May 11th Conditions in Rocky Mountain National Park.

South and southeast faces of Notchtop Spire on May 11th, 2007

 

Spring has finally sprung and the shedding season in the mountains has begun.  Cornices are dropping and the sluffs are raging- early starts are key to mountain activities and the rock is dry up high. We are finally in the full throes of spring after a multi-week final push to the winter season and wondering if it would ever end?  Now our dreams of heat have come true - but be careful what you dream of as heat and snow are not a good mix unless you like floating down swollen rivers.  Having spent the last full week in the high country, I can attest to the full shedding affect happening up there; some of it good, some not so much. The north face of Longs was very skiable this last week and was done at least a couple of times without involving rappels.  Ice was coating almost every surface as of Monday but by today it is mostly gone and only a few niches have some ice on the surface.  Dreamweaver is one of those moderate ice routes that is coming into shape, but unless we have a great freeze in the shape of a winter storm, it is unlikely that anything else will be happening in the ice realm for some time to come. 

Pitch 4 out of 7 on the north face of Flattop Mtn, May 10th, 2007

A strong group of AMGA guides made an attempt in training mode today on the Hallet's Chimney and although they were able to pull the crux upper pitch on dodgy ice, the snow mushrooms near the top stopped their effort short.  Unless we get a great freeze in the next week or so, it is unlikely that this route will be "in" this season.  All of the other classic ephemeral ice routes up high are under the same state of liquidity. The good news is that the alpine rock is drying quick and today we made a summit of Notchtop on mostly dry rock with just a bit of snow on the approach, route, and descent.  The only problem with this route and it's nearby southeast face (formerly known as the north face before the advent of the compass?) is that the cornices overhanging so far over the route and ready to release are a real threat and we witnessed and narrowly avoided many big sluffs and luckily no big cornice drops yet.  The southeast face is highly NOT recommended currently as a result of this cornice danger and any similar terrain in the park should be treated very suspect as a result. 

The very skiable Notchtop Couloir (3rd to the left of Notchtop Spire) on May 11th, 2007

 

Keiners is in good "snow shape" at the moment as is the Notch Couloir on Longs, posthole snow and some sluffing are the main drawbacks and the threat of afternoon thundershowers should now be watched carefully as we have had a couple of good ones this week on top of Longs and Lumpy Ridge. Trails up high are mostly firm snow in the mornings and somewhat soft in the afternoons but not too bad in most spots.  The snow is disappearing quick but there is still much great skiing to be done in the Notchtop Couloir, Dragontails, Ptarmagin Cirque, South Face of Hallet's and many other extremely classic ski mountaineering routes in Rocky Mountain National Park.

 

The cornice above the east face of Notchtop- beware of these lurking monsters

Lumpy is dry but does have a bit of a tick issue at the moment and I have pulled off far too many in the last few weeks up there.  The parking lot is soon to be retired at the Twin Owls so now is the time to get in the Sundance days before it becomes an epic journey.  Be careful of the mad cows as most of the McGregor Ranch fences are knocked down from disrepair and the big black heifers are roaming all over the national park (which will become a wilderness area on Monday) and the cow droppings below Sundance and throughout Lumpy Ridge are a major hazard.  Remember that one of the major three reasons for the trailhead move are due to the mad cow threat so be prepared for this significant danger. Otherwise all is good in RMNP and Trailridge should be open very soon which means the Continental Divide access will soon be just an easy drive and some of the great skiing in Hidden Valley and off of Sundance Peak (different than Sundance Buttress) will soon be very accessible. 

Views of the north face of Mt. Meeker on May 10th, photo courtesy of Jill Salva

 

Remember that very early morning starts are the key to avoiding the significant avi danger in the afternoons and stay clear of those flying cornices! 

Enjoy!

A family of foxes in the Estes Valley

Comments (0)