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 Peak:  La Plata Peak
 Route:  Northwest Ridge
 Range:  Sawatch
 Posted By:  mountainmaestro
 Date of Info:  10/24/2015
 Date Posted:  10/24/2015
Details

The mountain got a lot of snow in the recent storm. I'd say we saw snow on at least 90% of the route. In the morning we saw a couple inches at the trailhead and there were 2 to 4 more inches for every thousand feet we climbed. Above tree line the depth of the snow was variable. At times we were postholing well past our knees. We broke trail until around 13,500 feet; it was hard work to say the least. Consequently, our speed was much slower than we anticipated. We had to turn around at that point in order to descend at a reasonable time. Four other climbers continued on to the summit, and I suspect trail has been broken all the way there at this point. Climbers will likely have reasonable conditions (with the trail broken) until the next storm. I would strongly suggest micro spikes and poles at least. Route finding can be very challenging on this peak with all the snow. Some climbers today took very creative paths up to the buttress, so the broken trail may not be optimal for all. .


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