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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.
June 4 conditions
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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June 5th, 2009
Ice
and Ski Report
Rocky
Mountain National Park
It was a mostly wet week in the Estes Park Valley and the
cloud
ceiling must have been low enough along the Continental Divide
as
Longs and Meeker only received an inch or two of snow.
It was certainly cold enough for snow as low temperatures at 8,000'
were close to freezing on Monday and Tuesday nights
and
when the clouds first parted on Wednesday afternoon, there appeared to
be only trace (<1") on RMNP's highest peaks.
A bit more snow was added on the evening of June 3rd and it appears
that primarily the north face of Longs and Meeker received a covering
of this new snow.
Rain was reported as low as Bear Lake during most of this last monsoon
period from Monday to Wednesday and although the rain is continuing to
consolidate the snowpack, it is also unfortunately stripping it away
quickly.
Trail
conditions continue to be firm enough to not require
snowshoes to
reach the Longs Peak Cirque and the same holds true for the trail
system into Sand beach Lake where Jeff Shafer and Greg Shepherd made
the
long trek in to reach the Keplinger Couloir which they ascended on the
final day of May.
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Keplinger's
Couloir on the south face of Longs Peak
on May 30th, 2009.
Photo
courtesy of Jeff Shafer.
Click
on photos to enlarge
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(Above)
The East
and North Faces of Longs Peak on May 4th viewed from the front yard.
It appears that only trace amounts of new snow accumulated at
the
highest elevations in RMNP in this week's storms and the rain stripped
much of the snow off the south face of Mt. Lady Washington.
Avalanche danger on these faces and most slopes in the park is in the
LOW range and the primary snow-related danger at the moment will be due
to heat-caused sloughing in the afternoons, especially when nighttime
freezes are blocked by thicker cloudy nights. Most of our
cloudy
nights have continued into the noontime hours and this morning sun
blockage has for the most part continued to keep the avalanche danger
in the LOW range in most locations from the Loft to the Dragontail
Couloirs.
Trails into low traffic areas such as the Skypond and Black Lake will
be a big sloppy and although they may be firm enough in the morning,
snowshoes are cheap insurance to avoid what has become knee deep
slogging by mid-afternoon in these and similar snow covered locations.
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Solid
enough snow conditions last week in the Tyndall Gorge (above) helped
keep climbing conditions in the Hallett Couloir (right) firm enough for
good step kicking and crampons were not necessary for this slope or the
adjacent Dragontail and Dead Elk Couloirs.
Hallett's
Chimney is mostly snow free at the moment and it looks like the ideal
conditions for ice formation on this very ephemeral mixed route
didn't quite come together this year.
It's been one
of those seasons where the ice that has formed has been short-lived if
at all.
Martha
is now
mostly snow and ice free and only the Dreamweaver Couloir, Flying
Dutchman, and perhaps the right chimney on Meeker might hold some ice
in the weeks to come.
The
Dragontail
and it's flanking couloirs on May 31st, 2009.
Sliding
(ski and snowboarding) conditions in these couloirs has
improved in the last few weeks and
similar couloirs such as the Notchtop and Banana on Chiquita will be
the first to
corn-up in the mornings if you're looking to enchain a few slopes into
a big day of backcountry skiing.
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Monique
LaPerriere climbs the first pitch of 'Purple Haze" in Eldorado Canyon
on May 29th as part of a ClimbingLife Guides Friday Rock Skills Clinic.
Dan 'the weather man' training on a classic 5.10a
crack in
Eldorado Canyon: Chockstone.
Whether you're climbing 5.7 or 5.11, these clinics which take place
every Friday through August are a great way to increase your climbing
and leading abilities and with small groups and personalized coaching
you get great value for your money while training with Eli Helmuth.
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The "Et Tu Brute" crew on the summit of the East Buttress of
Hallett Peak on may 31st, 2009.
This crew made a somewhat 'dry' and rare ascent of one of the better
routes on
this buttress- The Cleft". Read more about their climb on the
Mountain
Project website here.
Climbing conditions on this very accessible buttress are already 'out
of shape' due to rapid snowmelt that is accelerated by rainfall at
these somewhat 'mid-elevations' 10-11k in the Tyndall Gorge of RMNP.
The nearby Hallett Chimney has also suffered due to rainfall
which is multiplied when rain accumulates while running down vertical
surfaces and into couloirs and gulleys on these steep north-facing
aspects.
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A view of the east face of Notchtop (formally called 'north'), obviously in the direct sun in this photo taken at 9am on June 4th, 2009. Don't trust guidebook authors who are primarily rock jocks when it comes to alpine ice ratings or aspects!
This classic alpine route is rarely in shape during the spring season due to it's warm aspect and relatively low elevation (10-12k). November through early December are typically the best months to find this great snow and multi-pitch ice route "IN" shape. The
well known Notchtop Couloir is visible on the far left side of this photo with some medium-sized cornices hanging over the center. It is the third couloir left (west) of the actual Notchtop Spire- the steep rock face in the photo with routes from 5.6-5.11 covering it's south buttress.
Remember that alpine ice is not just ice that forms in the mountains, but specifically ice that is formed from compressed snow that becomes a glacier or permanent ice slope such as the Lambslide Couloir (when the snow is melted-out in late sumer), the Ptarmigan Glacier, or in the Tetons such routes as the infamous Black Ice Couloir. These are examples of alpine ice routes. Ice that forms from snowmelt or springwater, waterfalls, etc., is all classified under the water ice (WI) rating system. They are two different types of ice- different as sandstone is to granite.
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Greg
Shepherd following some ankle deep steps in the south-facing Keplinger
Couloir on Longs Peak- the route that Chris Davenport concluded his
epic 1-year "skiing the 14'ers'" adventure in Colorado. Greg
and Jeff did this route in a long weekend from the Copeland
Lake trailhead in Wild Basin on the May 30-31st weekend.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Shafer.
Avalanche Danger is
currently LOW overall on all aspects and elevations in RMNP.
Heat-related sloughing could be an issue in the early
afternoon when danger will reach MODERATE on warm aspects with 1-3pm tending to be the 'peak hours' for this type of avalanche activity and
south to west facing aspects being the biggest recipients of this
thermal energy. The south-facing Keplinger's is a good
example of a couloir with significant D1-D2 activity- note the
avalanche debris in the photo above.
(Above)
A view from the upper homestretch down to the connection of
Keplinger's/Clark's Arrow/and the Keyhole routes on the south face of
Longs Peak. Although it may be climbable without crampons on
certain mornings such as this, it could also be very firm neve
requiring crampons for secure footing on this 30+ angled slopes.
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Kit
and Alex, recent graduates of the U.S. Naval Academy, part-way up a
multi-pitch climb on Prospect Mountain overlooking the Estes Park
valley.
This
was the first multi-pitch experience for both of these talented young
men who will soon embark on careers in the Marines in the months to
come. Semper Fi!
Eli is available for private rock guiding and rock skills clinics all summer and autumn in the Estes Park Valley, Boulder Canyon, the Flattirons, and the world-class Eldorado Canyon.
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Looking toward the summit of Longs Peak on the Homestretch section
of RMNP's highest peak - May 31st,
2009.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Shafer.
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The north face of Mount Meeker with a fresh coating of snow on the
afternoon of June 4th, 2009.
This is the prime spring
alpine season in RMNP, with routes such as the Dreamweaver Couloir,
Flying Dutchman, Notch Couloir, Kieners, and Y-Couloir on Ypsilon being some of
the more classic routes "IN Condition" at the moment with mostly firm
snow and good cramponing available.
If you haven't already,
check-out the RMNP weather forecast here
for more
specific beta on what to expect for weather conditions this upcoming
weekend- it could be a somewhat stormy one?
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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 outings, a guiding skills seminar, rock rescue
clinic, trad leading seminar, or a day of private rock climbing (will
swap leads) with Eli Helmuth, Rocky Mountain National
Park and Eldorado Canyon's most experienced rock,
mountain, and ski guide.
Eli
is an AMGA
certified rock, alpine, and ski mountaineering guide with
10-years of experience as an AMGA
guide trainer in rock and alpine guiding. He has been an AMGA
exam-certified Rock Guide since 1991.
Spring
and summer trainings and outings in rock and alpine climbing start in
April of 2009
with a trip to the Alaska Range for alpine rock climbing in June, along
with
clinics in Eldorado Canyon, the Flattirons and in Boulder Canyon
throughout the spring and summer months.
In October, Eli will be leading expeditions to the Cordillera Blanca of
Peru for climbs above 20,000'. In November he will be leading climbs of the aesthetic and high altitude volcano's of Ecuador where he has done more than a year's worth of climbing trips over the years. Eli
is the most experienced and fluent Spanish speaking UIAGM/IFMGA guide from the U.S. who leads trips regularly to South America. Click here
for more information about these fantastic adventures to some of the
most spectacular and best alpine climbing in South America.
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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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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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