Snowmass Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/31/2020, By: jmanner
Info: We didn't find the Logjam to be crossable. The creek is up and we didn't feel it was safe to attempt a wade across. The upper mountain did look super in, but I'm not sure it super achievable to get across the logjam right now. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/26/2020, By: Posthole Pete
Info: Great summit weather yesterday. Trail is bone dry up until about 10,500 and then consistent snow until the summit. Log jam is in great shape. Found a dry campsite at the first switchback after the log jam. The snowmass is filled in quite well from the lake, easy climbing even with a dusting of an inch or 2 the night before. Decent boot pack from about halfway up the mass that was left from the last group that climbed, this made life and our pace very comfortable. Once on the ridge it was very easy to navigate to the summit. Cairns are easy to find and most are not buried in snow. Steep riding off the summit but a fun ride. Really fun buttery corn riding all the way back to the lake. Long adventure but that was a fun one. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/21/2020, By: Lucky Day
Info: Snow (deep) from about 10,600. Had the dreaded isothermal posthole fest. Stayed directly on the the ridge line from the East shoulder it was very solid with mostly exposed rock. No signs of slides on the face. Probably another month before the lower section is melted out from the lake. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/21/2020, By: Lucky Day
Info: Snow (deep) from about 10,600. Had the dreaded isothermal posthole fest. Stayed directly on the the ridge line from the East shoulder it was very solid with mostly exposed rock. No signs of slides on the face. Probably another month before the lower section is melted out from the lake. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 11/11/2019, By: wintersage
Info: Had to park about 2.5mi from the Lead King Basin TH. The road was a mix of packed snow, ice, and mud leading up to the trailhead.


From the trailhead to the Geneva Lakes designated camp site area was mostly dry until 10,500ft and from there the snow cover was pretty continuous. The campsites are all covered in snow and the lake is frozen solid.


Past the last campsite, the snow stops for a small section, but then re-appears and from Little Gem lake all the way to the summit you can find continuous snow.


No snowshoes were needed as postholing was minimal, and on some sections of the steep final approach to the summit crampons would have been extremely helpful, but I managed with just microspikes and an ice axe. Main reason why I didn't put on my crampons was that there was a ton of boulder-hopping and rocky outcrops throughout the upper route.


From the summit to 12,800ft we glissaded down a gully just south of the summer route. Extra care had to be taken to not fly over the frozen waterfall Dukes of Hazzard style.


The walk back to the car was harder than anticipated as it required nearly 1500ft of elevation gain to go from the TH to where we were parked. The mud on the road also freezes which makes navigation in the dark a little more challenging. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/16/2019, By: glad2be
Info: Brought crampons, didn't need them. Minimal snow crossing. Walked on rocks 99% of the time. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/6/2019, By: Canadian_bass
Info: Did the direct route which was still in. Crampons and an ax were very helpful. Transition from snow to notch was relatively easy, snow at the top a little rotten. Ditched snow gear at the notch and made the quick scramble up the ridge. Snow was mashed potatoes by 11 AM on the descent. Combined glissade and plunge stepping.

At the log jam found a solid route just inside the avalanche debris field. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 8/26/2019, By: bludwig
Info: What an amazing route. If you have a high clearance vehicle, I recommend going from the West Slopes. The plants are super overgrown and you'll be walking up to your chest in flowers. The only snow on the route is avoidable, unless you want to glissade. There are no mosquitoes or bugs except by the camp sites about a mile south of the trail head.
Added bonus if you go through Crystal, the Crystal Mill is right there!
This may be my new favorite. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/22/2019, By: desertdog
Info: We did the direct variation and were pleasantly surprised that it still held snow. It took us about 20 minutes to summit after reaching the notch, which is much quicker than the standard route. The rest of the mountain just has patches of snow. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/18/2019, By: cdgibbons
Info: The snowmass is getting patchy. I climbed continuous snow from 13,000' to 13,600' on the standard route. There were certainly options to be on snow lower; it would be hard to make them continuous. The direct variation appeared to still be in. I spoke with two people who climbed it, but did not observe it firsthand. Photo from the lake included.

Without snow, I found the 150' from the snow to the ridge to be probably the hardest climbing of the standard route- low class 3 on large blocks, some of which are loose. There were some cairns on a rock rib to the left of where I ascended. I found the summit ridge well-cairned and easier than it appeared from the photos.

The willows are a pain, as has been well-reported elsewhere. Probably on par with Bierstadt pre-boardwalk, for those of us old enough to remember that. While my ascent was messy, on the return I found that if you get to the junction in the second photo (taken just past the stream crossing, to the left, facing uphill), and go center-right (rather than hard right), there is a trail all the way through. It goes close to, but not along, the lakeshore for the first half, then, about halfway across and opposite a striking cliff on the other side of the lake, it turns left at a fork, climbs about 50 feet, and continues across on drier, higher ground. 

Route: S Ridge
Posted On: 8/20/2019, By: Buckie06
Info: Man what a fantastic route! Free and clear of any snow. We car camped and the mosquitos at the Lead King TH are horrible.

the turn off from the main trail is not obvious, but you can clearly see the two chimneys as you hike up. So make your best guess as when to turn right and head up. Hiking up to the base of the chimneys is loose boulders and scree, it sucks but it's short. We took climber's left chimney, but wish we would of done the class 3/4 face between the two. The chimney was very loose and dangerous. Once above the chimneys it was an awesome scramble up the ridge to the summit. Great rock quality and fun moves. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/20/2019, By: Ptglhs
Info: Chris' report from this weekend is quite accurate. I wanted to add a few details. The direct route is viable with minimal difficulty getting to the ridge from the snow. The snow is quite steep. I would recommend crampons and an axe for the direct route. You may be able to get away with an axe and traction on the standard route.

For the approach: if you cross the creek just downstream of the log jam it's MUCH easier. You wade through some knee deep water that can be forded barefoot. You then have to scramble over the avalanche deadfall and rejoin the trail 30ft over, but it's better to deal with water and deadfall separately. (Photo one shows where I crossed, looking down trail).

The scree slope is a nightmare. Worst part of this hike is coming down that thing. At about 11.9k you'll notice a cairn on both sides of the drainage. When ascending it is possible to cross to the north carefully on some flatter sections of the rock with the water flowing (careful, they are slippery). Once on the north side there is a use trail through the dirt and willows that gains another 2/300 feet before it fades out. It's a much better way to get to the slabby rock and tundra than the scree. (Photo 2) 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/7/2019, By: Cranfillpe
Info: I was on continuous, although occasionally sketchy, snow, from 12,200'. The direct route to the summit was great w crampons/ice ax, highly recommend. I had two major route finding issues.

The log jam is easy to miss in the dark. No sign, and the "social trail" continues past it on the same side of the ponds. I probably went a half mile past the jam before I realized I had completely blown by it.

The "trail" on that skirts Snowmass Lake is ...uh... trying to keep things positive here... It was not my favorite "trail." Initially I missed it and unknowingly hiked up Trail Rider Pass for a while before I figured out what was going on. When I finally found the correct (I think...) "trail," it was very tough to follow, not to mention generally stay upright on. There was deep mud, small ponds, wet roots positioned to eject you into the lake, etc....

Considering this combined with the upper portion of the scree field (read: "slip-and-slide") to follow, I opted to take a different descent route.

After summiting Snowmass and N Snowmass (highly recommend) I opted to skirt around the bottom of the cliffs of Hagerman Peak to intercept Trail Rider Pass. This involved a few high 3 down climbs and several brief snowfield traverses, but it was worth it in my opinion. This trail is much simpler than the scree and mud alternative, not to mention unbelievably scenic. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/5/2019, By: Klad24
Info: Beautiful day on the Snowmass. Started from the lake around 03:30. Got lost a few times in the willows getting around the lake. Kinda hard to discern the trail in the dark. Ended up following a bootpack slightly to the left of the more-direct alternative to gain the summit ridge. The move to get to the summit ridge rock from the snowfield was a little difficult and I'd consider it closer to class four. Probably would not recommend following my tracks for that. Rest of the ridge was smooth sailing. Took the standard route on the way down and that worked out well. Was able to glissade about 1,500 vertical feet down the snowmass on the way home. Couldn't imagine attempting this route without an axe. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/3/2019, By: Will_E
Info: Summitted Snowmass yesterday, did the route in 1 day. The willows around the lake were a pain to get through, ran into 1 guy that turned around after getting completely soaked by them in early morning. I passed by the lake around 9:30 am, they were mostly dry. A lot of snow up there still, I took crampons and axe. Never used Crampons, but had axe at the ready for the downclimb. Thankfully didn't have to use it. Long day.