Cheapest way to get to Mt. Sneffels?

[jfolwell1]

Don't do it. Let's keep this a boring winter for the rescue teams.

[highpilgrim]

Sneffels isn't one of the hardest of the winter 14ers, but it does rank high on the danger list when it comes to winter 14ers.

Also, I mean no offence by this, but your previous posts indicate that you are inexperienced. A winter ascent of Sneffels is a very poor choice for a beginner. There are much better/safer peaks/14ers in Colorado to cut your teeth on a winter ascent. Save Sneffels for when you have more experience on winter 14ers.

curiousaurus is going to be an iciclesaurus when they find him in the spring.

[Stratosfearsome]

You could try Western Slope Rides: gowsr.com if you fly into Montrose. Shuttle service goes to Ouray. I would definitely recommend a partner for that peak in winter. Heard it can be deceptively dangerous. You could use the climbing connection on here as the date approaches. Good luck, be safe.
Rob

[billycox]

Rental cars are not that expensive...the freedom is way worth it considering the gear you will need.

Have you looked into flights into Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, etc.? Everything is 5-6 hours to Ouray. One last suggestion is to look into Allegiant Airlines. They fly into Grand Junction from Las Vegas, and it always feels like flying to Vegas is always cheap. It takes some planning, but that airline is really cheap.

Ditto on COS. If Gunni, Montrose or Junction are too expensive and if DEN and COS are close in price, I'd choose COS over DEN any day.

[cedica]

In my experience flights to Albuquerque were about the same price as to Denver, but rental cars were about three times cheaper. Map says that Albuquerque is slightly closer to Ouray than Denver, SLC is about 100 miles further.

[Tory Wells]

Rent a vehicle big enough to sleep in, then use that as your hotel room. Plenty of hot springs nearby to use for the soaking of sore muscles and a shower. And there are plenty more breweries in the area for rehydration.

[curiousaurus]

Check flights into Montrose, Durango, or Grand Junction. Sometimes they are expensive and sometimes they aren't much more than flying to Denver.

Sneffels isn't one of the hardest of the winter 14ers, but it does rank high on the danger list when it comes to winter 14ers. Have a plan B as it's hard to predict conditions until the time is very close.

Also, I mean no offence by this, but your previous posts indicate that you are inexperienced. A winter ascent of Sneffels is a very poor choice for a beginner. There are much better/safer peaks/14ers in Colorado to cut your teeth on a winter ascent. Save Sneffels for when you have more experience on winter 14ers.

You're right, I'm not very experienced with winter mountaineering, but I am not going alone. I'm going with 2 other experienced winter climbers if that makes it any better. I did climb Whitney in winter last year in a pair of trail runners using just trekking poles, but I will be using proper winter gear this time. If you think winter Sneffels is too dangerous for me, what other peaks do you suggest in the San Juan range?

[Scott P]

I'm going with 2 other experienced winter climbers if that makes it any better.

Are they experienced with Colorado avalanche conditions?

If you think winter Sneffels is too dangerous for me, what other peaks do you suggest in the San Juan range?

The safest winter 14ers in the San Juans are Sunshine and Redcloud from the SE Ridge of Sunshine (though a tedious climb). Next safest are probably San Luis and Uncompahgre, but they take more than one day for most people. Uncompahgre is the most interesting of the "safer" winter 14ers in the San Juans.

Even the above can have danger though, especially if you stray off route. Right now the mountains are pretty dry, but that can change.