longest snow climb in CO?

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gb
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by gb »

Scott P wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 9:28 pm

Craig has a lot of cool stuff around it, but the town isn't so great. It's too bad. Craig isn't far from some of the best scenery in Colorado, but it can be a tough place to live if you aren't far right.
Honestly, if I had some money to invest right now, I'd probably do it in Craig. Real estate is just too cheap there and too much in Steamboat for that 45 minute drive to matter much going forward. It's going to be Carbondale in 10 years.

Back to the topic, I've talked to a number of fellow skiers that have pulled off the N side of Treasure, which clocks in at 4700' or so. Maybe it's not enough of a couloir for this discussion though?
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martinleroux
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by martinleroux »

Jonathan Deffenbaugh wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 1:24 pm Now if you're interested in what may be the longest snow climb in the lower 48 than Mt Moran's Skillet Glacier is where it's at, where 6,000 ft of vertical snow climbing awaits... if you're interested on what snow route can offer the longest continuous glissade after a snow climb look no further than Mt Shasta's West Face; that can offer 4,000 vertical feet of relief with a good snow line on it.
In June 2019 we had an uninterrupted ski descent of over 7,000' from the summit of Mt Shasta down the Hotlum-Wintun to within a couple of hundred feet of our car.

Haven't done it myself, but in the right conditions apparently it's possible to ski 10,000' from the summit of Mt Rainier down the Emmons Glacier to the White River ranger station.

The springtime snowpack in Colorado doesn't lend itself to long descents like this. For descents of more than 3,000' it's either icy up high or bottomless mashed potatoes down low, often both. Springtime snow on the West Coast volcanoes seems to be skiable across a much greater elevation range. Must be the higher water content.
spoony
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by spoony »

Jonathan Deffenbaugh wrote: Mon May 03, 2021 1:24 pm Other good candidates would be the Grand Couloir on Mt Aetna, that one starts from the dirt road you walk up the trailhead. I do recall some of Quandary's couloirs (i.e. Cristo and Quandary Couloir) being long as well. Now if you're interested in what may be the longest snow climb in the lower 48 than Mt Moran's Skillet Glacier is where it's at, where 6,000 ft of vertical snow climbing awaits, in addition to having to walk or kayak across 6 miles on Jackson Lake, depending if it's frozen or not. Definitely on the bucket list for next year! Now if you're interested on what snow route can offer the longest continuous glissade after a snow climb look no further than Mt Shasta's West Face; that can offer 4,000 vertical feet of relief with a good snow line on it. :thumbup:
The Grand on Aetna is not quite 3,000 feet from the summit to the road and around 1.25 miles long. A solid run, but not quite at the top of the list.
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AlexeyD
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by AlexeyD »

Not in Colorado, but...the northwest face of Emigrant Peak (Montana Absaroka Range near Paradise Valley) into Gold Run Creek can supposedly offer some 5000' continuous vertical feet under very special circumstances. But as others have said about the Rockies, it is rare to find the right combination of conditions to make this happen.
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by ltlFish99 »

The snake on Sneffles is a lot of fun. Certainly not anywhere near the longest, but one of the better ones for enjoyment.
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blazintoes
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by blazintoes »

West face direct on Pyramid is long and steep at 3000’ gain.
You get a little break at the 12,000’ shelf but then it steepens again with two icy sections easy soloable. Also no top out so either hook around right to the Thunder/Pryamid ridge (super fun scramble) or do the JP sneak.
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Boggy B
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Re: longest snow climb in CO?

Post by Boggy B »

Unless I'm missing something I don't see a defined feature on either Pyramid or Sneffels that drops 4k. I would guess the longest snow climb in CO is on a 13er just by the numbers.
One decent run that comes to mind is Campbell Creek Peak's east couloir, which drops 3400' to Lake Fork, or slightly less if you don't count all the way to the creek though it's a continuous feature.
Probably it's something in the Wemi that bottoms out below 9k.
As others have mentioned, chances of getting them in climbing shape are slim.
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