Up-to-date information by Eli Helmuth on climbing route and trail conditions in Rocky Mountain National Park and throughout the Estes Valley.  Avalanche forecasts and skiing conditions in the alpine region are also reviewed.  

Warning:  Route conditions change constantly, especially in the mountains.  Climbing is dangerous.  Be flexible in your climbing plans and always prepare for the worst.  Be experienced enough for what you are doing. Seek qualified instruction and use proper equipment.  We accept no liability for your decisions in the peaks.  

December 17th, 2007   

For those of us who ventured out into the wilds of Rocky Mountain National Park this last weekend it was a memorable two days of crazy winds and biting cold which made even the most simple tasks difficult.  Some of the more wind protected nooks and crannies of the high country were tolerable and on Sunday, we found some sweet powder tucked into the trees where up to a meter of snow has accumulated on the lee aspects.

A view of Longs and Meeker on the far left with the persistent wind bank hugging the Continental Divide

Avalanche conditions are currently rated HIGH on slopes where wind loading in places has exceeded 3 ft. (100 cm.) from the last week's winds.   In these wind-affected and loaded spots, mostly in the treeline elevation range on north to east facing slopes,  there is considerable slab tension from the wind and on Sunday I was ski-cutting close to 1 ft. thick slabs that were propagating up to 20' wide on 37 degree angled test slopes.  Our snowpit tests on the east end of  Dream Lake in the Tyndall Gorge of RMNP showed very easy failures in these upper layers of the snowpack (CTE 1, Q2 @ 25cm) that we studied in the Level 1 avalanche course that I was teaching over the weekend.  Multiple pencil-hard slab layers are sitting on 4-finger faceted layers in the upper snowpack and slopes with similar conditions are the places in the high country that would best be avoided for some time.

A test pit dug in the Loch Vale climbing area on Dec. 10th after the majority of the new snow had fallen but before the wind had arrived in force.  In this location at approx. 10,200' on a wind-protected north-facing slope, there were 67cm of snow on the ground with approx. 50cm being new storm snow.  Basal facets (depth hoar) were well developed (3mm) and this 10cm thick layer is the primary failure layer in the below treeline snowpack.  Similar aspects that are less wind affected such as these have been experiencing collapses on this depth hoar layer and at this time of the year, depth hoar can more easily be the failure layer in a slab avalanche.

A close-up of the well developed depth hoar layer that is prevalent on colder, east and north facing slopes in the 9,500' to 11,000' elevation ranges of the high country.  Although depth hoar is rarely a failure layer in avalanches, the consequences of the entire snowpack sliding on this extremely weak layer could be very serious.

Trails in the high country are drifted over in many spots and only the most popular and most wind-protected trails in the high country of Rocky Mountain National Park are hard-packed due to snowshoe compaction.  Otherwise, snowshoes or skis are highly recommended for access to ice climbing in the treeline and above treeline areas- likely only the hike into Hidden Falls in the park could currently be done without "flotation".

The ice climbing in the park has continued to be superb this season and many climbs are still growing and likely some such as Jaws that are in spots that were too warm and dry earlier this season are also coming into shape.  Approaches can be the crux of many of these routes and long legs and perseverance can be key to making it to the base of routes such as All Mixed Up and the West Gully, both in the Glacier Gorge of the park.

The Dragontail Couloirs on Dec. 12th before the wind started.  Minimal snow coverage on these slopes and most of our good mid-winter skiing areas has delayed the backcountry ski season and the wind will have made any snow above treeline less than ideal for turning as hard, sustrugi wind-slabs are less than pleasant to slide down.

The forecast this week is for slightly warmer but "breezy" weather and with a chance of snow through the remainder of the week so it will be interesting to see what happens next in regard to our changing snowpack.  In the meantime, my skis are well tuned and sitting in wait for conditions to improve.  The ice tools are dull though and I will be sharpening them again today for more ice ascents this week to include The Squid, Mixed Feelings, Jaws and hopefully the route "Hot Doggies".  I'll let you all know how it goes!  I am still available this week and weekend if you are keen to do a private climbing clinic or get out on a "guided ascent" of these or any other of the classic ice routes here in RMNP.  Please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss the details of a particular route or clinic.

A neighborhood view of Ypsilon (13,514') and Fairchild (13,502') Mountains in the northern end of RMNP on Dec. 13th

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is the best source for daily updates on avalanche conditions and danger for the Front Range Peaks as well as all of the other mountain ranges in Colorado.  Their website address is http://avalanche.state.co.us/ and it is also listed in the links page on this site under avalanche/skiing links.  I recommend starting each day by checking their website as this is one of the best ways to learn about and to better understand our dynamic snowpack.  There are also links to avalanche accidents which typically include an in-depth analysis and these are also a great learning tool in how to avoid making mistakes in avalanche terrrain.

The recent cold and snowy weather has been stressing the elk population and no doubt, this coyote is looking for a dead elk or live rabbit upon which to have a "holiday feast".

Comments (0)