holing mess but still got a good glissade in to lake here and there. Snow was mostly good in the trees. 17 hours round trip, 11pm start time and back ti car at 4:20pm. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/20/2023, By: Thighs
Info: One of the most challenging 14ers I've summited to date but the snow makes it easier. Flotation is an absolute must about 4.5 miles in and crampons and ice axe mandatory from lake to summit. Within the first few miles, there are many snow patches and many fallen trees to navigate. While not a huge deal, after 19 miles of hiking and two hours of sleep, these become a pesky nuisance to see every tenth of a mile or so. An avalanche has also consumed a 20-30 foot section with 5-6ft deep of debris. I'd say there will be a significant amount of snow for at least another month or two. Log jam is completely circumventable via a snow bridge but its all melting fast. I wouldn't count on that a week or two from now.

Buddy and I camped at the lake beforehand. Initial gully was steep with a few exposed rocks. The snowmass itself was void of any exposed rocks. Summited via the direct variation which had frozen, stable snow but was deteriorating and slushy around 8:30am. It would be spooky without stable snow with its very steep incline. Summit ridge was fun and not too challenging albeit steep and exposed hence the need for crampons and axe. Glissaded a majority of the way down to lake. Long two days - Strava tracked 21.4mi, 6,821ft. Take those stats with a grain of salt but my body sure believes them. Every section of this hike was difficult but rewarding and worth it. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/1/2023, By: Logan5280
Info: Snowmass is IN for skiing right now. Skied from the summit with AlessiaAscent on 4/30. Road is still snowy near summer trailhead, so it's still necessary to park at the snowplow turnaround, about half a mile below. Approach has mostly continuous snow, although it's melting fast; we were able to skin all the way to snowmass lake, except for a few dry patches. The creek is still covered in snow, meaning that the log jam isn't an issue yet. Camped at snowmass lake on 4/29. The lake is still frozen, making for easy skinning. We booted up the first headwall of the snowmass (very hard-packed snow with a decent freeze), and skinned across the crusty middle section (12k-13k). Above, the snow became much softer, but we were able to skin up the steeper slopes. We took the direct steep snow variation up the northern side of the summit block. The soft snow on the steep section made for a reasonable but heads-up ski, then cruiser turns back to snowmass lake. The egress was endless, but this is certainly a beautiful time of year in the elks. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/7/2023, By: jaquetcj
Info: Climbed and skied Snowmass Mtn w two friends last week. We were able to get to within a mile of the summer trailhead and skied/skinned in the whole way. Trail is starting to melt out but we were able to keep skis on the whole way up.

4 day trip, skied in and Camped at the lake , skied the peak right off the summit via east slopes route on 4.28. Next day we skied several lines off trail rider pass (didnt have energy to get hagerman) then skied out on the final day. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 10/29/2022, By: drchele
Info: Both FR 315 and FR 314 are open to the Lead King Basin and Crystal THs, respectively. Snow on upper roads to TH makes them even more challenging than usual (see my TH status update).
There is snow present from below the TH. I broke trail and cut in steps from the Lead King Basin TH to Geneva Lake before I turned back (got a late start). Postholing to 4" depth along the lower trail, and up to 12" along the trail to Geneva Lake (upper shin/calf). I didn't use flotation, although it might make some sections (especially above the waterfall and below Geneva Lake) easier. I had my microspikes, crampons, and ice axe with me but used none of them (but was glad I had them). 

Route: \"S\" Ridge
Posted On: 10/21/2022, By: markf
Info: Route was dry until the summit ridge. The scattered patches of snow on the summit ridge did not require spikes, IMO. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 10/21/2022, By: markf
Info: Completely dry. I descended this route after ascending "S" Ridge. 

Route: View of E. Slopes from below Trail Rider Pass
Posted On: 10/14/2022, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Didn't climb it, did get a look while descending Trail Rider Pass during the second half of the Four Pass Loop yesterday.

Snow appears to be sticking up high, which is not exactly surprising given how cold temps were. Scree slope above the lake appeared to be dry.

Primarily wanted to make an update to add some info about how to access the upper trail around the lake instead of being traumatized by the sloppy mudfest along the shoreline:

There are two junctions/signposts within a short distance of one another as you're coming up the trail for the standard route. The first one doesn't require too much attention. At the second one, ignore the sign pointing to the lake (or backtrack to here if you're camping at the lake) and take the fork to climber's left to access the Geneva Lake Trail. About 1/4 - 1/3 of a mile up the Geneva Lake Trail (guesstimate only; I wasn't using any sort of tracker, so I'm basing this off the ten minutes it took me to hike the distance at the pace I'd been maintaining), an unsigned and uncairned trail splits to the right. My own first (failed) attempt at Snowmass indicates that it is a much drier and overall more pleasant experience than going low.

(Unable to add a caption to the fourth and final photo, which is of the location where the unnamed and otherwise unmarked upper trail around Snowmass Lake splits from the Geneva Lake Trail.) 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/11/2022, By: Jirwindisc
Info: Gorgeous hike up from Snowmass Lake. Snow starts around 12,000 but easily traversed with traction. Did the alternative more direct route and there was snow in the Couloir that made it tricky. Still made it with traction but then a runner did it in running shoes and made me rethink what I consider difficult.