7/3/2023 Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse Posted On: 7/4/2023, By: treyem Info: The ascent of Columbia was easy and straight-forward, but I was not able to find the class 2 route on the traverse (it was snow covered and no one had attempted it, from what I could tell). I ended up having to do class 4 and low class 5, which I was not excited about. I only recommend doing the standard route traverse if it is completely dried out. The descent from Harvard was quiet wet (compared with Columbia). Please also note that 14ers.com route for the traverse is going from Harvard to Columbia, which my 14ers book did not recommend. |
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7/1/2023 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 7/3/2023, By: joemcglinchy Info: Ascended via SE Ridge and it is fully clear. Trail a bit tough to follow above 11k to treeline, but since you follow the ridgeline it worked out. Descended via West Slopes. There is a large snowfield to cross at ~11600, see photo. It was solid at ~1030 but i'd imagine post-hole city later on in the day. Otherwise, until the junction at 10400 you will need to navigate off and on mud, trail rivers, and downed trees. Beautiful day out! Not dry yet, but if you're using footwear should be manageable. |
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7/1/2023 Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse Posted On: 7/1/2023, By: mcosby Info: Great weather this morning. Made a quick ascent up the W Slopes on Columbia, snow free. The traverse is very snow filled below the ridge, but that helps avoid a ton of talus hopping. Spikes definitely still recommended and I also used an axe because I was slipping constantly on the angled snow. Descended the S Slopes of Harvard; fair bit of snow if you want to use it, otherwise can probably avoid if needed. The basin is saturated and the trail is super muddy, but oh well. |
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6/30/2023 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 6/30/2023, By: szysteve Info: 3 Miles in, it gets muddy in spots. 4 miles in theres a decent sized snowfield to cross, spikes nice to have. If anyone finds 2 sets of poles on the summit ridge next to a big rock and can get those back to somewhere in the Denver metro area, Ill provide the cold beverages of your choice. Message me on here or on IG at szysteve |
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6/24/2023 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 6/24/2023, By: Logan5280 Info: Harvard-Columbia traverse is in excellent condition right now. Today, I ascended Columbia via SE ridge, traversed to Harvard, descended through Horn Fork Basin, then did the road walk back to Harvard Lakes TH. I started at 6:30, made quick work of the Colorado Trail section, and easily founded the SE ridge cairned turn. Route finding isn't terrible in the woods with daylight, but I lost trail segments here and there. Above tree line, the ridge is quite long, but the rock quality is excellent, and any remaining snow patches are avoidable. Easy going to Columbia summit from there. The traverse is great right now because many of the loose scree slopes are still covered in snow, making for easy glissading/microspiking. The initial Columbia headwall is mostly dry except for one large-ish snowfield, but the rock is loose and annoying as usual. From there, snowfields descended into the basin, to a dry section at the bottom of the slope on the Harvard side. This slope was mostly dry, except for a few small snowfields. Even with warm temps, the post holing was surprisingly minimal. I made the Harvard ridge more complicated than it needed to be by ascended the easternmost tower, which was fun class 3 but unnecessary. A few snow-infused talus sections led to the Harvard summit. From Harvard, there are on and off snowfields down to a little below 11k; nothing crazy, but gaiters would still be advised. There's a nice glissade from the beginning of the ridge down to the big cairn. Intermittent snowfields led back down to dry trail around 10.7k. Ended up being about 9:20 roundtrip, 16-18ish miles, and 7k vert. Shoutout to the marmot that jump-scared me on the ridge. |
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6/21/2023 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 6/21/2023, By: ScottK Info: Some small snow banks remain but are easily bypassed along the route. I packed microspikes but did not need them. The flowers in the high elevation grass are starting to bloom. Very easy to follow the route in the trees after the turn off from the Colorado Trail. |
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6/9/2023 Route: Southwest Couloir Posted On: 6/9/2023, By: Crestoner Info: Snow continuous from the trees (below "The Choke") to just below where the couloir tops out on Columbia's Southeast Ridge. Not too far above The Choke, there is a 75-foot snowless section...but you can deviate left and high to keep on snow. It was a cold night (I camped at the margin of the avy runout), and the couloir snow was rock-hard bottom to top during the shaded ascent. Not having any recent beta on the standard route, I elected to also descend the Southwest Couloir (for which I did have very recent beta) to get back to camp. Despite the sunhit, the snow was still quite hard....took me awhile to get down! The turnoff from the main trail is easy to find. There is a small cairn pile...and of course now there are footprints (some deep!) going to and back. |
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6/8/2023 Route: Southwest Couloir Posted On: 6/14/2023, By: Levi L4 Info: First off, this is not a couloir. Second off, it skied great with 2-3 fresh inches on the top 1200 or so. Dont make our mistake and turn off the trail too soon, made for a brutal approach. Stay on the trail until it opens up into the bottom of the avalanche gully. Probably will be a bit of postholing/bushwhacking through that gully but not too bad. |
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6/1/2023 Route: Southwest Couloir Posted On: 6/1/2023, By: Christensenje Info: Still a fun ski! But definitely agree with a lot of the last conditions report. Quite an adventurous exit. 1. Bring socks for the post holing which starts at 10.7k. 2. Starting to dry out in the choke but still very skiable for this time of year! Coverage pictures attached. |
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5/21/2023 Route: Southwest Couloir Posted On: 5/22/2023, By: MBosch27 Info: Trail mostly dirt from N. Cottonwood Creek for about a mile, and then about a mile of dirt/snow, and then all snow, thinning quick. From 11,000 up the snow was horrendously sticky accumulating 5-6" thick on the bottom of skins in less than 3 steps. Stick style sunscreen applied to the skins, and all was good again. Above 12,000' the snow was supportable, and flat out FUN SKIING- big GS turns... Below 11,000 the snow was fully settled, warm spring/summer conditions. Between 11,000 and 12,000, the snow was super sticky on the surface, and collapsible below even on skis if one did not maintain enough speed to keep the skis acting like skis and not snowshoes... SUPER GLOPPY and GLUE-like between 11 and 12K; survival skiing. Enjoy everything above 12K! |
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5/5/2023 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 5/8/2023, By: FrankP Info: Skied Columbia on Friday. Climbed up the west slopes after doing Harvard. Perfect cramponing snow until the last 300ft to the summit. SW Gully was in great condition. Corn all the way down. |
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4/16/2023 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 4/17/2023, By: coloradomojo Info: Attempted from Harvard Lakes TH. Basically little snow to turn off from Colorado Trail, but lots there after. One old snow shoe trail and a couple of old skin tracks off and on to treeline. Made it to 13,300ft but with strong wind and a reminder that the snow we traveled across with spikes would be softening, we turned around. The softening snow didn't disappoint....areas of postholing even with snowshoes. My son found evidence that even a moose had belly-flopped in soft snow. Saw about 20 sheep at 12k. Didn't see a moose but saw more moose poop below treeline than I have collectively ever seen. Be wary as there was evidence of moose calf poop as well. |
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2/3/2023 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 2/3/2023, By: Chipmunk Info: Made it to Harvard Lakes TH in a 4Runner with snow tires. The road is snowy but there are plenty of tracks to follow. Easy in the morning when frozen, a little sloppier on the way out this afternoon. The Colorado Trail is nicely packed down with intermittent dry patches and ice. Two groups did Columbia today - myself and partner and a third solo hiker. We started later than the solo hiker and he did a ton of work re-establishing the trench! Our path diverged from his at times, but all routes lead to the summit (and some also lead to 'fun' snowshoe rock walking). Snowshoes are necessary to treeline, we stashed them and barebooted the ridge. Beautiful day! Started at 7:30, summit at 12:30, back to the car at 3:45. |
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1/14/2023 Route: Southeast Ridge Posted On: 1/15/2023, By: IanJSmith Info: Someone go get the Columbia snowflake! I couldn't... Harvard Lakes trailhead accessible to Trucks or Large SUVs with good treads. Although any AWD vehicle can make it about 0.6 miles from the trailhead (38.8605389, -106.2301959), which is what I did in a Subaru. I started at 4am, and I'd recommend doing the same if attempting to summit. No tracks to be found when I started the day, but I broke trail and 2 others followed them to tree-line leaving a decent trench to treeline - snowshoes necessary. It should be a little easier going for the next few folks unless the trench gets covered up. Above treeline is much easier going and is either dirt or wind scoured snow - microspikes were all I used above treeline. I made the decision to turn back at about 13,300 and 1 mile from the summit due to annoying winds, general slow-going throughout the day, and worry that trudging back through the trees would be difficult. I ended up making it down relatively quickly with the trench well in place from the 2 other hikers. I would say I wish I had gone for the summit, except ear-popping, knock-you-over winds making it very difficult to walk came from nowhere midway through my descent. Probably best not to have continued further away from the shelter of the trees afterall. A tough but doable climb winter climb. Go get it! Quick note about Avy Danger: This route avoids most avy danger being on the ridge, but I did cause 3 medium sized "crack-womphs" in the trees resulting in a fracture in the snow about 10-20ft around me. The slope was not steep enough to slide, but may have on steeper slopes. I became hyper-aware of where I might end up if a small slide occurred, keeping close to trees of possible. The snowpack is fragile, indeed! Above treeline, very little snow or steep slopes exist on the route, and avy danger didn't feel like a concern. |
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11/22/2022 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 11/24/2022, By: infinitealpine Info: Road to TH is in good shape, last 1.5mi has compact snow but easy to drive on. The first few miles up to the horn fork basin junction is compact snow and easy to move fast through. After this point the snow is a little bit deeper (4-6in) but not enough for flotation. After the turn off to Columbia the trail is hidden and shin to knee deep until you get above tree line. This was the hardest part to navigate. I rock hopped after getting to the big cairn above tree line to avoid more post holing on the proper trail. Spikes and axe recommended above this point, as certain parts are hard ice on steep slopes. I turned around at 12,600ft due to time constraints. If you start early, move fast, and don't mind possibly doing a portion in the dark it's doable. But I'll likely be back next year for this one. |
