Snowmass Mountain

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/28/2018, By: Ecocrazy
Info: Hiked to just below the lake 5/26, departed for the summit 4:40 5/27. For reference, the forecast from the weather link here, which I think is at 10.4k was a low of 35F.

Sporadic snow patches on the trail starting a few hundred feet below the lake were solid in the morning. The traverse around the lake was painful both ways: no real use trail except right next to the snow-calving shore, cross slopped, some posting even at dawn and tons in the afternoon. The scree slope was really nice with snow, coverage just continuous. Snowmass was softening to uncomfortable by the time I made the ridge at 9-something. Ridge was fun, made a bit harder by snow below forcing me to the ridge proper at times, 4th class with substantial exposure as I did it, but there may well have been easier passage. Super fun glissade mostly on from the ridge to the lake, then very trying soft snow hiking to below the lake. Tough route, but fun and beautiful. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/26/2018, By: Eli Boardman
Info: Trail is mostly dry to the logjam, and the logs are solid, especially in the morning. The last mile to Snowmass Lake is bad postholing a lot of the time. The lake still has a layer of ice, but not enough to cross, so I traversed the east shoreline on easy snow. I was able to link snow all the way from the lake to the summit ridge via the standard route, and the snow was nice and crisp in the early morning. The summit ridge is mostly dry, as is the fun traverse to North Snowmass. I left the lake around 3:15 and was the first person to summit, reaching the top minutes after sunrise. The snow was already getting quite soft by the time I made it back to the lake around 8:30. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/27/2018, By: alyannkar
Info: I passed the person who made the last condition report as he was coming down and I was heading up. Like he said, the snow was already soft before the sun rose.

The log jam was icy in the morning. The only challenging part is at the beginning, but once you are past the first couple logs, you are solid. After the log jam and the couple switchbacks that follow, snow begins. There are a lot of downed trees and an avalanche debris field that covers the trail.

After reaching the lake, I switched off between crampons and snowshoes. I passed another group that turned around because of post holing up the last (petty steep) 1000 or so feet. My group had no issues with post holing until this part of the climb. We went up the direct route, which required a creative ice move to gain the ridge, and then descended down the standard route. The ridge was dry and fun and we glissaded 75% of the way back down to the lake. The snow had not hardened up much the night before and I doubt it will be hardening much over the next couple nights because the temperatures are so high. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/14/2018, By: Thevirtualsherpa
Info: Dry until 7 miles were you will run into snow. Don't bother putting on snowshoes until after switchbacks. Tons of snow at the lake, but I wouldn't cross it directly, should stick to summer trail. Once you are past lake, lots of snow that turns into hot garbage by 9AM. Direct route is possible if you can go up very steep terrain or are okay making a 10 ish foot scramble to gain ridge. Lots of wet slides but nothing out of the norm. Once you get on the ridge, its fairly dry on the west side with lots of snow still on the east. Long haul but conditions are prime for skiing/boarding or hiking, feel free to message me on social media for more info. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/30/2018, By: Randy1983
Info: Trail head was open. Started around 1:15 am. Patchy snow here and there but not enough for snow shoes nor micro spikes. Snow along the trail increases before the log jam and was cold enough for us to bypass the log jam keeping west of the creek until we met back up with the trail. Heading up from the LJ traction might be helpful. Got to the lake before the sun hit it and booked it across the frozen water(I do NOT recommend this). Starting the ascent up from the lake we used micro spikes and crampons and axes. We did not take the more direct "notch" route as the snow was heating up fast. Gained the ridge and followed a pretty solid boot track up to the summit. Looked like two skiers had skied right off the very top of the summit. Heading down we glissaded from maybe 20-40 feet from the summit that had a clear, rock free drop. Continued glissading as much as we could all the way to the lake. Snow by now was complete garbage. Hiked back around the lake this time and post holed off and on. The worst post holing being around and after the LJ. Snow was so rotten we both agreed that snow shoes wouldn't have helped. Snow is melting fast up there. Hegerman was shedding small avalanches and rock debris almost all morning. All in all it was a fun trip in the Elks. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 12/23/2017, By: ScreeSurfer
Info: On Tuesday, December 19th, drove all the way to the standard Snowmass Creek Trailhead. Less than an inch of snow in the trailhead area. Followed a packed trail through 3-4 inches of snow to the first Beaver pond where I needed to start breaking my own trail. Snow started getting deeper at the beaver ponds and on the few switchbacks up to Snowmass Lake (probably 8-10") with a few deeper pockets. On Wednesday the 20th, walked across the lake which only had 3" of snow on the ice. The snowfield had up to knee deep loose snow so tried to stay on visible rock ribs. Little snow on final ridge to the summit. I did not use traction or flotation although flotation could have been useful for a couple of miles. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 9/19/2017, By: Roald
Info: Went up the S-Ridge and down the West Slope. No snow on the entire route and the standard east slope looked totally clear too. Bring waterproof gators and boots for the haul up to Little Gem Lake in the morning, or be prepared to get soaked by the willows.

FWIW - believe the reports about the S-ridge being sustained class 3/4. There are zero breaks during the ascent, routefinding is difficult at times, and it took forever. The West Slope sucks to go down like most say, although I never felt unsafe. I think the unsafe comments about this route are overblown. 

Route: S Ridge
Posted On: 8/7/2017, By: shizupple
Info: S Ridge is bone dry. Excellent climb, solid rock, fun routefinding. Overall very fun route. Very foggy on the summit - couldn't see any surrounding peaks and Snowmass Lake barely visible. Descended the West Slopes. The weather held out for us for the most part but the vegetation was severely overgrown and very wet from the rain the night before. Trail was really muddy in parts but the actual climbing was dry and solid. Bring your Gore Tex everything - you'll need it if the vegetation is wet. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/7/2017, By: IsaacD
Info: Snow can easily be avoided the entire way up and down from the summit. I ascended heading straight for the block to the left of the summit without touching any snow. Descended just below the summit, glissading for a long while down good snow in the late morning. Note that the path around the lake through the willows is very thin, wet, and requires a bit of bushwhacking. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 7/31/2017, By: kayleenann8
Info: There is one very small snow crossing at the beginning of the scree field -- no traction required; however, I would recommend wearing a helmet on this route as there are loose blocks on this route.

I found the mileage to be closer to 9.7 miles. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/25/2017, By: mollykay
Info: Continuous snow starts about 13,000 ft. You could start on snow as low as just above the scree gully. We climbed the direct route through the notch which had good snow up to it. Dry on the ridge. Standard route had snow on the ramp up to it and then the scramble to the ridge looked dry.

Please pack it out. Human waste problem at Snowmass lake is bad. They are providing free wag bags at the trailhead. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 7/24/2017, By: nsaladin
Info: Hiked snowmass from Lead King Basin. No snow on the route until after you get past gem lake to gain the boulder field to the route. Running water near the grassy ledges used to get on the route make things interesting in the early morning with it being wet and or icy. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/26/2017, By: goblue0910
Info: I did the standard route. It was mixed bouldering and snow above 12,000 ft. until the last climb to the ridge which was all bouldering. I found the rock cairns to be more sporadic than on other mountains, so good route finding is required. I came down the direct route because it had more snow and was a faster/softer descent.

I did the climb and hike out from the lake in one day. It made for a long day, but is definitely doable. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 7/17/2017, By: meg383
Info: A bit of snow left in the gully, but the entirety of the route can be done safely without needing traction/axe. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/10/2017, By: Marmot96
Info: Log jam is easily passable, not sure about the recent reports that it isn't. Continuous snow from the top of the scree field to the ridge (on standard route, not direct). Pretty sun cupped which made for an easy ascent and painful glissade. Would recommend at least microspikes and an axe as the final section of snow towards the ridge is fairly steep and I saw a few people who looked distressed when trying to climb up without an axe. Go get it while the snow is still good!