Staying on the actual ridge for the traverse would probably be exposed and loose Class 4. Got a little steep in places, perhaps a short section of 50 deg (still need to buy that slope meter). It was a tiring hike over to Trail Rider Pass. part of the trail crosses private land and you pass 3 gates that The 8 mile backpack was pleasant with quite a wildflower display along the way. Attempt at your own risk. I couldn't solo this route. By now I had climbed nearly 4000' and 6 hours, it was 11am, clouds were building, and the summit of Hagerman looked about 2 hours away! FR315/Lost Trail Creek Road/Lead King Basin Jeep Trail: This road gains a lot of elevation. As soon as you are on the ridge, the route follows the ridge to the Again, I think it would go with a rope. The trailhead is not paved or even graveled very much. We would not recommend trying it with anything less than a 4WD capable vehicle with at least average clearance for a 4WD. Campsite 2 on west side of lake: N 39° 05' 47.64"  W 107° 04' 44.86". to traverse the summit ridge at 0915 and returned to our tent at 1130. (The old platform is being discontinued December 31.) Traverse. About 100' up, I encountered 5th class rock with incredible exposure on both sides of the ridge. ones. Success! This climb didn't quite go as planned and we learned a few lessons. After about 5 km, the trail starts climbing (left) and there Both begin from the town of Marble. The trail continues along the east (left) side of Snowmass Creek, the scree or cross a small stream to the right (the crossing is marked The trail continues on Hagerman Peak is similar in rock conditions to Snowmass Mountain, hence, its a Class 2+ scramble on largely rocky, broken talus debris via the south face. Both alternatives We continued along the ridge, staying high (YDS class 3) and found an easy involve some class 3 scrambling along the ridge. Excellent TR. A note about the Crystal Mill: This famous and frequently photographed location is just before coming to the village of Crystal. The trail on the There's a long shelf section that is mostly all rock that you're driving on. A base camp in Lead King Basin or at Geneva Lake offers a short backpacking trip with outstanding Colorado scenery. If you can drive into Lead King Basin, the climb can be easily completed in a day, but the drive in is difficult and often complicated by avalanche damage. Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. We spent half There is a distinct, but fairly small trail along the east side of The next mistake came when I assumed that truck stops were open all the time. trip menu   For example, theAconcagua mountain page has the 'Aconcagua Group' and the 'Seven Summits' asparents and is a parent itself to many routes, photos, and Trip Reports. There's a total of seven sites scattered around the lake. When we climbed this route in mid-July, 1993 (preceded by a heavy snow winter), as you looked at the south face of Hagerman, there were three prominent but shallow couloirs with broad rocky ribs separating them. Passed the stuffed cop in Twin Lakes (great decoy, worked for me!) of the ridge almost the entire way, this involves class 3 scrambling and This upper road in heavier snow years may remain blocked by snowdrifts and/or avalanche debris. I’m not sure I could have climbed back up this wall. On the second pinnacle, keep to the ridgeline. Unfortunately, the ridge up to Snowmass from the saddle turned out to be too much for Tasha. However, on our trip there was absolutely Having camped here previously when it was frozen, we were looking forward to camping here in the summer. Snowmass Mountain and Hagerman Peak come into view just before entering Lead King Basin. called West Snowmass Trail. Great series of photos with a fast-paced, lean report. The trick is to find the good We left LA around 6am on Friday. Location: North 39:07.125, West 107:03.988. It makes me want to move to Colorado and begin climbing many of the peaks. vegetation on the right side of the scree slope. The top of the couloir brought us nearly to the summit and an incredible view! The traverse is a little over 0.5 mile long and took my partner and I a little over 1-1/2 hours. This line takes you across rocks and boulders that are quite stable The summit is quite nice, the very highest It would have saved me at the very least… 6 hours? All three were snow-filled. right side. Hike straight up this ramp staying south (left) of some steeper an hour on the summit with blue sky and good visibility. Excellent pictures and narrative. We did ditch the gloves on the tower for your exact reasoning. From this col there is a gentle slope down back into It is also a Grade V climb, requiring two days to complete, with a bivvy somewhere on the ridge. Higher up, one There are several places to camp in Lead King Basin. ), It is possible to cross the lake outlet on a log jam of sorts right at the outlet. Studebaker. It was incredibly engrossing. The road continue east up the drainage. Captiol/Snowmass/Hagerman Linkup. It requires lots of cliff route finding, all of which was on the west side of the Hagerman Snowmass connecting ridge. Straight ahead goes to Scofield Pass. This climb is largely class 2, towards the end class 2+ unless Trail Rider Pass and Maroon Lake are indicated on a sign. Awesome sequence of photos, though. In early season runoff, this can be problematic. You could possibly vehicle camp here but back up toward the last switchback, there's a good camp area on the east side of the road. wasting too much time trying to find the absolutely easiest way up. Hurray, a late dinner on Sunday night does exist! Would you consider skipping the pizza and beer after your next adventure and make a $20 donation? We continued All Rights Reserved. Second, from Snowmass Lake to Snowmass Mountain: way directly down to the lowest col between Snowmass Mountain and its Your donation will be doubled. There is a broad, very distinct ramp leading up to the hump that "The bitterest tears shed over a grave are for words unsaid and deeds undone." is a nice view into a side valley, drained by Bear Creek. I'll be in the area for Thanksgiving week, but cannot bring my winter gear unfortunately. Prakash. level, the valley opens up, the basin ahead with meadows and forest Website Design by Be careful about on-coming vehicles. In general the technical climbing involved finger/hand crack or flake holds with few footholds. In 2019, it was not accessible until later in August. except I don't know how to post a link here. Most 4WD stock vehicles should be able to make the drive. Do not pull on any single rock without first testing it and having a second rock to hold in case it does break free. The road continues another 2.4 miles to the Geneva Lake TH by dropping down on another series of switchbacks into Lead King Basin. --Napoleon Bonaparte, Images We were unable to locate site #6. valley. The traverse, from where the East Rib approach to Snowmass meets the ridge, to Hagerman took me about 40 minutes each way. (this is the awesome looking 13'er, much more technical than the 14'er Snowmass Mt. We chose to go up on a rock rib just west of the gully that would lead to the notch between Snowmass Pk. In 2019, there was an area of considerable avalanche damage that had been cleared off the road. Campsite 5 north of lake: N 39° 06' 00.29"  W 107° 04' 40.97"  (approximation). To park at the trailhead, continue across the bridge and drive another .3/.4 mile to the trailhead parking area on the right. From the north and the town of Carbondale, drive south on CO133 past Redstone and continue until just under a mile before the highway switchbacks and begins the climb up to McClure Pass. Really makes the TR a joy to read (and see!). Thanks WalksWithBlackflies, I see you climb in upstate NY. There are several variations, one can stay on the very top At about 2.5 miles it comes to the first set of switchbacks. If the trail is taken all the way around Geneva Lake, then the one-way mileage increases to 5.35. 13062 B Linkup or A Boring Trip Report Name for an Exciting Day. © 2006-2020 SummitPost.org. The Snowmass-Hagerman traverse is much more pedestrian in comparison to the Cap/Snowmass traverse, but not something I wanted to onsight after doing Capitol. left (west) of the main ridge. so I don't need to say it, but...you guys are indeed lucky. If parking a vehicle, you may be able to do so here. –The traverse from Snowmass Mountain over to “North Snowmass”. That has to be one of the most exciting traverses in the state. It took about 45 minutes of driving one way. (N 39° 05' 41.26  W 107° 04' 47.31") If you choose to do this, once on the south side, you'll need to bushwhack SE up through steep, forested terrain and gain a broad ridge where you'll need to turn east and relocate the trail that comes up from the east side of Snowmass Lake and leads to Trail Rider Pass. I don't take my gloves off unless the holds are tiny like on that tower. I brought a rope, some slings, and pro but never had to break it out. summit. Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk: Snowmass “S“ Ridge - Hagerman Pk Traverse. Count on 30-45 minutes to go out and back to this secondary summit in dry summer conditions. The camp area is in trees and has seen frequent use. Steve wanted to climb Snowmass Mt., and I still had my sights set on Hagerman. [7/16/2000]. If parking a vehicle, you may be able to do so here. These reports are engrossing and inspirational, and I sincerely thank you for the work you put into them and for sharing them on SP. There are two routes possible we will provide here to take to reach the Geneva Lake TH #1973 located in Lead King Basin. Head north up the trail from the kiosk and begin the hike  to Geneva Lake. We even saw a duck with her 4 ducklings in a small pond near Oxbow. Using your forum id/password. www.fourteenerworld.com/TripReports/HTML/100TripReports.htm Hagerman Peak is similar in rock conditions to Snowmass Mountain, hence, it's a Class 2+ scramble on largely rocky, broken talus debris via the south face.  search   Turn off onto CR3 which continues as a paved road for five miles to Marble. I've become mostly disenchanted with trip reports, but this and your one on the Little Bear-Blanca traverse are outstanding. Packed up and headed down to the car. Hagerman Peak (13,841') and attempt on Snowmass Mountain 7/10-12/98. In addition, a very generous donor is offering a "matching" donation of up to $5,000 to help. Drive on down the north side of the pass to the bottom of the valley and the switchback. I do recall looking across to Hagerman from Snowmass and thinking for a split second that the traverse looked fun, and then I had a reality check - that traverse looks and is absolutely difficult, dangerous and flat out risky.