Mt. Columbia

Route: SE Ridge and Harvard-Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 4/28/2018, By: jknappe17
Info: Parked at Harvard Lakes TH (bone dry) and set off on the Colorado Trail around 6:00am. Stayed on ridge proper and passed by rock outcroppings on the South; minimal snow encountered all the way to the summit. Made good time to Columbia's summit by 9:00am and decided to go for the traverse to Harvard (see pictures for snow conditions). The traverse has LOTS of snow from "the rabbit" until you gain the ridge that leads up to point 13,516, minimal snow encountered above this point up Harvard's east-SE summit ridge. Snow was fairly consolidated, minimizing post-holing (and not to mention boulder hopping) and allowed us to cruise to Harvard's summit by 11:45am; we followed the standard traverse route sticking to roughly a 12,800 contour through the middle section. See pictures for details on snow; ice axe and traction recommended. Horn Fork basin and south slopes of Harvard looked pretty filled in with snow as viewed from Columbia's summit. Back tracked the traverse and re-summited Columbia on the way out; we were blessed with a snow-pack that kept us from post-holing even in the afternoon. Beautifully brutal 12 hour day with perfect blue-bird weather. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 4/16/2018, By: yaktoleft13
Info: Clear and dry until about 11k, at which point there is scattered snow through the trees. Highly recommend skirting the bumps and outcroppings on the south side, particularly on the way down, since the south side is largely snow free. The long ridge to the summit is largely dry, with the exception of the occasional drift that must be navigated When snow is encountered, you can frequently stick to the ridge crest and have solid, dry rock to scramble on. Brought snowshoes and microspikes, but didn't need either. Be prepared physically and mentally for wind the entire ridge, but all in all a quite enjoyable route. Trust me, the pictures make the ridge look snowier than it is. Often times dry passage can be found 

Route: Southwest Couloir
Posted On: 3/31/2018, By: JonHandshake
Info: Drove to the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead (Jeep Grand Cherokee) without any issues. Parked at 6:30am. Slapped on our skis and started skinning right from the parking lot. There were some spots below 11,000ft that were not covered by snow, but not enough to justify boot-packing. Shortly after entering the couloir, however, we decided to boot-pack. Snow coverage was consistent throughout the couloir, but it was basically ice. No way we could have skinned up that. Although it wasn't ideal for skinning, this snowpack was clearly strong enough to ski down. Made it to the top of the couloir around 12noon (did not summit) and observed some minor wind slab. Not nearly enough to write home about. Despite the icy quality of the snow, the recent storm seemed to have provided enough of a coating that there was some cushion on the way down. It was a fast and fun ride. We were able to ride for quite a bit after exiting the couloir. By about 1pm the snow started to turn to slush and skinning grew difficult. There are some steep traverses about 1-mile out from the trailhead that were particularly tricky when the snow held this consistency. Nevertheless, great day. 

Route: Nolans Route
Posted On: 3/25/2018, By: JulianSmith
Info: On Saturday the 24th of March, we climbed the Nolan's route on Columbia, up from the bridge across N. Cottonwood Cr. We both skinned up the Nolan's route, and had to boot pack too where the snow cover got thin in a few spots, but we kept skis on most of the way up to the Southeast Ridge. Once we got to the ridge proper, we boot packed it all the way to the summit. We were able to ski most of the way back down from the summit, with only 2 short boot packs. A lot of the skiing was traversing along the lee side of the ridge, where the snow had accumulated. Finally, we descended a fine couloir just to the west of the Nolan's route, dropping about 2,500' in good snow conditions! The lower angled terrain in the valley and the trail back to N. Cottonwood Cr. was a trudge, as it seems to go uphill in both directions; it makes for fine skiing. Overall, the snow seems to have tracked a few miles to the north, like around Huron and Missouri, and missed Columbia and Harvard. Though Columbia was skiable, it was not the most glamorous affair. The south face of Harvard is not close to being able to ski. The road into N. Cottonwood Creek TH does not have a winter closure. It's open all the way to the summer TH. In a 4-wheel drive truck, we were able to drive comfortably to about half way between Silver Creek TH and N. Cottonwood Creek TH, when discretion got the better part of valor. Perhaps you could make it further. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 3/4/2018, By: dwoodward13
Info: Up Southeast, down Three Elk. Wow, what a day. Turn off at the saddle to the ridge was easy to find in the dark. Faint patches of trail here and there up the ridge. A few really large snow drifts below treeline, but did not get out snowshoes. Once above tree line, windy as expected, but route is obvious. Left at 230am, summit at 11. At summit we decided to descend to Three Elk, which looked pretty dry and way less windy. Followed the dry ridge on the north side of the drainage more or less until we started running into the first set of trees. Used ax a few times to cross slopes below points for caution. At this point we found pretty old tracks, but they didn't make much sense, so we abandoned them and headed to the creek. Saw some human prints, but the tracks were going in all directions. Eventually gave up and followed and animal track down on the north side of the creek to around the CO Trail where a maze of tracks lead to the Harvard Lakes area. Snowshoes literal lifesavers here. If you find a track in Three Elks, use at your own risk :lol: CO Trail past Harvard Lakes oddly was really hard to follow, even with GPS. We completely lost it as no one had been south of the lakes, and wallowed around until finding it again around just past Powell Creek. A few boot tracks from here back to the car. 19 hours and one hell of an adventure. Eat your Wheaties before doing this in winter! 

Route: Three Elk Creek
Posted On: 3/4/2018, By: dwoodward13
Info: Up Southeast, down Three Elk. Wow, what a day. Turn off at the saddle to the ridge was easy to find in the dark. Faint patches of trail here and there up the ridge. A few really large snow drifts below treeline, but did not get out snowshoes. Once above tree line, windy as expected, but route is obvious. Left at 230am, summit at 11. At summit we decided to descend to Three Elk, which looked pretty dry and way less windy. Followed the dry ridge on the north side of the drainage more or less until we started running into the first set of trees. Used ax a few times to cross slopes below points for caution. At this point we found pretty old tracks, but they didn't make much sense, so we abandoned them and headed to the creek. Saw some human prints, but the tracks were going in all directions. Eventually gave up and followed and animal track down on the north side of the creek to around the CO Trail where a maze of tracks lead to the Harvard Lakes area. Snowshoes literal lifesavers here. If you find a track in Three Elks, use at your own risk CO Trail past Harvard Lakes oddly was really hard to follow, even with GPS. We completely lost it as no one had been south of the lakes, and wallowed around until finding it again around just past Powell Creek. A few boot tracks from here back to the car. 19 hours and one hell of an adventure. Eat your Wheaties before doing this in winter! 

Route: Three Elk Creek
Posted On: 2/3/2018, By: DavidEStaunton
Info: I postholed through sometimes mid thigh deep snow, and lots of less deeper snow. my route finding skills need improving. Above tree-line, one should gain the ridge ASAP. Please get out there and use my painfully crafted trail before its gone! 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 1/31/2018, By: Santanoni
Info: I did not do the standard traverse of course, but I used the high basin between Harvard and Columbia on the east side to lose as little elevation as I could. I dropped to about 12300 and used rock ribs both down and up. The little ridge I used up Columbia is probably not so fun in summer but all the rocks were frozen nicely and were like stairs right now. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/29/2017, By: casmussen10
Info: To start, I didn't attempt to climb or summit Columbia or Harvard but I did hike/snowshoe into Horn Fork Basin starting out at ~1100hrs. Low-mid 40s all day and not terribly windy. The road up to N. Cottonwood TH was pretty clear. No deep snow but there are a few spots that you might need decent tires or 4wd. I did see a Tesla at the TH... I put my Yaktrax on after about a mile for the sake of convenience. About 2 miles into the hike, I threw on snowshoes until I turned around to head back (about 4 miles out from TH). In total I climbed about 2000' vertically. Columbia didn't seem to have much snow on it (as seen in the pano), and I would have attempted it if I didn't get such a late start. However, Harvard looked to be a little bit more treacherous (as seen in the second picture). All in all a good day with good conditions and weather. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/24/2017, By: khavos
Info: A friend and I decided to hike Mt. Columbia on Thanksgiving, and it was an interesting affair to say the least. Route to the N. Cottonwood trailhead is pretty good, a bit of snow and ice, but no issues making it the whole way. Had an AWD vehicle with moderate clearance. The trail from the turnoff for Columbia had not been traveled on anytime recently and is unbroken. The part of the trail that is broken curls around the Harvard section of trail and then presents a split off back towards Columbia. Snowshoes would help greatly on the approach. From the boulder field to the summit, spikes are all that is necessary, though an ice axe would have been helpful in some spots. I only had poles and they were a help on that steep grade. My partner and I tried breaking the Columbia trail from the boulder field to the Harvard junction on the way back, but our route was somewhat circuitous. We did have a GPS and map/compass, but the trail wasn't entirely discernible. While I am sure this may be general knowledge, don't be fooled by the stats on this hike like I was, it's a pretty exhausting hike in the current conditions, and the trail from the boulder field to the ridge is steep and about as fun as completing your taxes. It may be worth waiting until the new trail is done. On the bright side, the avalanche danger looked minimal at worst. Happy hiking! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/30/2017, By: rgarriott
Info: N. Cottonwood Creek TH still open on 10/29. No problem getting up road in 2WD. Hiked West Slopes up Columbia. Trail was dry and no traction was needed. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/17/2017, By: Eagle Eye
Info: I made the Mt Harvard to Mt Columbia traverse on 10/15/2017. The trail into Horn Fork Basin had patchy snow cover or ice and I used micro spikes almost the whole day. The upper (wide) Horn Fork Creek crossing point presented an icy problem, but there is a much safer place to cross slightly upstream. Mt Harvard's side of the traverse is drier rock, but the lower sections under the “rabbit” ridge formations closer to Mt Columbia are deep with unconsolidated snow. Allow more time, the rocks are too big and far apart to boulder-hop through. The West Slopes descent off Mt Columbia was (typical!) loose and muddy, mixed with snow. The side trail through the woods back the main trail was faint, although there is a noticeable cairn marking the Mt Columbia trail fork at its junction with the main trail. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/6/2017, By: bmcqueen
Info: I did the Columbia to Harvard traverse today. Snow above 11,500, but never enough to need my spikes. Gaiters were a good call though. Continuous snow descending Harvard back to the Columbia turnoff. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/4/2017, By: joyfulwriter
Info: Weather was beautiful today. Unfortunately for me, I followed the cairns and another hiker too far up the gully where the slopes truly were nasty - or as one fellow hiker said, "truly heinous." I turned around before hitting the ridge due to how loose the rocks were and to avoid setting them loose on anyone below. Talked to a couple who summited but said the trail was miserable even staying close to the shoulder. Looking forward to returning when CFI finishes their trail reroute. What I could see of it looked fabulous. I'll be back! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/26/2017, By: RockyMountainMustang
Info: Mind the route description (pic #6) and hug that shoulder up. I made the mistake of going straight up (possibly worst mistake I've ever made). "The upper end of the gully is steep, loose and ugly." indeed. It was the gully of scree and tears... and enormous loose boulders. If you mindlessly follow the trail, it will seem to go straight up, not curve over. No cairns in that area, and getting to the shoulder is rough too, but worth it. Went down that way (the right way...). By far this is my least favorite 14er so far... it's a slog-opotamus. Loose and nasty. If you go up the gully, I recommend a helmet, but mostly I recommend going up the ridge to the right and not going up the gully - it just gets worse the higher you get.