jsdratm wrote:I am in a Basic Mountaineering School group that is hoping to attempt Dragon's Tail Couloir this Sunday (if the weather and snow conditions are right) and our instructors have tasked us to research the climb. Does anyone here have advice on the climb in general or on the following points?
1) How long would it roughly take to get to the base of the couloir from Bear Lake Trailhead in current conditions?
2) What time would you typically start a climb like this in order to get off the couloir before the snow is too soft?
3) Do you think that given the current conditions, the couloir snow would be solid enough for a team of beginners to climb?
4) Do you think snowshoes would be necessary to get to the couloir, given the snow depth around Bear Lake, or is there usually a trail to the couloir from Emerald Lake packed down by climbers?
Thanks!
(1) It depends on fitness and snow conditions. At a slow-moderate hiking pace, I would count on 1.5-2 hrs to reach to the couloir proper. Maybe 60-90 minutes to reach emerald lake. To give some idea of the range of time, I have skied the line in ~90 min round trip, but that is at a fairly brisk pace.
(2) depends on the forecast temps the night before and day of. For climbing conditions, you cant really be too early. I'd aim to hit emerald lake just before first light.
(3) Conditions will change daily on this line, this time of year. I saw multiple reports of unstable snow in dtail this past weekend. The weak layer was generally the saturated snow, which was covered by storm snow. There is more snow forecast this week, with similar temperatures as last week (starting warm, ending coldish). The climb would likely be more enjoyable and safer after a melt-freeze cycle.
(4) Right now, some sort of flotation seems essential. If you postpone until a good melt-freeze cycle, you should be able to go without.
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