Peak: | Snowmass Mountain |
Route: | East Slopes |
Range: | Elk |
Posted By: | Bryan 1960 |
Date of Info: | 6/24/2019 |
Date Posted: | 6/24/2019 |
Details |
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I was planning to ski the snowfield the weekend of June 29, but hiked up Saturday 6/22 to recon the route (45 degrees, periodic rain on 6/22/19). IMO, the logjam is currently impassable, at least for me. The lake/pond/marsh is very swollen to the point that the logs in the logjam are buoyed and will move, shift and rotate under your weight. The high water level has reduced the stability of the logs to the point that I felt that trying to cross it was a poor decision. Others may deem the the risk acceptable, but in my view the mountain will still be there in a few weeks when the water is lower, the logs are stable and the temps are warmer. Other notes: 1. the avy debris paths others have mentioned have been cleaned up to the point that they no longer slow you down - other than to gawk at the enormous amount of energy released in these slides. 2. Snowmass creek is raging torrent. Really impressive and deafening when the trail gets close to it.. 3. From the view up bear creek at 4 miles it is amazing how much snow is still at the higher elevations. This leads me to believe that the logjam lake will remain swollen and the logs unstable for some time to come. 4. I started to encounter small snow deposits over the trail at about 5.75 miles, but nothing more than this up to the logjam at about 6.5 miles. 5. Very few tracks in the small snowfields leads me to think very few people have been up there this Spring. I doubt if anyone has summited from the East Slopes route since the very impressive guy on 4/21, when the logjam was likely frozen in place and stable. Bottom line here, at least for me, is that the logjam is unstable and represents a significant risk of taking a freezing bath. It seems likely to stay that way for quite awhile given the enormous amount of snow still on the peaks that drain into Snowmass Lake/Snowmass Creek. |
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