Has anyone been up in Rocky Mountain National Park since the snowfall this last weekend? I am looking at doing Culp Bossier for this Sat and am wondering if there is any snow on the route. Thoughts? Does anyone have photos of the north face of Hallett from the past few days?

BLong wrote:Has anyone been up in Rocky Mountain National Park since the snowfall this last weekend? I am looking at doing Culp Bossier for this Sat and am wondering if there is any snow on the route. Thoughts? Does anyone have photos of the north face of Hallett from the past few days?

BLong,
I'll run up there tomorrow morning and have a closer look for you. That's a 5.8 route is it not?
I'll post again here tomorrow afternoon. The high country did get some snow out of that last storm but it
was REALLY wet. Long's is already back to what it was looking like pre-storm.
Kiefer

Kiefer,

Thanks! Yeah its a 5.8/5.9 route (depending on who you talk to) up the second buttress of the peak:
rmnp-snow-conditions-on-north-facing-alpine-routes-t61886.html

You can see the conditions of the route (or directly next to the route) from the ~10 minutes down the trail.

I'm not familiar with your route off hand but I was immediately north of RMNP last Friday and did see a small natural slide on a north aspect. Approximate incline was 65 degrees, but it's just a rough estimate. Not large, but noticeable, surely. No evidence of other natural slides seen.

Not sure if this is useful information to anyone interested in getting on alpine rock routes early this year, but there was still too much snow and ice on the Culp Bossier for us to feel comfortable climbing it. While the majority of the route appeared snow free, all of the cracks that would take pro were frozen over with ice and covered in snow. I imagine that the route will open up in a few weeks as long as there is no new snow precipitation and the nights don't freeze over.
Here is a photo from the base of the route on 4-21-12.

Also of note is that there is ample snow -- in great condition -- for skiing. The Dragon's Tail Couloir was in, as were a lot of other, smaller chutes.

Here is a shot of snow coverage with the Dragon's Tail. The lakes are not frozen over completely although the snow covering the highest lakes was relatively solid.

Those are awesome pictures. Thanks for the report

CSUMarmot wrote:Those are awesome pictures. Thanks for the report

Thanks! I actually took them with my iPhone. It makes me want to leave the 7D at home for all alpine routes.