From: ajs@hpfcdt.HP.COM (Alan Silverstein)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 87 12:13:13 MDT
Subject: Trip report: Snowmass Mountain
Newsgroups: hpnc.general

Saturday - Monday, September 5 - 7: Snowmass Mountain (14092')

We held a virtual reunion of the Challenger Point memorial climbers with one addition and one substitution. Despite an early start and a quick drive (just four hours) to Glenwood Springs, I was half an hour behind the rest of the group. Jim Baer, Barbara Roach, and her nephew Bart left their Subaru at the general store in Marble (7950'), 262 miles from Fort Collins, which told me the group had gone on ahead.

I four-wheeled along with zillions of other Labor Day weekenders through Crystal, site of the famous mill, 6.0 miles up a moderate but narrow road along the Crystal River. The stream is well-named for the light color of the bedrocks and the bluish clarity they impart to the otherwise-typical mountain runoff. Beyond Crystal the "road" is quite rotten and slow (~32 minutes) to go another 2.5 miles to the marked parking area and trailhead in Lead King Basin, 9700'.

Here I met up with the three and also their hitchhikees, Ron Miller and Ted, Chuchang, and Clifton Manahan. I took a bit longer than they to pack and followed them up the trail at 1546. The route is obvious and easy all the way to Geneva Lake, about 2.5 miles and a fairly steady gain of only ~1250', with switchbacks, to 10936'.

The hike to the lake and beyond to Siberia Lake is through a series of glacial basins separated by fairly steep walls. This time of year the basins are quite pretty with tall gold, orange, and even lime brush, old flowers, and green willows. There are a number of waterfalls along the way but the trail doesn't get close to them. At one point there is a great view through nearby hillsides of the west side of the Maroon Bells about eight miles away. At least it would have been spectacular if not so hazy (then and through the weekend) due to distant but massive California forest fires.

I reached a marked camping area above Geneva Lake at 1715 to find the others had already pitched four tents. I added my fifth between some tall pines overlooking the gorgeous green lake ringed by golden grasses. The serene and magnificent late-day views of Snowmass looming across the lake from the south end will stick in my mind a while.

We had a leisurely Saturday evening and got a late start up the mountain Sunday morning at 0730, almost an hour after sunrise. It was cool and increasingly cloudy through the day but surprisingly dry. We followed a good, narrow footpath north towards Little Gem and Siberia Lakes, but turned off it to the east to drop about 200' into and then cross the valley floor.

Once across we found the climbing had only two descriptions: steep, and steeper. First we rock-whacked up talus boulders NNE to a narrow gully just south of the main west ridge. Then, on the solider rock of "the mountain itself", we remained spread out sideways somewhat to reduce rockfall hazard, and attacked the very steep hillside. Personally I like ridges, so I mainly stayed right on the crest, which is more inclined than prominent.

It's really not hard climbing a very steep mountain. Of course you mustn't mind the view down, and it's a lot of effort lugging yourself up, but it's not *hard*. Just exhilarating. Three of us six felt a little slower so we lagged behind as a separate party. When we had breath to spare we commiserated about the lousy visibility, no more than ten miles, we later decided looking at the rest of the Elk Range.

Our ascent ridge dead-ended at a T intersection with the summit ridge. It's a complex arrangement with lots of "character". I broke off to turn left and visit the north sub-peak first, 14000+'. I reached it at 1102, having taken about 3:30 to climb about 3300' total.

It's a small and pointy summit, just right for surveying the scenery: Snowmass Mountain south, Capitol farther to the north, and the expanse of the famous snowfields for which the mountain is named, quite large even in late summer. A number of climbers were visible crossing it up from Snowmass Lake -- the long way, 12 miles from trailhead to peak, which I don't recommend, having done it two years earlier.

I spent only ten minutes on the sub-peak. I was tireder than usual, but the climbing was good, fun, and challenging. I watched and exchanged hollers with the others on the main peak. Crossing back to it took only twenty minutes -- ten down to the saddle, then ten up a very narrow, jagged, and exposed ridge to the summit itself at 1132.

It was great returning only a couple of years after the first time. The peak of Snowmass is a small, narrow bit of ridge with rapid dropoffs and a prominent summit boulder. On top before me, the others met a lady who'd climbed Challenger Point a week after we placed the plaque on it, and who'd removed the black plastic I'd left over the fresh cement.

We hung around for a while enjoying the view, such as it was, then broke up again. Three people headed for the north peak, two others started down, and I remained until 1227. 55 minutes on top was not enough time to get bored with it -- but then there never seems to be enough of that precious summit time. I mosied back (if you can call this exciting sort of ridge traversal "moseying") and joined up with the threesome after they returned to the saddle. We met the rest of our party going down...

Just in time to get adventurous and descend via a steep, rotten, debris-filled gash to the right of the main ridgeline. Below it, we bouldered all the way down to the shore of Siberia Lake, ~11840', at 1455. By unspoken consensus we took a long break on the edge of this placid pond. Return to camp was anticlimactic but still lovely through the tundra and pine glades. We met again there at 1625, 8:55 after departing.

Now I was typically gung-ho about packing out that evening. But being unusually tired I elected to hang around another night with the rest. Again it was a mellow evening. In the morning I headed out a bit before them, traipsing back to the trailhead from 0852 to 0947. It was colder and wetter, and still depressingly smoky. After the others arrived we unwound down the "road" back to Marble, except Ron departed for Schofield Pass.