Hi all,

I'm headed to Quandry this weekend to get in some early alpine hiking before more serious winter conditions set in. I'm looking for info on weather, snowpack, etc.. on Quandry and nearby. Will I be able to descend the Cristo? Any info is much appreciated!

Cheers.

Not sure what existing conditions are like, but the forecast is for weather to turn to a wintry pattern the next couple of days. Friday and Saturday especially are supposed to be snowy with as much as a foot of total snow possible by the end of Saturday and wind gusts up to 40-45mph. Wind chills will be near zero. Sunday should clear out a bit but will still be chilly and a little breezy.

Thanks for the response. Sounds like we may have quite a bit of snow. Should make for more challenging climbing - and a potential quick descent down the Cristo Couloir!

I'm hiking Quandary on Sunday. Let me know if you want to join forces to break the trail. Guess I'm bringing snow shoes. I'm doing some more peaks next week so this should be my warmup to acclimate. (East Ridge though).

Not sure if you should descend Cristo if there's significant snow up there. It's time to start thinking about avys. I don't think it would be much fun even if the snow was shallow enough to be safe. You may already know this, but the west ridge is gonna be pretty spicy this time of year. Travel with care.

I was up there earlier today. If you know the routes, it wasn't bad, but it is only going to get worse as the weekend progresses. Next week is looking pretty sketch as well. However, the Basin and Loveland will be opening soon!

So, did you go up the West Ridge? I can't imagine it being very safe if you did it Sunday. Way too much wind! Would've been easy to lose your balance and fall.