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Up-to-date information on alpine routes, backcountry skiing, and trail
conditions for Longs Peak and Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Snow conditions
and avalanche danger are forecast by Eli Helmuth, an AMGA certified rock, alpine, and ski mountaineering guide and owner of ClimbingLife Guides; a year-round guide service based in Estes Park offering worldwide
mountain trips and local seminars in the climbing and skiing arts.
July 20 conditions report
Warning:
Ice
and avalanche conditions change constantly and the information provided
here should not be the final say in making the best decisions in regard
to your risk management in the mountains.
ClimbingLife, LLC and its
contributors accept no liability for your decisions based on this
information. Ice and mixed climbing are very dangerous sports
and one
can easily die or be seriously injured engaging in these activities.
Proceed at your own risk, plan for the best outcome and be
prepared for the worst.
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July 21st, 2009
Conditions
Report
Rocky
Mountain National Park
The weather has been perfect the last few weeks with little to no
thunderstorm threat in the afternoons making for a more relaxed pace
than usual in the high peaks of RMNP.
An
ascent of the
Sykes Sickle (IV 5.9+) on Spearhead last week was a
blast as
usual on this big chunk of granite that frames the headwaters
of the Glacier Gorge.
The
trail into
Glacier Gorge was in good shape all the way to Black Lake and
on
the plateau many cairned routes take you to the main drainage at the
base of the west face of Longs Peak and east face of Spearhead.
The
snowpatches at
the bases of the east face of Spearhead and north faces of Chiefshead
are substantial still this year with rock hard snow on clear
mornings.
By the afternoon these snowpatches are shoe skiable, but in
the
mornings they require crampons for any sort of grip and chopping steps
with rocks or camming devices is typically a sketchy solution.
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Eli
on the sixth pitch of the Sykes Sickle, Spearhead , RMNP
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The west face of Longs Peak on July 19th, 2009.
The snow in the Trough Couloir extends from near the southwest shoulder
down to the cliffs near the bottom which are usually snow free year
round. This mighty RMNP couloir contains at least 2,000'
vertical of 35 degree snow at the moment.
Although the Keyhole is currently rated 'technical' , it is easily
possible to avoid the few patches of snow on the route, never wandering
more than 20' from a bulls-eye and this variation does not require
crampons or an ice axe to
summit via Longs Peak's easiest climb.
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The North Face of
Longs
Peak on July 13th still holding substantial snow that is filling in the
'Dove'. The Cables Route is still holding snow and ice and
requiring crampons an ice tool and some mixed climbing experience as
there is thick ice at the surface on this route that requires some
frontpointing ability.
One of the
most magnificent
walls in RMNP- the 1500' NW face of Chiefshead
(13,579')
where the 'Birds of Fire' (11a) and 'Seven Arrows' (10b)
ascend
this golden slab of the highest quality featured granite.
Snow at the base of this cliff is steep and firm enough in
the mornings to require crampons for the final approach to the cliff
base.
 
(Above left) A
view of the Keyhole
and Keyhole Ridge (north ridge) taken from the Glacier Gorge
headwaters. The Keyhole Route traverses the rubble strewn
ledge
above the large slabs in the center of the photo. (Above
right) Spearhead (12,575') finishes with a 3rd class scramble to a
spectacular summit with routes from 3rd class to 5,12 in dificulty
ascending it's varied flanks.
Iceberg Lake below the west face of Spearhead is
still in
the long process of melting the 4' thick winter ice completely and
likely by
the middle weeks in August through early November will be ice
free until the first bits of winter
ice begin to form again around Thanksgiving.
Current avalanche
danger
overall for the high country of RMNP is starting LOW
each
morning, then rising to MODERATE
on the warm afternoons with most of
the danger being in the form of D1 sized loose snow avalanches (point
release) in the upper 6" of the snowpack. Although any
avalanche activity other than cornice collapses (think Y-Couloir) will
likely be small enough not to bury an individual, if you are unroped or
unanchored on exposed terrain, a D1 sized avalanche could launch you
over the edge. (Broadway, Kieners, North Face of Longs, etc.)
Cornice collapses
become a more
serious threat in this hot weather and route selection should take into
account this mostly avoidable but less survivable of mountain hazards.
The northeast-facing snowlopes at the base of Stoneman's Pass
and
the Northeast face of McHenry's Peak (above) are
very solid neve
snow in the mornings and night and uninterrupted slips on these angles
of snow can easily result in free-falling speeds and it's never the
fall that hurts, but the landing which in this case is into a rock
covered hillside.
 
The
trail up the Glacier Gorge (above left) is in great shape and the
average approach time to Black Lake via this trail is approx. 2 hrs.
from the trailhead. Another 20 minutes of hiking past the
lake and across the plateau above brings one close to the base of
Spearhead. Black Lake (above right) is snowfree and the 'West
Gulley' ice routes can be seen as a big waterfall on the east-facing
cliffs above the lake.
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(Above)
Maureen Boyle cranks up the "Chockstone" (10a) in Eldorado Canyon on a
Crack Climbing Clinic with
Eli Helmuth of ClimbingLife Guides. We spent this
entire Saturday practicing crack climbing on fissures of all sizes
on the West Ridge and Rincon cliffs in Eldorado Canyon, CO.
Eli is also offering a weekend Trad Leading Seminar again on
Aug. 1-2 with enrollment
limited to just four participants so that the educational aspects of
this seminar can be maximized.
Learn more about this hands-on skills advancing seminar here.
Other
weekend clinics and seminars upcoming this summer include:
Friday Techniques Clinic (movement and techniques coaching
every
Friday)
Crack Climbing Clinics (master the art of jamming)
Rock Rescue Clinics
(know what to do and how to deal with an accident)
Trad Rock Seminar
(become a more skilled trad climber)
Top-Rope Anchor Clinic
(learn the fundamentals of self-sufficient climbing)
Finley Helmuth checking out some bouldering on the Helmuth homestead.
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Geof Just cranking through the crux of pitch 6 out of 8 on our recent
ascent of the Sykes Sickle on Spearhead.
Greg
Zahnd on his first ever day of rock climbing while with Eli Helmuth on
a 1-day introduction to rock climbing which took place at the enjoyable
cliffs on Prospect Mountain in Estes Park, Colorado.
Eli
is available year-round to coach climbers of all abilities and
experience in the fundamentals as well as high-end techniques required
in traditional rock and mountain climbing.
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The
east face of Longs Peak on July 13th is drying out quickly and an
ascent this week by Roger Briggs of D-7 was reported to be in perfect
conditions and on a weekday. Roger and his partner had this
awe-inspiring wall to themselves for what could have been Roger's 104th
ascent of the Big D?
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Eli Helmuth is an AMGA Certified Rock, Alpine, and Ski Guide.
Contact
us
at:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
for more information or to
register
for one of
our Friday Rock Skills Clinics, a Guiding Skills Seminar, Rock Rescue
Clinics, Crack Climbing Clinics, and Trad Leading Seminars that are
held regularly in Eldorado and Boulder Canyons. Or arrange a
private outing to fit your schedule and specific training goals
Now
in his
21st year of full-time rock and mountain guiding, Eli also
has
10-years of experience as an AMGA
guide trainer in rock and alpine guiding.
Eli
is equally
adept at
working with beginners along with climbers of all abilities and
experience
levels. Eli regularly leads trad routes up to 5.13 in
difficulty yet enjoys climbing the many 'moderate' classics in Eldorado
and Boulder Canyons. Join him for a day or weekend to
increase
your abilities on rock and safety
margins on rock and mountain terrain.
Spring
and summer trainings and outings in rock climbing include
one-day clinics, private coaching, and guiding at all levels
of rock climbing
in Eldorado Canyon, the Flattirons and in Boulder Canyon
throughout the spring, summer , and autumn months until we head to the
Andes in October and November for more great climbing trips
in
Peru and Ecuador.
The west face of the Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon, Colorado.
The Yellow Spur (III 5.10) follows the right-hand skyline of
these cliffs, finishing on the pointed summit at far right.
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North
American
Avalanche Danger Scale
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Danger Level
(& Color)
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Avalanche Probability and Avalanche Trigger
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Degree and Distribution of Avalanche Danger
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Recommended Action
in the
Backcountry
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| What
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Why
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Where
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What
to Do |
LOW
(GREEN)
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Natural avalanches very unlikely. Human triggered avalanches unlikely.
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Generally
stable snow. Isolated areas of instability. |
Travel
is generally safe. Normal caution is advised. |
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(YELLOW)
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Natural
avalanches unlikely. Human triggered avalanches possible.
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Unstable
slabs possible on steep terrain.
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Use
caution in steeper terrain and on certain aspects.
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CONSIDERABLE
(ORANGE)
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Natural
avalanches possible. Human triggered avalanches probable.
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Unstable
slabs probable on steep terrain. |
Be
increasingly cautious in steeper terrain. |
HIGH
(RED)
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Natural
and human triggered avalanches likely.
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Unstable
slabs likely on a variety of aspects and slope angles.
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Travel
in avalanche terrain is not recommended. Safest travel on windward
ridges and lower angle slopes without steeper terrain above.
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EXTREME
(BLACK)
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Widespread
natural or human triggered avalanches certain.
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Extremely
unstable slabs
certain on most aspects and slope angles. Large, destructive avalanches
possible. Large, destructive avalanches
possible.
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Travel
in
avalanche terrain
should be avoided and travel confined to low angle terrain well away
from avalanche path run-outs.
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