SNOWMASS MOUNTAIN
14,092 ft.
August 1, 2000
By Tim Briese
Snowmass Mountain was a 14er I had long looked forward to climbing, for I was eager to see the beautiful backcountry scenery that this climb is renowned for. I had always planned to climb Snowmass from the traditional Snowmass Lake approach, but as the weeks of summer went by, I had trouble finding the time for the long backpack required. I reluctantly resigned myself to climb Snowmass using the shorter, more expedient route from the other side past Geneva Lake, saving Snowmass Lake for another time. This route was supposed to be less scenic, but it turned out that I was pleasantly surprised.
My dog Allie and I left home after lunch on the last day of July and made the long drive out to Glenwood Springs and then south into the mountains to Marble. It was nice to see that beautiful country again, for it had been several years since I had been there. From Marble I headed east on a dirt road and after a mile turned left at a fork and followed a very reasonable four wheel drive road toward the Lead King Basin trailhead. Although the road was steep in places and rather rough, its surface was mostly dirt, which is much more forgiving than the rough rocky surfaces found on many four wheel drive roads. The right fork of the road would have also taken me to the trailhead, but I had heard that it was much rougher toward the end and best avoided.
As I followed the road up over a divide I admired meadows full of wildflowers with gorgeous mountain backdrops. Snowmass Mountain lay off to the northeast bathed in the late day sun as I descended numerous switchbacks to the trailhead in the valley below. The sun was just setting as I reached the trailhead. I set up my tent on a flat spot nearby and took off at dusk on a short hike up the trail to preview it for an early morning start. Even in the faint light I could see that this basin was a beautiful place. Mountain climbing has taken me to so many spectacular places!
I noticed in the trailhead register that most hikers had listed Geneva Lake as their destination. Only four hikers in the previous two weeks had indicated they were climbing Snowmass Mountain from this trailhead. That concerned me a bit. Why didn’t more people use this route to climb Snowmass, when it has the obvious advantage of being much shorter than the Snowmass Lake route? Then I recalled the guidebooks’ cautions about loose rock on this route and the need for careful routefinding. I suppose it’s no wonder that I didn’t sleep too well that night.
I rose at 4:30, broke camp, and waited for the first hint of dawn in the starfilled sky. At 5:15 I struck off up the trail, using my flashlight for the first 20 minutes or so. The lush, waist-high vegetation reminded me of Chicago Basin the year before. The trail soon switchbacked up a steep slope past a waterfall on the right. From here I could see the Maroon Bells up the Crystal River valley to the southeast.
I admired the dark emerald green water of Geneva Lake as I hiked past it around 6:15. Allie and I startled a deer getting a drink at the water’s edge, and it quickly bounded off into the woods. The rising sun was just beginning to shine on the surrounding summits. The sky was cloudless but somewhat hazy because of massive forest fires burning in the western United States.
At the lake’s upper end there was an unmarked fork in the trail, and I chose the left fork and continued on up the valley toward Little Gem Lake. The trail contoured along a slope on the west side of the valley, high above the valley floor. Snowmass loomed ahead about a mile away on the opposite side of the valley. I studied the west slope of Snowmass as I approached, selecting my line up the steep face.
Soon I passed beautiful Little Gem Lake, and noted magnificent stands of wildflowers spread profusely throughout the surrounding meadows in regal array. I lost sight of Allie from time to time as she ran about through the tall, lush plants. The trail was good to this point, but it quickly faded out after the lake, and all of a sudden the hike turned into a bushwhack.
About two hundred yards north of the lake I turned to the right, directly toward the middle of Snowmass’ west face. The face looked steep and imposing. There were a series of ribs alternating with shallow gullies running vertically up and down the face of the mountain. Most bothersome, though, was a broken cliff band that guards the entire west face at about 12,700 feet. I could see only one reasonable route through the cliffs that didn’t appear to require serious rock climbing. It went up through a patch of green vegetation in the middle of the cliff band, the only greenery visible that high up on the mountain’s face.
From my vantage point north of Little Gem Lake where I stood studying my route, I descended about a hundred feet to the rocky valley floor, and then began climbing up on scree and talus toward the cliff band. The greenery turned out to be a patch of small leafy plants thriving on water seeping out of the rocks. I climbed up through this area on easy ledges to the rocks above. A faint trail here told me that others had passed this way before. I consider this passage through the cliff band the key to the entire route. Perhaps there were other feasible routes, but I did not see them.
I entered a gully above the cliff band and followed it directly up toward the summit. A little trickle of water was running down through it. As I scrambled up the gully it reminded me of the gully on Little Bear, where the best holds were sometimes right in the water. Other portions of it reminded me of the south couloir of the Crestone Needle.
The entire mountainside seemed covered with loose rock, up to the size of large boulders. It is fortunate that this route is lightly climbed, for there could be the danger of climbers above knocking rocks loose. I had my helmet along but never deemed it necessary to wear. Although the rock was loose, rockfall was not a great concern to me because the rocks were mostly chunks of angular granite, which tend to not roll far.
The greater concern may have been rockslides, in which numerous rocks shift at once. I’m sure rockslides occur from time to time on those steep slopes, but probably rarely in any given place. I noticed a uniform growth of lichen on the rocks in most places, indicating they hadn’t moved in years, or decades. In some places the upper rock surfaces were much cleaner with little lichen, indicating some movement in recent years. These observations made the odds of being caught in a rockslide appear very low. Several times I stepped or pulled on rocks that teetered a bit under my weight, so I proceeded cautiously to avoid rolling one onto myself or losing my balance. I found it necessary to use my hands on much of the climb.
There was no trail to follow on those rocky slopes. Although a few cairns were scattered about here and there, they seemed to be of little use. At about 13,700 feet the gully steepened considerably so I scrambled up onto a rib to the right. I had to carefully select a route up this steep rib that was feasible for Allie and I to climb. When I reached the summit ridge I burst into sunshine for the first time and was greeted by a magnificent view of Hagerman Peak a half mile to the southeast.
At 9:45 I scrambled up over the last few rocks to the summit of my 49th 14er. And what a magnificent summit it was! It consisted of an exciting narrow ridge, with solid white-colored rock, and incredible views all around. About three miles away to the north was Capitol Peak, with the rugged walls of its impressive south face, and the Pierre Lakes below. In the near foreground was the jagged north ridge of Snowmass. To the east lay the valley of Snowmass Creek and Snowmass Lake. A light breeze was gently rippling the surface of the lake 3000 feet below. Perhaps the most impressive sight of all was the cliffy summit of Hagerman Peak off to the southeast. Below it to the left lay the massive snowfield from which Snowmass Mountain derives its name. It is said to be the largest glacier in Colorado. I had seen it numerous times over the years from far away while on the summits of other mountains. Beyond in the distance were the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak. To the southwest lay Geneva Lake and the beautiful valley I had hiked up. It was a spectacular panorama all around! This was perhaps the finest summit view I had seen on any 14er.
I noticed in the climbing log that nearly 100 people had climbed Snowmass during the previous two weeks. Nearly all had apparently used the Snowmass Lake approach. There had been two climbers from Israel, one from England, one from Mexico, and others from all over the United States. People come from far and wide to visit this magnificent place. It is truly one of Colorado’s great treasures.
The rugged Elk Range that I was standing in the middle of is one of the most beautiful and interesting in the state. There is a great variety of color in these mountains, from the dark red of the Maroon Bells to the white rock of Snowmass Mountain to the gray granite of Capitol Peak. Climbing Snowmass is one of the best ways to see this beautiful area because it stands in the middle of it all and is somewhat easier to climb than the other difficult 14ers nearby.
I was the first one to sign the log on this morning, and Allie and I had the summit all to ourselves. It was a pleasant 47 degrees with a slight breeze blowing from the north as I lounged about in the warm sunshine. I had planned on spending only a short time on the summit, but I was so enthralled by this place and the magnificent views that I tarried a while. I knew I would like to visit this summit again, perhaps approaching from Snowmass Lake next time. I studied the route up from that side to the extent I could see it, and it looked like fun, especially the class three scramble up the southeast summit ridge.
At 10:15 I left the summit and began a careful descent back down the west slope. I followed my route up, with minor variations, remembering that the best way up is not always the best way down. Around noon I arrived back at Little Gem Lake, and helped three disoriented hikers from Aspen who were trying to find a route up Snowmass. They had only a pocket 14er guide and no topographical map for guidance. I hiked back down the valley to Geneva Lake, photographing wildflowers along the way. There were several other hikers strolling around the lake, and two remarked that they had seen me high up on the slopes of Snowmass earlier. I arrived back at the trailhead about 1:30 on this beautiful summer afternoon.
Snowmass Mountain reigns as one of my favorite 14ers, with some of the finest summit views of any 14er. Located within the heart of the Maroon Bells/Snowmass Wilderness Area, it stands amidst some of Colorado’s grandest scenery. I would consider trying it from Snowmass Lake next time in order to experience that route, in spite of the long hike and backpack required. While the west slopes route was scenic and much shorter, the 2000 foot climb up the west face was rugged. Regardless of how I get there, I look forward to returning to this magnificent mountain again.
