Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Snowmass Mountain, elevation 14,105’, is a prominent 14er in the Elk Range of Colorado, part of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area. It has one of the longest standard approach route, and its broad east slope retains snow well into August. My friend and I left the Maroon Creek TH around noon on Saturday, June 7th. The hike in to Snowmass Lake was quite enjoyable with stunning views throughout and the trail was nicely graded. We saw lots of wild flowers and a few deers/marmots. We had no issue crossing the infamous Log Jam 6 miles in and kept our trail runners dry. There were some lingering snow patches in the final mile to the lake but we didn’t need spikes. After arriving at the lake around 4pm we set up camp and enjoyed the stunning beauty of Snowmass Lake and the towering peaks behind it, figuring out the route to summit. The next morning we got off around 2:30am. The most miserable part of the whole trip was getting around the lake (both to and back) in deep snow that did not refreeze overnight, resulting in us post-holing every other step for 1/2 mile which took us over 1hr. The steep talus slope was no fun either with loose rocks everywhere. Once we made it above the shelf, it became relatively easy going on hardened snow surface until below the summit ridge. We took the direct route to reach the ridge, where crampons/ice axes were essential for 45° snow slope. The remaining route on the ridge required a few exposed class 3 moves. We finally reached summit around 8:30am, 6hrs after we left camp, feeling quite exhausted but gratified. It was nearly windless at the summit, and we had it to ourselves for 45 mins before we started heading down. On the way back we did quite a bit of glissading which was super fun. The long hike back to TH was quite exhausting but uneventful. This is my 54th distinct CO 14er summit, one that I’ll remember for quite a while. Total stats: 22miles with 6000’ elevation gain
Music:
Ethereal, by Punch Deck
0:00 Hike to Snowmass Lake
06:12 Climbing to the Ridge
08:08 Ridge Scramble
10:31 Summit Views
14:47 Glissading down
#14ers
#backpacking
Snowmass Mountain, elevation 14,105’, is a prominent 14er in the Elk Range of Colorado, part of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area. It has one of the longest standard approach route, and its broad east slope retains snow well into August. My friend and I left the Maroon Creek TH around noon on Saturday, June 7th. The hike in to Snowmass Lake was quite enjoyable with stunning views throughout and the trail was nicely graded. We saw lots of wild flowers and a few deers/marmots. We had no issue crossing the infamous Log Jam 6 miles in and kept our trail runners dry. There were some lingering snow patches in the final mile to the lake but we didn’t need spikes. After arriving at the lake around 4pm we set up camp and enjoyed the stunning beauty of Snowmass Lake and the towering peaks behind it, figuring out the route to summit. The next morning we got off around 2:30am. The most miserable part of the whole trip was getting around the lake (both to and back) in deep snow that did not refreeze overnight, resulting in us post-holing every other step for 1/2 mile which took us over 1hr. The steep talus slope was no fun either with loose rocks everywhere. Once we made it above the shelf, it became relatively easy going on hardened snow surface until below the summit ridge. We took the direct route to reach the ridge, where crampons/ice axes were essential for 45° snow slope. The remaining route on the ridge required a few exposed class 3 moves. We finally reached summit around 8:30am, 6hrs after we left camp, feeling quite exhausted but gratified. It was nearly windless at the summit, and we had it to ourselves for 45 mins before we started heading down. On the way back we did quite a bit of glissading which was super fun. The long hike back to TH was quite exhausting but uneventful. This is my 54th distinct CO 14er summit, one that I’ll remember for quite a while. Total stats: 22miles with 6000’ elevation gain
Music:
Ethereal, by Punch Deck
0:00 Hike to Snowmass Lake
06:12 Climbing to the Ridge
08:08 Ridge Scramble
10:31 Summit Views
14:47 Glissading down
#14ers
#backpacking
