Ski descent of Longs Peak's North Face: May 27th, 2010

Given the great weather and abundance of snow in Rocky Mountain National Park a good friend and I decided it would be the perfect day to ski the North Face of Longs Peak.  We had a solid freeze the night before. So the snow was pretty frozen and firm climbing at 6 am. The approach went quick and we were above treeline before long. Currently there is a solid snow pack from the Boulderfieled to the top of the North Face. The Chasm View area is under a big drift which made travel quick and enjoyable.

Along the way, there were signs of heavy melt with reminisce of older debris, mostly involved with the new/old interface. We found mild temps and moderate winds with broken skies on the summit at 9am. It was the perfect morning to be on top of RMNP's 14eer.  The snow was chalky on the descent. Unfortunately, we didn't get the buttery corn that we were looking for but fun nonetheless. We noticed that there are only two eye bolts showing at the moment but I'm sure this will change as warmer temps continue to rapidly melt the existing snow.

All in all, the entire route is mostly skiable to the parking lot. We only had to walk from the .5 mile sign to the car. It's a great time for ski mountaineering in RMNP. Get out and get after it! Give the Colorado Mountain School a call if you're looking for a guide and keep checking back in with our blog for updates throughout the spring.

Joey Thompson
CMS Guide
AMGA Certified Rock Guide
jthompson@totalclimbing.com
www.totalclimbing.com
800.836.4008

RMNP Conditions Update - May 27

Andrew here, reporting in after a gorgeous day in the Park!  We went up to ski the Notchtop Couloir today, reaching the top at 9am.  Due to cloud cover and strong winds (of course) we sat and waited 45 minutes for the snow to soften up.  When it did, the skiing was amazing...perfect corn from top to bottom.  We skinned/climbed back up Ptarmigan Glacier and skied the steep, westernmost Finger.  Still under cloudy skies and cooler temps, we went back up again and skied Tyndall Glacier back to the Bear Lake TH.  Only once we hit 10,500' did the snow become wet, sticky and heavy...otherwise we enjoyed near-perfect conditions on a warm, beautiful day. 

We were able to get in a fair amount of skiing today but only because high clouds kept the sun's intensity at bay.  We observed no avalanche activity today other than the odd sluff from our turns.  However, in the very recent past (possibly yesterday) we have had many cornices collapse.  We're talking HUGE cornices here.  The entire width of the middle Finger has a large cornice on it, about 1/2 of which collapsed a few days ago leaving behind huge, car-sized blocks all the way down to the tarn.  Large cracks are evidence that many of the hanging cornices are on the verge of collapse.  These are everywhere. 

Another cornice collapsed next to the Notchtop Couloir, we think yesterday.  This in turn triggered a very large avalanche with a crown that was from 2' to 6' deep.  There was an amazing amount of debris.  It would have been a fatal avalanche had anyone been under it.  We don't usually see crowns of this size in late May but it just goes to show how prevalent the new snow combined with the winds have been.  There are many wind-loaded pockets directly underneath cornices just waiting for a sudden load.  We could get nothing to move under our weight but compared to a cornice we are about as heavy as dried leaves.

We saw other crowns around the Ptarmigan Fingers, all appearing to have been triggered by cornice fall.  The story was the same on the Tyndall Glacier as well.  The traits seem to follow a trend, at least: N-NE facing slopes, steep, above 11,000' and with cornices on top.  I've posted some photos here to give you an idea.  These are substantial avalanches that would pose a threat to skiers/climbers alike.  As it was, we scooted out from underneath any cornices as quickly as possible and skied with extreme caution.  In the end we were rewarded with one of the best days either of us has had all year.

Check out our Conditions Report page for further, more climbing-related updates.  Thanks for reading!

RMNP Conditions Report - May 21st, 2010

Climbing is one of the few sports in which the arena (the cliffs, the mountains and their specific routes) acquire a notoriety that outpopulates, outshines and outlives the actual athletes.

-- Jonathan Waterman

It’s true. How many routes in Eldo or on the Diamond have a reputation that far exceeds the reputations of the climbers who did the first ascent? Sometimes the legends of both are so intertwined it’s impossible to think of one without the other. Think Hillary and Everest, for example. But more often than not, we know much, much more about the peak, the route, or the scary pitches than the people who climbed them first. I’m sure that annoys some climbers but I think it’s appropriate. It puts the mountains on a pedestal they deserve, in my opinion. Forget about those of us who mar them with our grimy hands and triumph over our little accomplishments. The purity, rawness and beauty of the mountains will long outlast any of us. We will come and go but, for the most part, the mountains will remain the same (maybe a little less snowy). That is an encouraging thought (except for the climate change part).

It’s been a busy week here at the School where many of us have been out climbing and skiing in the perfect weather. “Perfect,” you snort? Well, sure: it snows and we go skiing; the brilliant sun rages through the clouds, dries everything up, and we go climbing. The mountains dictate and demand obedience. To those willing to listen there is no such thing as a “shoulder season.” Powder (in May!) and corn skiing have been good so far this month. The temps are cold and crisp in the various canyons, making rock climbing superb.

This time of year, the snow/skiing/climbing conditions change very rapidly and I do my best to keep up. If you’ve looked at an extended forecast recently, you’ll see that it’s hard to predict weather this time of year too. In the last week we’ve had incredible, perfect-weather days…and we’ve had heinously wintery weather. The Park is working hard to open Trail Ridge Road but, to my knowledge, they are still not yet to the Alpine Visitor Center. The road had been open off and on to Rainbow Curve. Even from this point, it’s easy to access the instant alpine that Trail Ridge offers on Sundance. Of course, the weather this time of year is always rather jumpy. The extended forecast promises another week of mixed weather, which is typical for May. What has been a bit surprising (even for a hardened Estes local like me) has been the high winds lately. I mean, we’re talking mid-winter-style winds. With the last storm came winds gusting to 80mph in the Longs Peak arena. This weekend looks to be windy as well, so hold on to yer hats!

I spent a couple days in the Chasm Cirque this week, right in the middle of the last storm that came through. The forecasted snow (up to 7”) didn’t happen but we did rec’v about 3-4” of new during Tuesday night. We camped near Chasm Lake with the intentions of climbing something on Wednesday, but the mountains clearly had other plans. As we crawled into our sleeping bags at 8pm we heard a party of climbers pass by, no doubt returning to the trailhead from an epic. A moderately violent thunderstorm came over Longs on Tuesday afternoon. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere up high. As it was, the simultaneous flash-booms sent us scurrying. It seems to me that the May thunderstorms are some of the worst!

Longs is very snow-covered on it’s N, E and W faces(I didn’t get a look at the S or SW aspects). All climbing routes look to be in full-winter conditions. “Stettners” actually looks like it’d be an awesome mixed-climbing adventure! We put in an attempt on “Marthas” but the winds loaded it with what little snow we did get Tuesday night, making drifts 8-10” deep. This made climbing conditions less than ideal but that isn’t what turned us around. The nuclear winds took care of that. Check it out, there’s a cool little mixed route right of “Marthas” too (see the photo below). With south-facing routes still having so much coverage I wouldn’t even consider north-facing routes like “Dreamweaver” just yet.

Skiing is still the activity of choice for the Park right now. The Loft, “Flying Dutchman,” and Lambslide all looked like good skiing. Chasm Lake is still plenty frozen, making access easy and quick. There’s still snow to the trailheads at 9500’ though it’s going to melting quickly in the coming warmth. So it’s possible to ski from summits to trailheads. Hopefully we’ll get a good melt-freeze cycle going and enjoy the corn skiing that will produce. As the term implies, a melt-freeze cycle is clearly, clearly dependent on temps; a clear, warm day followed by a clear, cold night is the ticket.  Cloudy coverage insulates and often impedes the freezing process.  This time of year it’s easy to forget that avalanches are still possible. We rec’d a cautionary e-mail this week about some weak layers found in the high alpine, notably on Longs. Trust me, I tried sleeping in it, the alpine is still plenty winter. I’m still unclear if the rescue on Copeland last weekend was due to an avalanche or not but let’s not get careless out there.

I expect an update from the Longs area in the near future. I’ll repost when I get it. If you have any observations to share or have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me at acouncell@totalclimbing.com. Again, this is the time of year when conditions are rapidly changing and can be difficult to keep up with. That’s my disclaimer! :) Thanks for reading and I wish you excellence in your adventures this weekend!

Andrew Councell is a CMS Guide and year-round Estes Park resident

Join Us June 12th and Help Fight Ovarian Cancer: HERA Climb 4 Life 2010

Climb, hike, and fight ovarian cancer one foot at a time!  Raise funds and awareness for ovarian cancer the weekend of June 11 & 12. Presented by REI, Boulder Rock Club and Colorado Mountain School, the hiking trail options vary in length and technical challenge, while the crag options provide a world-class rock climbing experience for participants at every ability level, even those who have never climbed before.

New this year are the skills clinics taught by pros, such as bouldering with Jason Kehl & Olivia Hsu, and wilderness first aid basics with AC Robertson.   The early registration fee is only $60 and
also includes yoga, massage, breakfast, dinner, goodie bag, gear giveaway entry, parties, and more!

Other sponsors & gear donors include: Avery Brewing Company, Black Diamond, BlueWater Ropes, Marmot, Mammut, ACOPA, Timbuk2, Stonewear Designs, Petzl, Mountain Khaki's, Sigg, Keen, The Alpine Training Center, and Lululemon Athletica.

Fundraising for HERA’s programs for ovarian cancer research grants and education and awareness initiatives is the cornerstone of the Climb for Life events, and we encourage everyone to raise at least $250. As an added incentive, for every $100 you raise for HERA between March 11-June 11, 2010, you will receive one additional entry into the gear giveaway. Awesome prizes will also be awarded to the top 3 individual fundraisers and the top fundraising team.

For more information and registration go to: HERA

RMNP Conditions Update - May 14th, 2010

Cancelled work due to weather meant a little ski time in RMNP today. The day started out beautifully but, as had been the pattern lately, the fog rolled in around 3pm.  I headed up to the Ptarmigan Fingers area to get a look-see at how its shaping up. En route I witnessed a large point release on Notchtop’s “Spiral Route” sweep pretty much the entire East Meadows.

There was hardly a slope in sight that didn’t have new debris on it. I dug a quick pit during which time I counted almost 20 avalanches. A small chunk of cornice broke off one of the Fingers and triggered an avalanche which then caused a small slab to cut loose (R1). It wasn’t impressive when it started but the debris pile and entrained snow amounted to a big avalanche that went pretty much all the way to the tarn below Notchtop.

It was insanely hot while I was skinning up but once I stopped to dig the pit the valley fog rolled in and the temps quickly dropped to below freezing. When I finished the pit, I was definitely not going to ski the Ptarmigans after what I’d seen in the area and in the pit, so I went down Tyndall Glacier instead. It was snowing fairly hard, near-zero visibility and the snow was still very wet, heavy, and deep. Aside from being unable to see because of thick fog and rain/snow-covered glasses, the ski down to Emerald Lake was uneventful.

The moral of the story is that the alpine is shedding heavily and probably will only continue to do so through the weekend and into next week with the high temps. Hopefully we’ll get freezes at night and have a chance at enjoying the snow for a few hours in the morning at least. The North Face of Longs was socked in for most of the day but looked totally covered top-to-bottom. There’s good coverage from trailheads to anywhere, no need to walk the skis at all. It’s possible to hike trails without flotation but you’d want it if you made your own way.

If you want more info, feel free to e-mail me at acouncell@totalclimbing.com.  Thanks for reading!  -- Andrew Councell

Life at the Boulderfield Hotel on Longs Peak

story by Jenn Fields for the Boulder Daily Camera

I wish there was still a "hotel" on the Boulderfield on Longs Peak. And a cable car to it from the trailhead.

I don't really want that. I just got spoiled living in Chamonix last summer. But that's a different story.

Still, wouldn't it be fab if you could get a coffee and a slice of cake partway up Longs Peak? The deliciousness of the idea is part of the reason why I've been into the Colorado Mountain Journal's (coloradomountainjournal.com) series from the memoirs of Hull Cook, a guide who worked at the Boulderfield Shelter Cabin in the early 1930s.

Cook's stories from the "hotel" -- a 14-by-18-foot building at 12,750 feet on the flank of Longs -- feel relevant now but still surprise. I nod knowingly as he tells about the hotel's roof being ripped off by the wind the first winter, leaving behind a stone cube packed with snow. I think of modern tourists when he tells a story about literally carrying slow clients on his shoulder. And I wince at the lightning stories, having had my own close calls.

The cabin -- which stood on the Boulderfield for 10 years and served clients being guided up the Cables Route on the north side of Longs... read more
 

---

The Colorado Mountain School brings a taste of the past to the present:
As the only guide service allowed to do technical guiding in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Colorado Mountain School will be running biweekly two day Longs Peak Camps from June through September.  The main goal is to teach individuals the basics for climbing Longs Peak, have an overnight experience in the Boulderfields, and to attempt a route on Longs Peak.  Click here for more details.
 
Call us today to register for this or any other outing.
 
Thanks,
 
Colorado Mountain School Staff
800-836-4008 x3

RMNP Conditions Report - May 11, 2010 (UPDATED May 12th)

Death and/or old age is coming...we must live sweet.
The time is now.
Why ration passion?
Dream big…and climb those dreams.

After all, it is not only life, but the quality of this life.

from Mike Libecki’s home page

 

I love that: “Why ration passion?” I know I’m not terribly smart (ie, I am a mountain guide) but it’s never made any sense to me why people spend two-thirds of their lives living desperately to enjoy the final third. No way Jose! Life is now! And it’s so short anyway, there’s no room for rationing passion. Whatever faculties you’re currently able to exercise, enjoy them to the fullest because the day is coming when they will fade. Some people think that’s depressing but not me. It’s liberating! That acute realization funnels my focus, channels it, burns away the useless periphery of my life and frees me to make the most of the times I’ve been given. Every day becomes precious. “We must live sweet…” I love it.

Anyway, I’ve recently returned from an excellent 2-week skiing/climbing trip in western Canada. The weather is always funky up there this time of year but we managed to send. Wait, the weather is funky in all mountainous areas this time of year! That’s the big news at the moment, this incoming winter storm. True, when thinking of May we don’t typically think of big snowstorms but, c’mon, this isn’t uncommon. Remember May of 2002? Remember last year? Most people are complaining. I just don’t understand why. We live in the mountains, and it snows in mountains all over the world. It can snow any month of the year around here. I hear that Florida rarely see snow if you’re one of those who doesn’t like snow. :)

It’s true, it’s snowing. It began last night here in Estes, spitting gently and then quit. We awoke to a misty morning and very light precipitation of some sort. It hasn’t stopped all day and the precip has slowly turned to snow. As I write this, there is already 2-3” of snow on the ground with plenty more forecasted to come. The last “big” storm proved disappointing and in the tradition of this season, I won’t be holding my breath. At any rate, this new snow will only prolong the spring ski season (which is great right now, btw) and delay the incoming climbing season.

Speaking of climbing, CMS Guide Bob Chase has had a couple of good days this past week. He guided a couple of routes on Flattop one day: a variation of the South Face route as well as something on the North Face. They were originally headed for the Dragontail Couloir but there was enough snow and wind to create dangerous avalanche conditions high in the couloir so they shifted to the South Face. There they found new snow ranging from 2-15” deep, but it all seemed well-bonded despite being so variable. Bob was surprised to find nearly identical conditions on the North Face of Flattop as well. Later he was on Mt. Lady Washington’s “Martha’s Couloir,” sitting directly north of Chasm Lake. I climbed this a few weeks ago and it was almost entirely ice. Bob writes, “The route is in winter conditions (to be read as ‘wallow-fest’!). We pitched the whole thing due to avy concerns, though I never saw any signs of instability. Except for about 50 feet of mixed climbing (in 3 sections), the whole route is snow right now. If all the snow was perfect neve the route would be stellar. As it is, I can’t say it comes highly recommended at the moment.” This is from a few days ago.

Snow-cover on the trails in the Park is slowly receding but resurge with each snowfall. Many of the trails can be boot-packed but it’s still helpful to have slowshoes for the approach to some areas. Bob, for example, recommended them for the Longs Peak trail. Clearly, 2’ of new snow will mandate some kind of flotation though there is NO DOUBT IN MY MIND that I will see someone in jeans and white New Balance running shoes post-holing up there tomorrow.

Avalanche danger will also probably spike with this storm. Lots of snow + short period of time = instability. However, given the relative warmth of this storm, it’s likely to bond to the old snow surface decently well and the avy danger may quickly drop 24-36 hours after the snow stops. As with most spring storms, when the snow will actually stop may be hard to determine. It’s probably best to tread lightly until you’re sure of the stability or lack thereof. I will be out tomorrow and will be sure to update when I get back. Weather does look to be better for the weekend, especially from Sunday onwards.

CMS Guide Joey Thompson was also up in the Park today, guiding an alpine route…actually, it sounds like he was on the South Face variation that Bob was on earlier. He said it was awesome, that they climbed into the cloud and found decent climbing conditions. Joey said that the snow was coming down pretty hard, he’s camped out up here tonight and we’ll be skiing the goods manana fo’ sho’!

UPDATE May 12th – We got about 14” here in town overnight; that’s 14” of wet, heavy spring snow. Fortunately, since it was so wet, it didn’t make driving much of a challenge. Nevertheless, the Park didn’t open up to road to Bear Lake TH until a little after 9:30. Trail Ridge Road wasn’t opened until after that, closed at Deer Ridge. By noon, the roads were bone dry. We’d all hoped the sun would remain cloaked in thick, misty clouds and allow us to reap the goods before it got too warm. Due to the mandated late start, many of the higher alpine objectives were not safe to ski because, of course, the sun did come out in force for most of the day. We observed instability on steep test slopes of all aspects but especially on solars. Still, we were able to ski good snow in good terrain safely. We witnessed a number of large avalanches throughout today, again on all aspects but especially the solars. The main event was when 4 skiers opted to ski the Dragontail Couloir at 1pm!! Four of us guides saw people dropping in from the top and we said, “Oh no, they can’t be serious.” Indeed they were. It wasn’t long until they triggered a very large avalanche (R4-D2-3) that entrained a lot of snow as it came racing down at a surprising clip. Fortunately no one was caught. Another pair of skiers tried to ski in from the climbers’ right entrance. A ski cut produced yet another substantial avalanche that completely cleaned out the couloir, leaving behind a hard, icy bed-surface. This caused them to climb back up to the top and ski the Corral Couloir instead. Choosing instead to live sweetly AND avoid death (at least a while longer), we skied steep N-facing slopes that held good, shaded snow and proved much more stable. I realize we all expected overcast and cooler conditions but, c’mon, skiing steep south-facing couloirs on a day like today is just asking for it. I’m being judgemental perhaps but I was nervous for those people and from the way they were skiing, they were plenty nervous as well. Yipes! Around 2pm, the clouds started rolling in from the valley again. By 3pm, it was complete whiteout conditions at Emerald Lake. The snow began to fall around 3pm as well and is still coming down hard here in town. Maybe tomorrow will be a repeat of today? Stay tuned… 

If you’ve been out in the Park, it’d be great to hear what you saw. This report relies heavily on observations from others so any help is always appreciated. To share your obs or if you have any questions, need beta, whatever…feel free to e-mail me at acouncell@totalclimbing.com. Thanks for reading and take care!

Andrew Councell 

CMS Guide

AMGA Certified Rock Guide

acouncell@totalclimbing.com

www.totalclimbing.com

Valdez Skiing Expedition

It is hard to call a trip like this an "expedition".  Many times when individuals hear the word expedition images of tents, freeze dried food, and language barriers come to mind.  This trip is far from that.  We stay at a local Bed and Breakfast.  We eat home cooked meals, and since we are in Alaska everyone speaks english.  This year we ran two full trips up to Valdez on our Heli-ski Mountaineering trip.  Below are a few photos:

Arrival

Heading in to ski

Skiing fresh pow

Moving to the next run

More skiing.

The overall size of this place is unbelievable.  You can easily get 2000' vertical in one run.  Hopefully these next photos will help you understand the size of this place.

Can't be that far away. huh?

Can you still see the helicopter?

How about now?

Both trips ran great.  All the clients were a blast to work with.  Besides a little bad weather, and some baggage issues, the trips went off without any major problems.  I'll be adding a link to some more photos in the coming days.  Thanks to Kevan Dee for these photos.  Keep an eye out for next year's trip.  Hopefully you can join us.

Thanks,

E.J. Nogaski

Expedition Manager

Colorado Mountain School

800-836-4008 x201

Boulder Rock Club Crew Gets Outside

Tom has been an instructor at the BRC for 7 years (he started when he was 15), but has never led a climb outdoors. Tom is an accomplished indoor climber and plenty strong, but never acquired the skills needed. We practiced at the BRC in the morning working on how to clip draws, building safe anchors, and cleaning routes. That afternoon we went to the Riviera and Tom safely led 4 climbs and cleaned all the anchors. He even lead a 5.10!