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.

June 12th Conditions Report

This last week has been one of the best in regard to conditions and weather in the high peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park so far this season.  But it was not all clear skies and sunshine as we have still been getting a mix of early morning snow or hail up high and a few days of hammering electrical storms by early afternoon.

The Stilleto, Sharkstooth, Petit, and Saber west faces from Taylor Peak

But even with the threatening weather, we had four perfect days in a row and it looks like the rest of this week could give us similar weather.  Cold, clear nights are the key for neve snow conditions and growing ice so let's keep our fingers crossed that the stars are out at night.

The east face of Longs on June 11th, 2007

Trail conditions are a mix of dry and firm snow in the early mornings then often sloppy snow by later in the day so early starts will help make the travel easier as well as reduce the odds of being struck by lightning or stuck in an afternoon blizzard.  The trail up to Chasm Lake is 85% dry at the moment and up to the Loch is 90% dry and then up to skypond less than 50% dry still so approach shoes will likely result in soggy feet at some point in the day- boots with high gaitors are working fine and snowshoes have so far been unnecessary for the last few weeks in almost all locations in the park.

The south facing aspects are very dry and the Petit has been getting lots of action of late- I try to be starting that route by 5:30am which usually means departing the trailhead by 3am.- lightning is a frightening experience in that exposed of a location.

The Diamond on Longs is still as much an ice route as a rock route depending on where you step and many of us are eager for some dryer conditions in that steep spot.  It's probably a few more weeks until upper Kieners is dried out and for Broadway to be mostly snow-free.  The north chimney looks more like an ice climb at the moment than a rock gulley and there is substantial ice left of the Notch Couloir, in the Window, in Alexander's, on Martha and in Dreamweaver.

Vanquished has substantial ice on it on the 9th but a very early arrival would make a difference in ice quality on that thin line of insanity.

Upper Kieners with the summit looming above on June 11th

Finishing up my second Alpine Guide's Course of the year yesterday, we made ascents of Dreamweaver, the east face of Taylor Peak, and Kiener's again in the last few days and all of those routes were in pretty prime shape.  Some of the fresh snow on the north face of Longs and the east face of Taylor is still pretty cold in spots or unconsolidated in others and the ice underneath the snow is getting closer to the surface in spots and ice is  forming underneath the snowpack due to runoff on steeper aspects, so crampons have been helpful even when the snow is loose due to the ice underneath.  Plus it's fun climbing solid rock in crampons between the icy bits of the routes.

The Vanquished Buttress of Powell Peak

The beginning of the difficulties on the east ridge of Taylor Peak

Everyone seems to be pretty happy with the new Lumpy Ridge parking lot and the extra space and low-cutting trail over to the old trailhead have eased some of the pain of the extra mileage.  As always in the mountains, the further you walk, the less people you will see so for those of us who don't mind growing our legs at the expense of our on-sight ability (due to heavier limbs) will enjoy the quieter experience that the new lot is sure to offer.

Although I managed to walk across the middle of Chasm Lake yesterday in the afternoon due to the thickness and quantity of ice still there, many lakes are melting out and especially the stream crossings can be dangerous due to collapsing snow so be careful in these wet spots.

The ski mountaineering season is still prime at the moment between the high altitude access of Trail Ridge and the relatively cold conditions which have kept much of the snowpack still intact.  I ended up skiing the Lambslide Couloir on June 12th with a trusted client and you can check-out some photo's of the ascent and descent that Eric and I experienced up there along the base of the Diamond:  please see the ski mountaineering section of this website for this Lambslide description and the current conditions there. 

Overall avalanche danger is low at the moment with primarily cornice collapses and  limited loose snow avalanches being a risk due to afternoon heat- cornice drops and falling rocks being the bigger dangers along with lightning storms at the moment.  There is very little sign of any significant or large scale avalanche activity at the present which is one of our best indicators of snow stability, especially in a spring/summer snowpack.

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