14ers.com • Peak Condition Update

Peak:	"Lackawanna" (13er)
Route:	Northwest Ridge
Range:	Sawatch
Posted By:	madmattd
Date of Info:	07/21/2019
Date Posted:	07/21/2019

Details
Via the NW Ridge. The trailhead was hit by an avalanche this winter, it's open but debris is everywhere. The route itself was mostly unaffected. The stream crossing was knee-deep and quite cold in the morning, though it felt nicer in the afternoon on sore feet. Someone has cleared a lot of the blowdowns on the road, and the trail itself, while a bit overgrown, is passable though there are a couple side-hill loose gravel spots not far below the gulley you aren't supposed to cross that take a little care to not go for a bad slide. Not much to say about the 12000'-13000' section other than I wonder if we could have found a less unpleasant route. Coming down especially involved sections of scree-skiing, and much hopping down rocking talus. Re-reading the route description we may have needed to go a bit further South for better conditions, but according to our GPS tracks we were pretty much on the route from this site. On the ridge was fine, though snowfields and hanging cornices force you a little off the ridge descending to the ridge col from UN 13660'. From the col to the summit is good to go, a small snowfield is right by the summit block, but we used the short Class 3 scramble up/down.

Details

Via the NW Ridge.

The trailhead was hit by an avalanche this winter, it's open but debris is everywhere. The route itself was mostly unaffected. The stream crossing was knee-deep and quite cold in the morning, though it felt nicer in the afternoon on sore feet. Someone has cleared a lot of the blowdowns on the road, and the trail itself, while a bit overgrown, is passable though there are a couple side-hill loose gravel spots not far below the gulley you aren't supposed to cross that take a little care to not go for a bad slide.

Not much to say about the 12000'-13000' section other than I wonder if we could have found a less unpleasant route. Coming down especially involved sections of scree-skiing, and much hopping down rocking talus. Re-reading the route description we may have needed to go a bit further South for better conditions, but according to our GPS tracks we were pretty much on the route from this site.

On the ridge was fine, though snowfields and hanging cornices force you a little off the ridge descending to the ridge col from UN 13660'. From the col to the summit is good to go, a small snowfield is right by the summit block, but we used the short Class 3 scramble up/down.

Comments or Questions

zinj	The route 07/22/2019 09:12 on Lackawanna leaves something to be desired. I think as this one picks up in popularity (and its easy to access), a proper trail may need to be constructed. We're going to beat up those slidey sections otherwise.
madmattd	Agreed 07/22/2019 13:46 Agreed completely zinj. Both of us immediately declared this was a one-and-done for sure, at least via this route. I imagine the trail below treeline will also become an issue if it gets too much traffic, there's already one spot that I mentioned that is close to eroding off the hillside. The summit views are pretty solid though.