Ice and avalanche conditions for the more popular ice routes in Rocky Mountain National Park are updated regularly by Eli Helmuth;  Estes Park resident, IFMGA licensed mountain guide and AIARE trained avalanche educator and forecaster.

January 7th Conditions:

A short heat-spell on Friday last week was welcome relief from the bitter cold but by this weekend, winter had returned to the high country and on Saturday at The Squid, it was howling and snowing hard enough to quickly bury our packs on the ground.   We bailed early with a vow to return soon to this mega-classic which continues to grow and is in great climbing shape at the moment.  The approach trail is quickly filled-in by wind-blown snow so postholing could be an issue as we found the faceted snow on this south-facing slope made for difficult up-hill travel.  Take heart that it is at worse, only 30 minutes of struggle above the well-beaten trail to Emerald Lake, so not too epic for a backcountry ice route.   

                                  Starting up the left-side of Jaws on the New Year's eve.

The above freezing temperatures below 9,000' have been taking a toll on the lower elevation ice routes, especially Jaws which has a south-facing aspect and is easily heat damaged.  Climbing this route in the sun on a warm day could be a one-way ticket to disaster.  In other not-so-hot spots such as the Loch Vale, the low humidity, wind and cold have been taking a toll on the ice through the sublimation process and so the ice is shrinking and drying-out overall.  Likely higher elevation routes such as those on McHenry's, Longs, and Thatchtop have been feeling the sublimation effect as well and are dried out considerably or even gone for good as a result.

The east face of Thatchtop on Jan. 3rd after a week of raking winds.  The three variations of All Mixed Up are shown along with the descent to the south.  The WI5 route, Finger of Wazz? is in yellow on the right and known avalanche-prone slopes are circled in red.

This weekend's storm brought wind and denser snow to elevations above 9,000' in RMNP.   Maximum accumulations north of Longs Peak were in the 6 inch range above 10,000' on the east side of the divide.   Snow totals on the west side of the divide were more than double that amount and thus far, the wind has not yet returned in force.  Until it does, most of the new white will continue holding onto the flanks of the north and east faces of Longs Peak which was shrouded in bright white this morning with the clear glow of a cloud-free sunrise. 

It seems some areas such as the Loch Vale have been pretty quiet while the Hidden Falls area has been visited regularly by as many as 20 ice climbers on weekends and sometimes half that many on weekdays which makes for a bit crowded experience on a very narrow section of ice.  Ideally this spot would have a maximum of six people per day but this is not realistic and for the most part climbers have been getting along great on these bisy days.  There is significantly more danger due to falling ice with this many climbers and my preference has always been to walk a bit longer for a quiet and safer experience.

                          Jewel Lake Ice nearby Mills Lake in the Glacier Gorge, RMNP

With all of this moisture flow coming out of the southwest part of the U.S. that is being deposited mostly on the SW side of this state, RMNP is still not quite in great skiing shape at the moment as there is much bare ground and exposed rocks above treeline.  Most of the south-facing slopes at and above treeline are quite faceted and weak from top to bottom and this is making for more difficult approach conditions as well as higher avalanche danger than usual this season.  North and east facing slopes above treeline are a mix of  foot-thick very dense slabs sitting on top of thin, faceted layers and all of this sitting on a bed of depth hoar which is sitting at the bottom of a 1- 1.5 meter deep snowpack in the Tyndall Gorge region of RMNP.   This kind of snowpack "sandwich" is a dangerous one as the recent deadly avalanche near Vail Pass demonstrated.  For the most up-to-date avalanche forecasts and accident reports for the entire state of Colorado, please consult the Colorado Avalanche Information Center website for daily updated reports.

                      Topping out in the sunshine on the WI4 version of Jaws in Moraine Park, RMNP

Please contact me at   This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to plan a training program in ice or mixed climbing, avalanche education, or any of the climbing or ski mountaineering arts. 

LOW Avalanche Danger          

MODERATE Avalanche Danger

Necrophilia WI 5, M5	Deep Freeze   WI5, M5	Black Lake Slabs  WI 2
OUT	OUT	IN

CONSIDERABLE Avalanche Danger

The Window WI 5,  M4	Vanquished WI 5,  M4	Hot Doggie WI 5+
OUT	OUT	OUT but close

HIGH Avalanche Danger 

East Face of Notchtop WI 3+,  M1

OUT (due to high avalanche danger)

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