Has anyone been up on Stone Man Pass recently?
Looking for conditions.
Last info I have is from 8/3 from a couple of experienced guys attempting Chiefs Head: "Got to just below Stone Man Pass and was stymied by steep snow/wet rock. With still an hour (or more) to the summit, we pulled the plug."
Thanks in advance!
Stone Man Pass conditions?
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Stone Man Pass conditions?
The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.
Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
<<crickets...>> Bump!
The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.
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12ersRule
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Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
Register must be collecting dust too. DanR back in June was the last person to log an ascent on LoJ.
Last one on Summitpost was on Sept 3, 2012.
Last one on Summitpost was on Sept 3, 2012.
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DanR
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Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
And that was June 2013. Presumably, some recent summit-er of Longs has a picture that could shed some enlightenment.12ersRule wrote:Register must be collecting dust too. DanR back in June was the last person to log an ascent on LoJ.
Last one on Summitpost was on Sept 3, 2012.
I was actually in Glacier Gorge on Sunday for a wind-rebuffed attempt on Pagoda. None of my pictures are at all useful, and I didn't look closely enough to tell whether the small nearby snowfield was actually on the ascent line or not. One person we passed cited Chiefs Head as his destination; he had no ice axe, though I have no idea which route he was taking or if he was successful.
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flyingmagpie
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Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
sunny1--
I have climbed Chief's Head once, and McHenry's three times via Stone Man Pass. As you ascend the pass, there is a cliff on climber's right, and in dry conditions the best footing is on stable rock adjacent to the cliff. As I remember it (and it's getting to be a while ago!) there are some instances where you have to leave stable rock and venture out into the rubble of gravel that fills the Pass further out from the cliff. The rubble is unstable, and you have to be careful. On one time up McHenry's for me, Glacier Gorge was full of ice, and the Pass held snow and ice. The snow and ice actually stabilized the rubble and made it easier (I can't guarantee you would find it so). I don't think I was wearing Yaktrax at the time. I don't own microspikes. Wish I did. I just tried to be very careful, and I made it. Not sure I would do it without any kind of traction device again. Deep powdery snow, of course, would not be stable at all. RMNP has webcams, and checking those I do not see big accumulations of snow up high. Still, we are due some more rain this week, and who knows? If you have a pair of some kind of traction device, I suggest you take them. Better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them. If you decide to bail because of snow in the Pass, maybe you could do an alternate route as a consolation--I climbed Pagoda from Glacier Gorge in icy conditions, and it was doable. Or just enjoy the beauty of the cirque. Tremendous views of the back side of Longs, Keyboard of the Winds, and Spearhead in the high cirque above Black Lake. Maybe the most beautiful scenery in the Park, although Chasm Lake is a rival for that title!
I have climbed Chief's Head once, and McHenry's three times via Stone Man Pass. As you ascend the pass, there is a cliff on climber's right, and in dry conditions the best footing is on stable rock adjacent to the cliff. As I remember it (and it's getting to be a while ago!) there are some instances where you have to leave stable rock and venture out into the rubble of gravel that fills the Pass further out from the cliff. The rubble is unstable, and you have to be careful. On one time up McHenry's for me, Glacier Gorge was full of ice, and the Pass held snow and ice. The snow and ice actually stabilized the rubble and made it easier (I can't guarantee you would find it so). I don't think I was wearing Yaktrax at the time. I don't own microspikes. Wish I did. I just tried to be very careful, and I made it. Not sure I would do it without any kind of traction device again. Deep powdery snow, of course, would not be stable at all. RMNP has webcams, and checking those I do not see big accumulations of snow up high. Still, we are due some more rain this week, and who knows? If you have a pair of some kind of traction device, I suggest you take them. Better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them. If you decide to bail because of snow in the Pass, maybe you could do an alternate route as a consolation--I climbed Pagoda from Glacier Gorge in icy conditions, and it was doable. Or just enjoy the beauty of the cirque. Tremendous views of the back side of Longs, Keyboard of the Winds, and Spearhead in the high cirque above Black Lake. Maybe the most beautiful scenery in the Park, although Chasm Lake is a rival for that title!
"I've found the truest paths always lead through mountains."
--Kate Wolf, "An Unfinished Life"
--Kate Wolf, "An Unfinished Life"
Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
Maybe if those 'experienced' guys were better prepared for the conditions or weren't such weenies, there would be a different ending to that story. 
"A couple more shots of whiskey,
the women 'round here start looking good"
the women 'round here start looking good"
Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
Not a weenie.
Sissy? For sure.
EDIT: I might have to post to the DNS thread....
Sissy? For sure.
EDIT: I might have to post to the DNS thread....
Re: Stone Man Pass conditions?
Thanks for the posts, everyone - including the sissies and weenies coming out of the woodwork 
I've redirected my focus elsewhere this weekend.
I've redirected my focus elsewhere this weekend.
The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana.
