View Full Version : Why low snow year does not mean "NO snow year".
Indian Peaks at 10k-11k ft or so THIS weekend (yesterday!..may 23rd) near the Continental Divide.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs027.snc1/4283_1152447855129_1345632202_386735_1426772_n.jpg
This is why many of us who know Colorado say wait a few weeks. :)
garlic08
05-25-2009, 22:40
Nice spring snow shot, Mags. My ski partner Tom said he skied from the summit of James Peak (13,200') all the way to the parking lot (10,000') on continuous snow last week, pretty rare this time of year.
I'd like to credit for it..but it is not my shot. :) A friend went climbing this weekend up in the Indian Peaks. I stuck to my local haunts in the foothills due to social obligations/not wanting to go above treeline to be in the fog! :D
The San Juans got a lot of snow late this year. Its probably snowing up there right now.:) Unless we get some continuous heat and lots of it there will be snow -and lots of it- 'till July.
The San Juans got a lot of snow late this year. Its probably snowing up there right now.:) Unless we get some continuous heat and lots of it there will be snow -and lots of it- 'till July.
I posted this photo in response the glut of postings on here, CDT-L and Trailforums about hiking the CDT/CT (or nearby) in early June or even MAY (!?!?!).
Nice to see a locals (or recent locals in the case of my two friends above!) back me up.:) (For those not familiar with the area, the San Juans typically get the most snow in Colorado..and typical do not really open up until early July for most people.)
As I like to say, not that you can't do it..it just may not be fun.
I'm a wus myself and will let Ma Nature do the work for me first before I backpack. ;-)
Wise Old Owl
05-25-2009, 23:59
I don't know it looks like a walk in the park provided you can make your own snowshoes from scratch in a pinch... Where is Jeramiah Johnson?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Johnson
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver-Eating_Johnson (where the story is based) ???
cmcdonal2001
06-02-2009, 00:06
While I'm one of the ones that's going to be heading out in early June, I'm agreeing with the snow birds. I hiked up near Kennebec Pass from La Plata Canyon a week or two ago in the San Juans. This is one of the more tame areas in this range, and it was still a chore moving once we got above 10,000'. Some spots were next to bare, but there were other spots where it went beyond post-holing. My friend went in to shoulder height (hidden tree just under the surface) at one point, and it was pretty lucky she wasn't alone. Like everyone's been saying....hiking early isn't impossible, and it can still be very enjoyable, but BE CAREFUL.
that's one wicked picture
BUMP
Starting to get e-mails (well, two) from people planning a Colorado Trail/ CDT hike around their vacation time. One asked about late May..one asked about June 1st.
In an ideal world, vacation time and when the mountains open up would coincide.
In an ideal world, I'd be independently wealthy and able to take off whenever I want without having to worry about paying the bills, too. :)
bigcranky
01-26-2010, 14:14
BUMP
In an ideal world, I'd be independently wealthy and able to take off whenever I want without having to worry about paying the bills, too. :)
Wait, what? I thought this described you perfectly? All those photos of you skiing with pork roasts and cute skier grrls and all....
Wait, what? I thought this described you perfectly? All those photos of you skiing with pork roasts and cute skier grrls and all....
Shh! I'm aiming for the pity angle! :)
Spirit Walker
01-26-2010, 20:59
In 2006 snow levels in the south San Juans were at 75% of normal. What people didn't realize is that 'normal' is actually very high, so 75% meant that in early June there was still a lot of snow on the trail. A lot of thruhikers left Chama before June 1 and either had to turn back to either Chama or Pagosa Springs, and wait for a couple of weeks for the snow levels to drop or road walk past the worst of the snow. Only a few hiked through the snow, and they had a scary time, according to the journals. I noticed that near Monarch Pass the snow levels were at 100% of normal - which meant that those who road walked through the San Juans, ended up walking into more snow than they were expecting. We took our time crossing NM and still ended up bypassing the snow in two places. Postholing hip deep is not fun.
That's where the "Low snow doesn't mean no snow" came from.
Toolshed
01-26-2010, 21:50
Indian Peaks at 10k-11k ft or so THIS weekend (yesterday!..may 23rd) near the Continental Divide.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs027.snc1/4283_1152447855129_1345632202_386735_1426772_n.jpg
This is why many of us who know Colorado say wait a few weeks. :)
:dance Show-off!!!!:dance
Colorado has maybe the all-time best snow and avalanche report (http://avalanche.state.co.us/pub_bc.php) websites.
This (http://www.avalanche.org/) one is for reference, as well.
Chaco Taco
01-29-2010, 16:05
Shh! I'm aiming for the pity angle! :)
Team Sucketh in tha house!!!
For all you Coloradans in the know, how about leap frogging from Chama up to the Great basin area like near Rawlins WY or Big Sandy and hiking SOBO back to Chama on the CDT?
Getting to Chama around the first wk of June, taking a couple of days to get up to the GB, and then hiking SOBO.
For all you Coloradans in the know, how about leap frogging from Chama up to the Great basin area like near Rawlins WY or Big Sandy and hiking SOBO back to Chama on the CDT?
There appears to be a summer seasonal airline flight that goes into Riverton, WY (from Albuquerque, NM via Denver), then a fixed route bus that can drive from Riverton, WY to Lander, WY for $25 pp one-way (must call ahead even if it's fixed route) where a person might illegally hitchhike from Lander, WY to South Pass City, WY down a two-lane highway to hook up with the CDT. Expensive way to travel.
Also, there appears to have been a local bus at one time (Shoshone Arapaho Nations Transit Association -- SANTA) that ran up that way toward Lander, WY from Rawlins, WY but I'm not able to find much info about it being in existence anymore nor the route or availability. Rawlins, WY is supposed to have a Greyhound stop but it's not far enough north to make a northbound flip from New Mexico all that worthwhile from my perspective versus just leaving later and waiting at Cuba, NM or Chama, NM (or waiting altogether and going southbound from the Canadian border).
There's also an airline flight into Jackson, WY and a non-scheduled bus (call for reservation -- same people as the bus going from Riverton to Lander) to take you to Lander, WY from Jackson, WY ($100 pp one-way bus or more) that may drive right past South Pass City, WY on the way to Lander, WY from Jackson, WY. Also an expensive way to travel from New Mexico.
I'm not showing anything about that Greyhound bus stop that used to be stopping in Cuba, NM to be in existence anymore. Evidently From what I've been able to gather, Greyhound bought that bus line that once served Cuba, NM, then closed that route down.
There's also a seasonal summer flight into West Yellowstone but on a northbound flip from New Mexico, West Yellowstone would seem to be too far north and may run into considerable snow in the Winds. That's the way I view it anyhow. If the flip had to go that far north, possibly better just to flip up to the Canadian border and start south on July 1st.
If anyone has more options or more info about transport from northern New Mexico up to someplace north of Rawlins, WY please speak up. Thanks.
Datto
Bus service mentioned above going from Riverton, WY and Jackson, WY to Lander, WY:
Wind River Transit Authority
http://www.wrtabuslines.com/
Datto
oso loco
02-11-2010, 14:03
Getting to Chama around the first wk of June, taking a couple of days to get up to the GB, and then hiking SOBO.
That'll buy you one week more or less before you're in the snow again.
camojack
02-11-2010, 15:37
Shh! I'm aiming for the pity angle! :)
Good luck with that. Just last week you were saying how much you like Winter.
BTW, I did hike to the alpine lake on the Big Island (http://www.lakelubbers.com/lake-waiau-214/)...yesterday. :sun
(Maybe I'll post some pictures when I get back. To Winter... :()
Good luck with that. Just last week you were saying how much you like Winter.
Read the thread again. I do like winter. Rather much. Your alpine lake shows no snow...and skiing cruddy corn snow once-in-a-blue-moon does not count as good skiing. :) The pity angle comment is a joke.
Just that there has been a barrage of people asking "Can I hike the CDT/CT in May?". Last year..and again this year.
And the answer is "No" for 99% of people.
That'll buy you one week more or less before you're in the snow again.
Indeed. You'll be in the Zirkel Wilderness in a short bit. This photo is from the Buffalo Pass on the CDT ("only" 9000' IIRC ) on July 4th weekend one snowy year (there was a snow dump in May IIRC):
http://www.pmags.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=10401&g2_serialNumber=4&g2_GALLERYSID=fde03312c0d87a62df0b0e1d9c4998d0
Mags, I'm an arrogant, perhaps ignorant, 1 %. How about June? VERY IFFY in CO is my take? Taking a wait and see until the last minute approach. Don't expect to get an accurate pic until mid NM on a NOBO CDT hike. Any comment on Oso Loco's post about getting right back into snow if I was to jump up from Chama to Big Sandy/Rawlins/Great Basin area and heading back south.
Mags, I heard that if any CDTers encountered high snow levels and had to wait it out we all could stay at your place. Is that right? I heard you were getting a hot tub too.
camojack
02-11-2010, 18:18
Read the thread again. I do like winter. Rather much. Your alpine lake shows no snow...and skiing cruddy corn snow once-in-a-blue-moon does not count as good skiing. :) The pity angle comment is a joke.
Just that there has been a barrage of people asking "Can I hike the CDT/CT in May?". Last year..and again this year.
And the answer is "No" for 99% of people.
Fact is, I've never been skiing here on the Big Island, but sometimes there is actually fresh powder...they call it "Pineapple Powder". :p
Anyway, as for no snow in the Lake Waiau picture, try THESE (http://volcanoimage.smugmug.com/Hawaii/Mauna-Kea-and-Lake-Waiau/7692597_6aMCu#496994704_WiTBT)... ;)
Mags, I'm an arrogant, perhaps ignorant, 1 %. How about June? VERY IFFY in CO is my take?
That photo was from a pass just south of the WYO/CO border. So yeah, late June is gonna be iffy..esp that far north. It all depends on the year.
GENERALLY speaking, the high country does not open up until late June/early July. As the photo above shows, though, a late snow dump can change the equation.
Camo.. I like winter. You like Hawaii. I get it. But, you are probably the first person in history to try convince people to come to a tropical island because of the small amount of irregular snow ?!?!? Esp if you don't backcountry ski?!??! :) Colorado gets 100F temps once-in-a-great while, too. Doesn't mean it is typical. Cripe.
camojack
02-13-2010, 05:02
Camo.. I like winter. You like Hawaii. I get it. But, you are probably the first person in history to try convince people to come to a tropical island because of the small amount of irregular snow ?!?!? Esp if you don't backcountry ski?!??! :) Colorado gets 100F temps once-in-a-great while, too. Doesn't mean it is typical. Cripe.
100 degrees? No thanks, my friend. It might get as high as 90 here sometimes, but it's not (usually) a hot, sticky 90 when it does.
Anyway, for the record, I like Colorado too...but for different reasons, at different times. I have been skiing at (just about) all of the major resorts there. Backcountry skiing, not so much. My only point was that there IS the occasional option to ski here too.
It's all good... :o
BUMP
No..hiking a 14er in Colorado in May with your friend from sea level is not a good idea. Esp is she has no snow experience. Oh she couldn't complete a local mtn bike loop 9000' lower last time she was here? And an easy one at that? Definitely not a good idea then....
Oh, it happens to be her 40th b-day during the two days or so she is here and she is insistent? Well then...golly gee..I guess she'll magically be able to do it then. :banana
(Sorry..just amused. Every year around this time there seems to be the same set of questions... :) )
Cranky bump there punkin boy.:)
Cranky bump there punkin boy.:)
I figure there are more those people lurking out there.. :)
I am in too good of a mood to be cranky. My first time in a climbing gym (hell climbing) in prep for some possible alpine climbing this summer. 14 mile ski tour this Saturday....
I love having friends with a wide range of outdoor skills. ;)