Up-to-date information by Eli Helmuth on climbing route and trail conditions in Rocky Mountain National Park and throughout the Estes Valley of Colorado.  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.  

May 9th, 2008     

Conditions this week have been the full range from winter to spring to summer and back again to winter in the high peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.  On Monday and Tuesday we were enjoying t-shirt weather at Lumpy Ridge and the Jurassic Park area above Lily Lake - one of the Estes Valley's better sport climbing venues.  Wednesday was cloudy in the valley bottoms but clear above 11,000' in the high peaks and since then it's been snowing intermittently but consistently in the mountains with approx. six inches of fresh snow being deposited all along the east side of the Continental Divide above 10,000' in the last 48 hrs.. 

                The north face of Mount Meeker above the clouds and glowing in the morning sun on 5/7/08  

Yesterday and today involved fantastic skiing in the Tyndall Gorge and in the Dead Elk Couloir with this six inches of fresh snow providing a great base for soft-corn and powder snow.  Some avalanche activity was observed on steep north facing aspects with large sluffs (D2) cascading off the steep rock buttresses adjacent to the north buttress of Hallett Peak.  

                    Ken Schwartz laying down a sweet line in the Dead Elk Couloir on Thursday, May 8th.   

Many warm and wet sluffs rolled down the Dragontail and Dead Elk Couloirs this morning (5/9) in the hot sunshine between 7 and 10am and during these early morning hours, the avalanche activity in both of these couloirs was very heavy but luckily the clouds rolled in from the west early and the snowpack cooled down enough that most of the avalanche activity stopped for the day.   

 The Chasm Meadow ranger cabin, the Ship's Prow and the north face of Mount Meeker on the morning of 5/7/08.

  A close-up of the north face of Mount Meeker with the Flying Buttress splitting the middle of this awesome massif.

Wednesday's ascent of Martha on Mount Lady Washington was on perfect neve snow and solid ice conditions for the entire couloir and it was undoubtedly in the best shape I've ever seen it.  Most of my dozen or so previous ascents were in January and February and this week's conditions were not that different from the previous, just a few months later for a route that is normally melted out by this time of the year.

                 Near the bottom of the mixed moderate- Martha with perfect neve snow conditions

Overall, above and below treeline, current avalanche danger is rated MODERATE with pockets of CONSIDERABLE danger on lee and cross-loaded aspects above treeline where wind deposits have accumulated in this week's storm systems.  Backcountry travelers should be wary traveling below and through avalanche terrain and certain spots such as the Dragontail Couloir and the east face of Notchtop, which were both in excellent condition before this recent storm could be too dangerous for travel again by this weekend.  Heat-related avalanches will likely be an issue on Sunday and beyond with the current forecast and tomorrow (Saturday) could be interesting as it is raining hard here currently which could mean many more inches of fresh snow by the morning and even more serious avalanche danger as a result.

The Niwot Ridge Meteorological Station wind speed graph for this last week.  Yesterday's squalls brought a fair bit of wind up high but overall, wind speeds have been on the decline in the high peaks.

Lumpy Ridge and Eldorado Canyon have been in prime rock climbing condition for most of these last few weeks, and both of these destination climbing venues have been getting lots of action from local and visiting rock climbers.  The ticks have been busy foraging on climbers in both locations and I've already pulled a half dozen of the buggers off me this season and hopefully found them all.  Tick checks can also be a good excuse to look under your partner's clothing if that is at all a viable option?

The Diamond of Longs Peak shining above a sea of clouds on Wednesday, May 7th- before the current storm system started dumping more fresh snow.

Trails in the high country are currently a bit of a mess and snowshoes or skis make it all  easier to manage as just boots could easily mean miles of postholing, depending on your destination.   Boot penetration above treeline all morning on the 7th up to Chasm Lake was no more than a centimeter and on the 8th, due to thick cloud cover- it was closer to 12-20 inches in the Dragontails depending on where you stepped.  The snowpack strength is even worse below treeline where the trees already contribute to a "shadowing" effect in the radiation energy exchange and the snowpack is thinner with more heat pumping up from the ground to make for"bottomless mashed potatoes"  consistency and strength . 

  Margaret and Ken Schwartz staying on the Dream Lake ice after a big May powder day in the Tyndall Gorge.

The snow and ice on the alpine lakes is melting quickly due to the lack of refreezing these last 72 hrs. and all water should be carefully assessed before crossing.  The snowbanks above creeks and rivers are melting out and and much of the snow is unstable - the greater danger may be falling into a creek and not the hard pitches ahead.  

             The south face of Hallet Peak, Tyndall Gorge, and the Dragontail on Flattop as seen from Jurassic Park.      

The diurnal melt-freeze process has not been very effective these last three nights (5/7-9) due to the thick and low cloud cover that blocks the transfer of long-wave radiation into the atmosphere which is key to the re-freezing process each night.  The snow is wet and loose from the surface down to the ground below treeline and up to a meter in depth above treeline.  Quick heating could bring this mess down quickly and deep enough to mean big debris piles that none of us want to be near while they form.  There was complete loose snow avalanche action on the 11,000' east to southeast aspects this morning due to the strong solar and no wind plus a lack of freezing.   

This snowpack condition could worsen quickly and potentially peak on Sunday or Monday morning (5/11-12) or anytime the temperatures are above freezing and especially on sun drenched aspects where heating of rocks and other darks surfaces will add to the heat-caused avalanche cycle.  Twenty foot deep debris piles can deposit on Emerald Lake from just right of the Dragontail and similar southeast aspects in RMNP with enough snow will see similar shedding processes.  Until the snowpack freezes well with a clear night or two, many of these steep and heat-prone avalanche slopes might best be avoided or at a minimum approached very cautiously. 

                The Flying Dutchman and Lambslide Couloirs in perfect climbing shape on May 7th, 2008.

Cornices are becoming more and more of a threat in the alpine zone as the warm air and extra weight of new snow can combine to bring many of these beasts tumbling down the slopes at their feet and so travel techniques and group management that are focused on mitigating this danger would be appropriate. 

The alpine snow and mixed routes are slowly coming into good climbing shape with loose, unconsolidated snow at the moment making many of them more of a wallow than a classic climb.  Dreamweaver on Mt. Meeker is currently formed as a firm snow climb and it will quickly melt-freeze to include a few premium sections of moderate alpine ice in a most spectacular position.   Kieners was  "opened" by a strong team last weekend (5/4), likely one of the first ascents in '08 of this enduring classic which traverses above the left side of the Diamond for it's entire length to the summit.  Spring conditions such as these bump the commitment grade up from a Grade III to IV at least in these twice as difficult but excellent mixed conditions.   

 Margaret Schwartz throwing up a rooster tail of powder in the Dead Elk Couloir to celebrate her "Big 40" on 5/8/08!

The wind and heat have started to consolidate the alpine snowpack somewhat in the last month and their have been excellent cramponing conditions on all aspects of the high country and the classic mixed route Martha along with the east face of Notchtop will be in great climbing shape in the weeks to come before the heat of summer changes this equation.  Once the heat kicks-in, the north and east-facing aspects will firm-up and start to form ice.

If you are interested in a training program in the climbing and skiing arts, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to discuss the complete range of techniques practice and itineraries that might best meet your climbing or ski mountaineering goals.   I will be coaching climbers and leading routes throughout Rocky Mountain National Park with the Colorado Mountain School this spring and summer until heading to Nepal in October to lead a CMS expedition up the classic peaks of Lobuche and Ama Dablam in the Khumbu Region of this enchanting Himalayan Kingdom.

Best of luck with all of your backcountry plans this week!

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