Oh boy, another Sneffels trip report from Wentzl, just what we need. Well, I noticed I have the Fall and Winter seasons covered, so why not add Spring!

But more than that, I post this trip report to share the North side of the mountain with all those folks who run up the South Slopes, check the box and move on. There is much more to Sneffels, which I try to share here.

I was inspired by Desertdog, who posted his peak condition report wherein he did a strange loop from Yankee Boy Basin, over to Blaine and then up the Snake Couloir. That is a lot of work, almost like climbing the mountain twice in one day, so hat's off to Desertdog. I planned on a more conventional circuit on the North side.

The day started at the East Fork of Dallas Creek trailhead, more commonly known as the Blue Lakes Trailhead at around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, June 4th was forecast to be a nice day with only a slight chance of afternoon showers, which turned out to be exactly right. Bluebird skies and not a breath of wind for the first few hours of the day.

The trailhead services both the Blue Lakes trail and much less frequently traveled Blaine Basin trail. The Blaine Basin trail winds through the trees for about three miles before reaching treeline and opening up into one of the most beautiful places in Colorado. Along the way it crosses a tributary to East Dallas Creek three times on decent log bridges.

And, if there is still plenty of snow up high, a pretty spectacular waterfall can be seen along the way.

The transition from trees to open skies comes abruptly. Once you get out of the trees you are greeted with the grand North Face of Mt. Sneffels.

In the previous photo, the big snowfield on the right is at the bottom of the Snake Couloir. Just left of center, the square top block is Kismet Peak. The East Slopes route, which I took on the return trip, is behind the skyline from the summit of Sneffels, passing right below the Kismet block then winding around and finishing on the lower snow slopes. I have outlined the route here.

There were a couple of elk hanging around up high

Alright, now the goods. The Snake Couloir is mostly a low angle snow climb. In the middle, there is a narrow section, some call it the choke, where the angle does go above 45 degrees. I have been here several times, and the condition of the snow varies from trip to trip. On this trip it was about as difficult as I have seen. In the past, it has been possible to kick a platform just about anywhere on route and take a rest. I once did the whole thing without crampons. This time, there was about 200' in the choke where it was icy enough that resting was not practical and for that section it was a pretty committed climb. Not a two tool ice climb, but such that I used the pick, rather than driving in the shaft of the axe, to make forward progress in some spots. Crampons were not optional. My guess is that this will get icier as the spring turns to summer. If you get up here and don't like the conditions, retreat would be easy.

The switchbacks from lower Blaine Basin up to where the snow begins are pretty steep. The trail is obvious and easy to see from way down in the valley.

The snowfield starts at a very low angle and just turns gradually steeper as you ascend. It was just after 10:30 when I started up. The snow was firm and easy to walk on here.

I was looking for the footprints from Desertdog's trip, but they were mostly melted out. Up higher it was obvious where he had passed, but instead of depressions in the snow, the footsteps were little pedestals, which shows how quickly things are melting out.

There is a large cornice that forms at the top of the first leg of the Couloir. This marks where the route jogs hard to the left. Once you make the turn, the angle really eases up and it is just a short bit to the end of the snow.

At the top of the e Couloir there is a short rocky bit that leads to the summit. In his guide Gerry Roach puts this bit at 5.6 but it didn't seem that difficult the times I have done it. There are several variations.

I took my crampons off on a nice rocky ledge from which I took the previous photo. The snow was soft and easy to walk on to approach the 5.6 rock pitch ahead. I followed what seemed like the path of least resistance which was just to the right of the footprints in the snow.

I made the summit by 1:00, taking almost 2.5 hours from the time I donned my crampons.

There is a bit of snow still laying in between the summit and the V Notch. It is soft and well trampled so that crampons are not necessary, but still a good idea to have an axe.

The V Notch is now snow free and dry.

The section between the Lavender Col and the V Notch is still half snow. Great condition for plunge stepping on the way down.

The descent of the East Slopes route this time of year is one of the most fun things you can do. The snow is in perfect condition for all sorts of play. A little butt sliding, a little standing glissade, a little heel step running, whatever turns you on! The snow right now takes you from just below the Lavender Col all the way down to treeline. As slow as I was going up, I got from the summit to the car in just a little over 2.5 hours.

It was late in the day, around 2:30 when I was tromping around in this snow. It held up just great. No post holing at all. Just a good firm surface for running and sliding with just enough slush on top for traction and sure footedness.

This was a really fun day and a way to climb Sneffels that I highly recommend for anyone comfortable on steep snow.

The breakdown on time were like this. Left the car at 7:30. Summit at 1:00. Departed Summit at 1:30. Return to car at 4:00.

Thanks for reading the Spring Edition of my Sneffels Report.