"S 4" is another of the Sneffels Range summits that Kylie and I have been chasing for a while. Dwarfed by its much taller neighbors to the east and south, "S 4" can be had by a relatively easy hike to nearly 13,000' followed by a short scramble to the top. From the ridge which connects it to "S 6" to the west, it has just 302 feet of prominence. The north and east flanks of "S 4," however, are guarded by more imposing features--its east face is especially huge, rising almost 2,000 feet from the cliffs at its base.

It is on this face that we hoped to find a weakness leading to the summit. Satellite photos reveal a criss-cross pattern of deep gashes on the east face, and one in particular appears to span nearly the full length of the face. In May last year, I bushwhacked up the opposing slopes to get a broader view but was unable to pick out the line. Then in mid June, Kylie and I hiked the Blue Lakes trail to have a closer look. At a clearing below the east face, we looked up to see a couloir devoid of snow and choked with massive boulders. With no choice but to wait another winter, we returned this year in mid April. This time the route was filled in, but we had underestimated the approach in early spring conditions and by late morning were too late to climb.

Knowing now what to expect, we left Montrose at 3 am on Sunday. We were able to drive to within half a mile of the Blue Lakes trailhead and started the approach at 4:30. From the trail markers, we followed a reasonable bootpack along the Blue Lakes trail as it climbs the hillside above the East Fork of Dallas Creek. After the tracks petered out, we put on snowshoes for the mercifully brief side-hilling to the clearing at 10,700' beneath the broad northeast face of "S 4." There we left the Blue Lakes trail and climbed southwest through trees to the base of the couloir, which is marked by a large outcrop and some hoodoos on the right.

From the entrance at 11,300', the route climbs moderate to steep snow beneath imposing walls for 500 feet before curving to the right. After another 700 feet of steep snow, the crux is reached at 12,500'. This is a huge chockstone blocking upward progress, which may be surmounted by a short ice or mixed step on either side.

Above the crux, the angle gets even steeper as the couloir continues for 400 feet directly towards a cluster of bulky towers that can be seen from the bottom of the face. Before reaching the towers, the couloir veers right behind an outcrop and climbs 150 feet to a snow arete, which separates the upper part of the route from a large northeast-facing snowfield, marking the end of the couloir proper.

The route follows the snow arete briefly to the wall above, then traverses diagonally to the right across the top of the adjoining snowfield, towards an obvious exit, which may be corniced. This option leads to the wrong side of a 15-foot notch on the summit ridge, though it may be linked to the summit with a little effort by downclimbing one of two short, unexposed 3rd or 4th class chimneys on the north side to access the notch. The simpler finish is probably to bypass the obvious exit, instead continuing to traverse horizontally around a corner, under a small offset tower, and directly into the notch.

Not wanting to be on the snowfield any longer than necessary, we took the obvious exit and downclimbed to the notch, strolling onto the summit at 9:45 am. Greeted by spectacular views of the surrounding peaks, we had a snack and reviewed the climb. It certainly had surpassed our expectations, providing a really aesthetic and direct route that was consistently steep and interesting. Despite not freezing overnight, the snow was in decent condition (for May) all morning with the exception of the high snowfield traverse, which was a bit scary as a result.

To descend, we retraced our steps to the notch, downclimbed a short gully into the high basin to the south, and snowshoed down the scenic basin to lower Blue Lake. As we hiked past the east face again, we got a good look at the couloir to the left (south) of our route, which rises ruler-straight for around 1,300 feet before ending just below the southeast ridge. It looks like it could be linked to the ridge, or possibly to the upper east face.

A note on timing: This route melts out very early relative to north- and east-facing couloirs nearby, which must be due at least in part to its comparatively low elevation (it runs from 11,300' to just over 13,000'). With less snow, the route probably becomes quite difficult--the crux chockstone is just the top of a stack of gigantic boulders which can be observed when the couloir is dry--with more, the crux might be only a steep roll, and I would not be surprised to learn this line has been skied in a good snow year; if not, I think it would make for a great descent on planks.