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Hi!

I was wondering if someone can help me out with some info.

Does mount Elbert get a lot of snow in early November? Are snow shoes a must at that time of year?

Also the 4WD part of the road that leads to the south route - when does it close for winter? Is it still open?

Thanks!

Diver wrote:Hi!

I was wondering if someone can help me out with some info.

Does mount Elbert get a lot of snow in early November?

Sometimes.

Diver wrote:Are snow shoes a must at that time of year?

Sometimes but not usually.

Diver wrote:Also the 4WD part of the road that leads to the south route - when does it close for winter?

Depends on how much snow has fallen in early November.

Diver wrote:Is it still open?

That I can't help you with. I'd guess it would be since snowline is only down to around 10K or so.

Sorry to be a smart-ass but this is a really unpredictable time of year. I'd say be prepared for anything and if you get there and see conditions don't warrant all the hardware, leave it in the car. Also be prepared to walk a little farther if the road isn't friendly for a 4WD. Since we're also only two weeks away from early November and we've not had any significant snowfall I'd guess you're on the easy side of life.

Keep an eye on this site for TH and road status.

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/trailhead ... hparm=sw03

As for snow? There is going to be snow. I've been out twice in 2 weeks and experienced a few inches to knee deep trail breaking snow here in Colorado. There is another storm coming this weekend also but it looks like more win than snow.

Keep an eye out also for weather forecasts:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?CityName=Leadville&state=CO&site=PUB&textField1=39.2468&textField2=-106.294&e=1

The above is for Leadville which, at 11K feet, will likely give you the best idea of conditions for that region. Looks like chances of rain/wet snow which could consolidate a few things at higher elevations.

thanks for replies, guys!

it sounds like we should have the snow shoes just in case. the problem is, we arrive late friday when all rentals for snow shoes will be closed and we plan on early start saturday morning while they are still closed. I'm trying to arrange some rentals, but not sure if it will work.

is there any resource i can check or call someone when we there to figure the status of 4WD road? if it's closed we might decide to go to north trail, but it would be nice to know beforehand.

thanks again for you help

If you are planning on the southern trail then don't worry about checking. The extra distance from the winter TH to the summer isn't that much and it is fairly flat. Cheers!

Diver wrote:thanks for replies, guys!
is there any resource i can check or call someone when we there to figure the status of 4WD road? if it's closed we might decide to go to north trail, but it would be nice to know beforehand.

Haliku wrote:If you are planning on the southern trail then don't worry about checking. The extra distance from the winter TH to the summer isn't that much and it is fairly flat. Cheers!

Diver wrote:thanks for replies, guys!
is there any resource i can check or call someone when we there to figure the status of 4WD road? if it's closed we might decide to go to north trail, but it would be nice to know beforehand.

Agreed! The road to the north trail is not maintained either, so if there is snow it would likely be an even longer journey by the north. The south 4WD road doesn't add that much in winter, you are better off just planning on the south for access regardless of snow conditions.

sounds good! thank you, guys!

A quick update - we're getting buried in snow right now. A foot of fresh at my Front Range cottage at 7500 feet. Not supposed to stop dumping until tomorrow sometime.

NOAA has a great link for snow conditions at http://www.nohrsc.nws.gov/. For Elbert, you'd want to type in Leadville, CO, and that'll bring up the latest in snow depth and all for that region.

I do think it's safe to say that snowshoes would be advisable. Skis? Even better!