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
No comments:
Post a Comment