14er Report #33: Snowmass Mountain and “North Snowmass” (Summer Conditions, East Slopes Route)

The Upper Mountain. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016 (NEVER put the subject in the center of a picture! Or so they say… For the curious, Snowmass Mountain is the second major high point in from the right while North Snowmass is farthest right. We are aiming for the ridge just left of the cliff band in the center of the picture, the standard East Slopes Route.)

“When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men [and women!] spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.”

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850-1919)

And what a view it was for our restless souls!

It requires burning a separate mountain of calories, but the joy I feel as I climb above treeline and into the high tundra world of delicate-but-fierce wildflowers, random sculpted boulders, and laced fields of melting snow, is a joy that knows no bounds. The ever-expanding view of a crazy world left behind, the clean and crisp air (albeit with a lower oxygen content!), the warning shriek of the fat and furry marmot, the rivulets of pure mountain ice water…the sharp rocky ridges which seem ever so much sharper and well-defined as they pierce the dark blue, high-altitude, sky…

It all conspires to make the heart sing! (Thus “The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music“, right? Oops, sorry to ruin the mood.)

But it is indeed true–one feels so much more alive and in the moment in such special places!

The objective of this particular trip–beautiful Snowmass Mountain–protects herself quite well from the Vibram soles of us human beans. Off in the middle of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, the peak is not readily seen from any major paved road–you must be prepared to walk a fair (or unfair, depending upon your perspective!) distance if you want the best view of its namesake ramparts.

To climb to the summit via the “normal” route in the typical fashion initially requires just over an 8-mile backpack up to a camp at 11,000′. The next day, to gain the very tippy-top, you’ll have to contend with head-high willows that whip you in the face, bountiful sections of boulder-hopping, slip-sliding away on steep scree, and titillating Class 3 scrambling on loose rock along an airy ridge. The long descent from the top of Snowmass Mountain back to your car is greater than the drop into the bottom of the Grand Canyon…oh, the sore feet!

It is no wonder, then, that Snowmass Mountain is often found somewhere near the top ten on the various lists of the most difficult Colorado 14ers.

For this adventure, and for safety and camaraderie, I teamed up with Frank, a new-found rock climbing buddy, expert skier, Outward Bound instructor, and spouse of a photographer friend. You’ll have to ask Frank, but I think we made a good team!

For the full report, along with a scree pile of images…

Trip Report: Snowmass Mountain (14,092′) and North Snowmass (14,020′)

Route:

From the Maroon-Snowmass Trailhead at 8,380′, we initially hiked in to Snowmass Lake on Friday (July 15), camped, then climbed the “standard” Class 3 East Slopes Route the next day. After summiting (with a quick dash over to North Snowmass as well), we returned to camp, packed up, and hiked out–probably one of the most common and scenic ways of climbing the peak.

Wilderness Boundary. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

All told, that amounted to covering about 22-23 miles on foot in around 28 hours, with a total elevation gain (and loss) of around 5,800′. So, be prepared for some hard work!

Timeline:

We left Boulder around 8:15a.m. on Friday, July 15, and were hiking up the Snowmass Creek Trail trail by 1:40p.m., and at Snowmass Lake by 6:15p.m that evening–quite a quick change in scenery!

The next day, we woke up at 4:15a.m. and were on the 14ers Initiative trail by 5:05a.m. with the first indication of dawn appearing in the eastern sky (sunrise scheduled for 5:56a.m.). We were on the Snowmass Mountain summit by 8:35a.m. and, after my jaunt over to North Snowmass, headed back down just after 9a.m., reaching camp once again at about 12:15p.m.

Backpacks loaded up again, we departed Snowmass Lake at 12:40p.m., and arrived back at the trailhead at about 5:10p.m.–so it took us just about the same time to hike down from Snowmass lake as it did to hike up.

Total hiking time: about 15+30, which includes all rest/photo stops and the North Snowmass detour. En route time up to Snowmass Lake was 4+30, down from Snowmass Lake, also 4+30. Time from the lake to the summit was 3+30, and summit back to the lake was 3+00. As always, YMMV depending upon season, weather conditions, snow conditions, and your fitness level.

Weather Conditions:

Our special order for perfect weather was received and processed flawlessly by the mountain gods. We suffered through warm temperatures, scattered clouds, no thunderstorm threat, and light winds all up and down the mountain both days. On summit day, I was comfortable all day with lightweight long pants and a single long-sleeved thin wool layer. At night, even my light summer down bag felt warm inside our tent.

In the summer, with warmish weather, I would recommend hiking up to the lake in the morning to avoid getting too overcooked by Mr. Sol.

Trail Conditions:

There is plenty of beta on 14ers.com and in Gerry Roach’s 14ers “Bible” that will describe the East Slopes approach and the route in detail. Here, I’ll just highlight what we encountered which might be typical of an ascent in summer conditions and then I’ll outline three bits of route information which I did not see in those previously mentioned sources but might be useful…

–The log jam was “in” and not a factor. Just cross on the logs with the most worn surfaces–smoothed by the many feet that have already passed over them this season. Hiking poles or a stick is useful for balance.

–Traction and ice axes were not required. It would have been possible to avoid almost all the the snow on the upper slopes and gain the summit ridge without any special tools–just do the usual boulder hopping and scrambling. Having said that, it was still possible to link together a few heavily scalloped snow fields on the descent (or the ascent) to make things go a bit faster faster, and an ax and traction were helpful for that (I had Microspikes which tended to clog a bit in the 10a.m. slush, Frank had Yaktrax which slipped/glissaded a bit more). Even this snow, though, will be melting out fast with these high temps of late.

Now, three useful tips…

1 – FIRST, the willows around Snowmass Lake. I would recommend scouting the trail the evening before your summit climb, so you can find the split to the “upper trail” that will take you around the last half of the lake. This will pay dividends as you travel by headlamp the next morning.

Yes, there seem to be two trails through the willows along the lake to get you to the west end. Both will work and both start at the same place near the east shore, but the lower trail stays very near the lake edge the entire way and was, for us, miserably, boot-suck muddy in several places. Then, there is the other trail which eventually climbs up maybe fifty vertical feet above the lake and was dry with somewhat fewer willow-whacker sections. You’ll find the split to the latter once you have arrived at about the half-way point along the lake, at a slightly muddy area amid dense willows. As of this past weekend, there was orange surveyor’s tape tied to the bushes at that point but, even so, the way up wasn’t obvious so we stayed along the lake edge. On the way back, though, we somehow ended up on this higher, more pleasant, trail and merged with the lower trail at the surveyor’s tape. Dang, wish we would have known.

2 – SECOND, a suggestion for shortening your time on the scree slope above the lake (summer). As you leave the lake and start up the slope, you will initially be boulder-hopping on fairly solid and big rocks. As the slope steepens, the boulders turn to scree. Here, trend to climber’s right and climb the very left edge of the main drainage. The steep walking is easier here. Then, once you have climbed up past a very obvious and lacy waterfall coming in from the right, move into the drainage itself. About 200 yards above this waterfall, your sharp eyes will hopefully spy a not-so-obvious path leading through the bushes onto the right side of the drainage. This crossing option is quite a bit lower than the normal crossover point as described in other route beta. Once on this path, you will have left the scree behind and you’ll be on more solid–if still steep– ground. If you stay left of the drainage all the way up to the usual crossover, you’ll be Kung-Fu scree-fighting for longer.

3 -THIRD, your GPS or your older treasure map, may show the trail just below Snowmass Lake on the north side of the creek. It is actually on the south side. Just follow the signs at the various trail intersections through that area and you will be fine.

Photography Issues:

–I elected to not carry the usual 12-pound brick-like kit of three lenses, Nikon D800 body, and big tripod. Instead, I decided to simply carry the tiny, but very capable, Sony RX100iv along with a small five-inch plastic tripod (I used the tripod exactly twice). What a relief on the feet and shoulders to not have an extra 12 pounds on top of all the overnight gear! On the other hand, there were many moments when I was wishing for the capability of my usual system. As to how well the camera filled the bill, you can be the judge as you peruse the plentiful pretty pictures that follow.

–With the Sony, I would change the ISO regularly based on the available light–to as high as 3200 at times–since I was shooting handheld almost exclusively.

–I brought two extra batteries and an extra memory card but needed none of that. I shot a total of about 500 images (250 JPEG and 250 RAW, as each individual image gets two files with my current settings) and never filled the 16GB card and never used up the battery–all of which was a pleasant surprise.

–I was able to constantly carry the Sony by the strap over my neck and shoulder and always have it at the ready–and I barely noticed it there as it is so small and light. It was even out of the way while scrambling. This is something I couldn’t easily do with the D800 anvil.

–The Sony has a 24-70mm lens equivalent–good, but limited. I really missed having an ultra-wide at times and I especially missed having decent telephoto range. Oh, when will they develop a flawless 18-300mm f/1.4 lens that will work on a pocket-able mirrorless compact camera? Just dreaming…

–The biggest flaw of the Sony, at least working with just the JPEG files: it couldn’t handle the high contrast of a bright sky and white clouds along with the deep shadows of the forest and mountains–too much dynamic range. You’ll notice blown highlights in some of my photographs. Still, for such a small package, it did way better than the average bear. (I will process some RAW files later to see if they have more pixel information.)

Unusual Events/Comments:

–Check the rules before you go. For our trip, fires were prohibited and bear canisters were required–and there was a ranger checking the Snowmass Lakes campsites for compliance.

–People count: On our way up on Friday, we saw a total of 12 folks headed down. On our way down on Saturday, we saw a total of about 40 folks headed up, the majority with overnight backpacks. There was one group of nine upward bound who were obviously aiming for the 14er summit as they carried ice axes. Could this be a typical weekday to weekend ratio?–that is, three to four times as many visitors on weekends as weekdays?

–Of all the people in the area, it seemed like only a minority (maybe 25%?) were up there to actually climb Snowmass Mountain. Most were simply out backpacking. On summit day (Friday), we saw only two other parties of two on the upper mountain.

–Keep your geology eyes skinned on the uphill side of the trail as you move just up the valley from the logjam for what one hiker called a small “glacial cirque lake”. Too me, it looked like an old mud/land slide in which a small, circular, crater pond with no apparent outlet has formed. Let me know what you think it is.

–We encountered two young guys with skis/board headed up as we were on our way out. Alas, they were probably two weeks too late for the better skiing/riding. They were surely putting in a whole lot of effort for one short run in very mediocre (might I say “crappy”?) snow conditions. Ah, the strength and enthusiasm of youth!

–Speaking of snow, just a reminder…Be careful stepping onto any snow that has been heated a bit by nearby rocks and boulders–you could sink to your hip or posthole onto a twisted ankle quite easily.

–Up until about 9a.m., the snow was probably in condition (sufficiently hard) for cramponing, or even sharp microspikes, if you wanted to link the snowfields. As the snow melts in the summer heat, this option will continue to dwindle until next spring’s hard snow conditions return. By 10a.m., the snow was slushy in the top two inches or so.

–The traverse from Snowmass Mountain over to “North Snowmass”. Definitely Class 3 and loose, with some exposure depending on how you go. Count on 30-45 minutes to go out and back to this secondary summit in dry summer conditions. North Snowmass is an exhilarating perch and worth the extra side trip if you have the time, energy, and weather conditions. I started the traverse by dropping off the main summit to the west for maybe 50 vertical feet before cutting across a loose gully. Staying on the actual ridge for the traverse would probably be exposed and loose Class 4.

—Colorado 14er Senior Challenge summit count: 40 of the basic list of 58 (p. xxiii in Gerry Roach’s 14er “Bible”, Colorado Fourteeners, 3rd Ed.); 48 of the long list of 73 (pp. 347-348, with South Wilson added, also in Roach’s “Bible”.

First, a couple of notes about the pictures…

–I typically spent less than two minutes post-processing each. Mainly I cropped, straightened, tried to pull down highlights and pull out detail from shadows. Then I quickly ran each through some variation of the Tonal Contrast filter in the Nik/Google Color Efex Pro plug-in.

–I processed the JPEGS and not the RAW files, so I had a lot less latitude in making changes than I am used to. Why? Because my Photoshop/Lightroom versions are older and I don’t have the RAW conversion software yet for the Sony RX100iv. I saved the RAW files, though, and will go back and work a few of the better images once I download the Sony conversion software.

Now, on to the selected images…

Looking fresh at the start. The road leading in to this dead end is on the left, there is parking for maybe 20 vehicles in the lot (it was nearly full), and the trail you take is on the right. Note the reddish “mailbox” on the rightmost post by the trail. Place a copy of your required, but free, permit in there:

Dan and Frank at the Trailhead. Snowmass Creek, Colorado, 2016

About 1 and 3/4 miles out from the trailhead, you’ll go through the last of three gates. Make sure you close them behind you as this is a section of private property. Note the blown out clouds above the mountains in this JPEG–perhaps the RAW file has some highlight detail I can rescue…we’ll see:

The Last Gate. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

There are some beautiful aspen colonies along the first few miles. The green, cool, shade was a welcome respite from some of the scattered, open and rockier, sections of trail which were baking in the summer sun:

Under a Green Canopy. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

You will pass several very attractive boulders–some as big as small condos–in the aspen forests of the first four miles:

Aspen and Lichen Detail. Snowmass Creek, Colorado, 2016

Aspen and Lichen Detail. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

At about four miles up the trail you get a first solid glimpse of your objective. On the far right, the pointy pyramid-like summit is North Snowmass, with Snowmass Mountain just behind and very slightly to the left. You are looking up Bear Creek Canyon, which looks like another great hike for another day up past that obvious mammoth waterfall. The way for us, though, was to continue up Snowmass Creek to the left. Again, the Sony JPEGs were having trouble with the dynamic range–note the blown highlights in the clouds and snow:

The First Glimpse, #2. Snowmass Creek, Colorado, 2016

The First Glimpse. Snowmass Creek, Colorado, 2016

Perhaps a mile past the Bear Creek view, the grade eases a bit and the valley opens up. This is the “ponds section” of the hike:

The Valley Opens. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

In the beaver pond area, looking back down the drainage from whence we trekked:

Beaver Pond. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

An infamous obstacle, but really a non-issue for us on this day. It could be much sketchier in early spring, though. On the left side of the image, that balding and bright green mound hides the so-called “cirque lake” behind it:

The Logjam. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

Self-portrait of foot…puttin’ on the Ritz across the logjam:

Stepping Across the Logjam. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

The “cirque lake” is behind the green mound on the right. Love the lushness of the vegetation…condolences to my family members in Tucson this sweltering July!

Greenery. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

A closer view of the greenery along the trail:

Greenery, Detail. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

After climbing up toward Snowmass Lake from the logjam, you’ll start to encounter a series of signs at intersections within the final mile of the hike. Just continue toward the Lake:

The Signs. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

Crossing the creek just below the Lake–you are getting close!

Bridge. Snowmass Creek Trail, Colorado, 2016

The classic scene upon arrival–the remainder of the route is now revealed! The prominent peak to the left looks to be the highest, but it is not. That is Snowmass Peak at 13,620′. The next summit very slightly down, behind, and to the right is Hagerman Peak at 13,841′, a Colorado “centennial” (one of the highest hundred). The two bumps on the ridge just right of center are Snowmass Mountain and North Snowmass, respectively. It is interesting how perspective, foreshortening, and angle distort the high mountains. The trail around the left side of the lake starts just down and to the right, and leads through those thick willows:

Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

Conventional wisdom is to use odd-numbered flower groupings. Still, I liked this couple as it appeared:

Columbine Duo. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

There are plenty of nice sites near the lake. Here, Frank is cooking up a massive batch of pasta with pesto and cucumbers. Make sure you comply with bear canister/[no] campfire rules. There was a Forest Service ranger checking these very things on this Friday in July:

Camp. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016Tasty calories!

Tasty calories!

Dinner. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

Time to relax and get creative:

Snowmass Lake Abstract. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

The Snowmass Peak-Hagerman Peak massif looking regal as the sun sets behind:

Sunset behind Snowmass and Hagerman Peaks. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

Just before sunset, we walked halfway around the lake to investigate the trail through the willows (missing the upper trail split in the process!). Still, we had a nice view of tomorrow’s route. I have drawn in the details of how to navigate the gully as previously described above under “Trail Conditions”:

East Slopes Route. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

The last of the sun’s rays light up the ridge to the east. The high point over there is Willoughby Mountain at 13,142′ (#532 among Colorado’s peaks), and I believe it is the pyramid point one third of the way in from the right of the image and set back a bit. Clouds like these always make a landscape image a bit more interesting–a plain blue sky is just plain boring, dontcha know:

Sunset. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

With first light the next day (Saturday, July 16), we were already halfway around the lake. This is a handheld shot with the Sony (f/3.2, 1/4 sec, ISO 1600):

First Light. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

Another handheld shot of the pre-dawn reflection (f/1.8, 1/10 sec, ISO 1600). At this point, we should have been on the upper trail, maybe fifty vertical feet up to the left–but, we still made it around the lake just fine:

Approaching Dawn. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

Once above the solid boulders and onto the steep scree, if you stay to climber’s right, along the left edge of the gully, the hiking might be a bit easier. This is the view looking down:

On the Scree Slope. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Maybe 100-200 yards above this waterfall, which pours into the gully from the right, watch for an almost hidden path leading into the low bushes on the right side of the gully. There, you can escape the scree from hell:

The Waterfall. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

For me, it is this moment in the high mountains that makes all the effort worthwhile. The “rest of the human world” seems so far away and the air is clean and crisp:

Sunrise on Snowmass Peak. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Finally, the grade starts to ease, the wildflowers greet us, and the scree is behind us:

Off of the Scree. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Under a solar halo, Frank enjoys the moment:

Climbing to the Sun. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

The grassy and alpine flower-bedecked tundra gives way to rock and snow:

Snow and Rock. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

A lone, hardy survivor at 13,500′:

Frank stops to contemplate our spectacular surroundings. Note how the snow has started to melt out, creating small grooves and “penitentes” (standing blades of snow):

Frank, Mountain Portrait. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Traction was not strictly necessary on the few patches of low-angle snow we elected to cross. The snow was fairly hard in the early morning but the boots were able to get a slight grip. We are aiming for the ridge just left of the cliff band in the center of the picture and the main summit is the high point to the right:

Across the Snow. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Several hundred feet below, you can see two climbers starting across a snow field. We would eventually meet up with them on the summit. We saw a total of only four human beans on the peak this summit day:

Snow Flanks. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Frank on the summit ridge with Hagerman peak in the background. To the left of Hagerman and in the distance you can see North and South Maroon Peaks:

On the Summit Ridge. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

From here up to the summit (the obvious high point), take care. Each individual boulder is gorgeous, solid, granite–but they are all piled up rather precariously. Put on your “cat feet” as Gerry Roach would say:

Ridge Scramble, #2. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

On top! That boulder Frank is leaning against would be ideal for some gymnast to do a handstand, no? In the background, bottom right, you can see the short rubble ridge leading to the North Snowmass high point. Looming in the distance is the one remaining Elk Range climb I have left–Capitol Peak:

Summit. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

It took maybe 15-20 minutes to scramble the 0.2 miles to North Snowmass over loose, sometimes slightly exposed Class 3 rubble, but the view was worth it. In the right side of this picture you can see North and South Maroon Peaks (closest), Pyramid Peak (next ridge behind and to the left of the Maroons), and Castle Peak (far distance, just left of North Maroon). That is the sensuous and scary-looking east ridge of North Snowmass snaking away below and to the left:

North Snowmass View. North Snowmass, Colorado, 2016

Looking back up at the main Snowmass summit 72 vertical feet higher, you can see Frank (in red) and one of the other two climbers (in blue) who joined us on high:

Snowmass Mountain. From North Snowmass, Colorado, 2016

Starting down the summit ridge from the Snowmass summit, with lots of empty air on both sides:

Starting Down. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

From about halfway down the ridge traverse, this is the view back at the summit. You can see an orange helmet and a blue jacket on the pair of climbers who were up there with us. This image gives a good sense of how rubble-loose the mountain is–it is amazing how collectively bad good, solid, individual rocks can be:

Rubble Pile. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

With traction now on our boots, we moved over to skier’s right to follow a series of still-connected snow slopes. It probably saved us 30 minutes or so on the descent and was way easier on the knees. The only danger was post-holing into the soft snow next to the rapidly warming rocks (around 10a.m.). On the snow surface, we only sank an inch or two into slush:

On to the Snow. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

Pyramid Peak peaks out from behind the cliff just right of center:

Snowfield Descent. Snowmass Mountain, Colorado, 2016

On the return, we managed to find ourselves on the upper trail around the western half of the lake, so we avoided the mud:

The Upper Trail Option. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

A braver man than I!

Post-Climb Refreshment. Snowmass Lake, Colorado, 2016

Back down in the valley, we meet the two young guys looking to make a few turns in some high altitude snow. Anyone know them? Such youthful enthusiasm!