Mt. Sniktau

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/5/2025, By: bangerth
Info: The trail up to the saddle is almost completely snow free. From the saddle to Sniktau, one has to cross a few snow fields, all of which are completely unsupportive and lead to deep postholing. No traction or floating necessary, though. It definitely felt more like winter with ~30F and 30 mph winds. I was glad for all the winter gear in my pack. 2h30min round trip time, from 5am to 7:30am. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/29/2025, By: Nolonc
Info: Started at 7:00 am with minimal sinking in the boot track. By 8:00 post holing was to the ankle. At 9:00, on the return, post holing was covering the ankle. Went and snagged Cupid which gave some more time for snow to warm. A few rare post holes above the calf. Micro spikes and gaiters were confidence inspiring. I would recommend a much earlier start than we had. Super windy in the initial ascent out of the parking lot. There are some cornice/drifty bits to the south east of the ridge on sniktau itself so stay the course. Have fun and stay safe! 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/24/2025, By: Mario Correa V
Info: Started at 6 am, was a little bit of postholing in certain spots, but snowshoes are not needed as the snow is pretty consolidated and you should only sink in a foot at most of you stray from the boot trail. Go get er done. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 4/9/2025, By: nilaoire
Info: Windy - but it is Sniktau. Snowshoes not required if you go early and read the snow, harder snow on the way up to avoid post holing and softer snow for the way down so microspikes aren't needed. I always pack microspikes just in case. Enjoy. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/22/2025, By: jbealer
Info: Deep snow drifts up to my knee in places, but kept the snowshoes on the pack as it was really not needed for the short sections. Used spikes on the way down for better traction. 8 of us up there in 1 group and our trench was filled back in from the wind and new snow by the time we headed back down. Also whats up with the parking on the road right after loveland ski area, they had cars parked on both sides of the pass turning it into a one lane road! It was a mess with skiiers when i tried to come down at like 11:45am, has it been like this for awhile? Seems like a safety concern. Or was it just because ofthe fresh snow and everyone headed out today? 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/5/2025, By: Jay521
Info: No need for any sort of traction on Sniktau or Cupid 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 12/26/2024, By: mtngoatwithstyle
Info: Very little snow all the way to the ridge and then to Summit. Used microspikes because a few sections I felt more comfortable with them. Wind was strong heading back down. I imagine conditions will change with the next round of storms. A beautiful day but it did not feel like Winter at all. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/25/2024, By: Trotter
Info: Typical mix of snow and dirt. About 4 inches at its deepest, and bare dirt on a lot of it. Didn't need traction. Saw a lot of people bypassing the trail to walk on snow free grass, lets all remember to not do that, because killing the grass off to the side so you don't have to walk on an inch of snow, only makes the big ugly scar of a trail that much wider and uglier. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 10/3/2024, By: EMan
Info: Summer conditions. (I.e. No snow). 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/31/2024, By: Ariella6
Info: No bathroom or trash cans at trailhead. Road to trailhead is all paved. Small parking lot. Trail conditions are dry. Lots of marmot, pica and goats out today! 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/15/2024, By: shapovalovm
Info: Summer conditions, no snow at all. Be careful if you go with a dog, there's still a bunch of cornices out there. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 6/1/2024, By: zootloopz
Info: No traction or flotation needed. Trail runners and merino wool sun hoodie with shorts type of day. Still some snow but nothing of consequence. 7.2 miles and 3k gain to go cupid to sniktau and back to cupid. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/25/2024, By: drewbeedoo
Info: Cold and windy on Mt Sniktau today. Patchy snow all the way up, but there was no need for microspikes or snowshoes. Spikes may have been helpful in some spots, but I never used them. There looked to be some deeper patches of snow towards the top, but it was hard to tell how deep they were, just because of the firm conditions. I would suspect some postholing on a warm day when the snow softens up, but nearly all of it could be easily avoided if you keep left. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 5/4/2024, By: cougar
Info: Wind scoured and bootpacked as usual. Still enough firm snow where spikes are helpful. Similar conditions to Cupid. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 2/12/2024, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: As usual, Sniktau was windy and the trail up is icy in spots but mostly packed down. We wore microspikes from start to finish and it made the ascent and descent super quick and easy. The cornice is definitely getting impressive!