| Peak: | Grays Peak |
| Route: | North Slopes |
| Range: | Front |
| Posted By: | RWSchaffer |
| Date of Info: | 2/21/2020 |
| Date Posted: | 2/21/2020 |
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All vehicles park at the interstate exit. Good trench leads to the summer trailhead; no traction or floatation required to here, though many people have skied it recently. The summer trailhead is a good place to put on floatation if not already on skis. Trench from here is routed well below the summer trail, hopefully safe from avalanches off of Kelso Mountain. Unfortunately, trench is also shallow because it crosses fairly supportive wind slab, so it is easily obliterated by blowing snow. Once on Grays northeast ridge, I swapped snowshoes for spikes which I kept on until I needed snowshoes again on the descent. Traction was useful on areas of older windslab which is sometimes very sun polished. The entire traverse from Grays to Torreys can be done on the path. Photo 1 shows the Grays side from Torreys and Photo 2 shows the Torreys side from Grays. Torreys has some major cornices (Photo 3); don't get too close to the edge. Fresh snow has not adhered particularly well to older slab where it is sun polished. Recent breezes have transported several inches of snow onto the snowfield below the Grays-Torreys saddle. In retrospect, my decision to traverse that snowfield on the descent from Torreys, roughly following Torreys south slopes route, may have involved significant avalanche danger.   
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