Y Couloir, Pikes Peak partner
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Re: Y Couloir, Pikes Peak partner
There are reservations required starting May 24, which is also when 7am gate starts. Unless it's a busy time there are often available ones at the gate if you forget. Right now the road opens at 9am. Went up today and hit an east facing line and the timing felt pretty good, so the North facing stuff would be good for a while longer even with the poor freeze last night.
Re: Y Couloir, Pikes Peak partner
I'll also add last year I dropped the Y at 10:30 am on May 27th and the timing was great. This year there is much less snow though
Re: Y Couloir, Pikes Peak partner
Went up and did a lap on Little Italy and then a lap on the Chimney 4/24 (Thursday). Little Italy seemed to be in perfect shape right now. Didn't step on any rocks under the snow, or hit any rocks glissading back down. We stepped on a few rocks in the Chimney. So, the snow didn't seem as deep in that couloir. (see photo of the Chimney.)
Afterwards, we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak. (See photo of the top of the Y.) The Y didn't look to have a whole lot of snow in it, but it did seem to have snow the whole way top to bottom. The Railroad Couloir didn't look to have continuous snow coverage and appears to be in the worst shape of all the couloirs on Pikes right now.
The Bottemless Pit look didn't appear to have a lot of snow. If hiking in from Rumdoodle Ridge or Barr Camp, this might be a good thing for avoid postholing or rock hoping in to get to the apron or start of the snow climb.
There is some snow in the forecast, so maybe the couloir season will hold on a little longer with this low snow year.
Climb on!
Afterwards, we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak. (See photo of the top of the Y.) The Y didn't look to have a whole lot of snow in it, but it did seem to have snow the whole way top to bottom. The Railroad Couloir didn't look to have continuous snow coverage and appears to be in the worst shape of all the couloirs on Pikes right now.
The Bottemless Pit look didn't appear to have a lot of snow. If hiking in from Rumdoodle Ridge or Barr Camp, this might be a good thing for avoid postholing or rock hoping in to get to the apron or start of the snow climb.
There is some snow in the forecast, so maybe the couloir season will hold on a little longer with this low snow year.
Climb on!
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