test<br><br><b><i>Ginny & Jim Owen <spiritbear2k@hotmail.com></i></b> wrote:<blockquote class="replbq" style="border-left: 2px solid rgb(16, 16, 255); margin-left: 5px; padding-left: 5px;"> Caryl wrote:<br>>What would be the normal date when you could enter Colorado from the south <br>>and expect not to need ice axe or crampons in the San Juans?<br><br>In a "normal" snow year, the South San Juans generally open up around June <br>15. Last year was a "low snow year." Sorta - but not quite. There were <br>specific places (like Blue Lake) that had higher snowpack levels. Low snow <br>does NOT mean "no snow." I think the average snowpack at Wolf Creek Pass is <br>480 inches - that takes a while to melt out.<br><br>What apparently escaped the attention of most hikers last year was that <br>north of Lake City the snow levels were either normal or above-normal. So <br>leaving the border early and hurrying to get through New Mexico and the "low <br>snow" in
southern Colorado just got them into a normal-to-high snow year in <br>northern Colorado - several weeks early. Which is pretty much the <br>equivalent of a "high snow year" from a hikers standpoint.<br><br>It was interesting to watch. We left Cumbres Pass on June 5 and we were a <br>week or two behind the pack. And where they had fields of snow, we had <br>fields of flowers. Not that we had "no snow," but we didn't have a lot of <br>postholing - just small patches. Nor did we have nearly as much mud as some <br>of them had. Timing is everything. <g><br><br>It'll be interesting to see what the Class of '07 does with the snowpack <br>they find.<br><br>Hmm - ice axe and crampons - assuming "normal" (100%) snowpack and leaving <br>Cumbres Pass on June 15, I wouldn't take either one. If leaving Cumbres <br>much earlier - I'd take the ice axe. I consider the crampons useless if the <br>snow is such that you're postholing. Snowshoes might be better - but I <br>doubt
it. YMMV<br><br>Walk softly,<br>Jim<br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>http://www.spiriteaglehome.com/<br><br>_________________________________________________________________<br>Valentine’s Day -- Shop for gifts that spell L-O-V-E at MSN Shopping <br>http://shopping.msn.com/content/shp/?ctId=8323,ptnrid=37,ptnrdata=24095&tcode=wlmtagline<br><br>_______________________________________________<br>cdt-l mailing list<br>cdt-l@backcountry.net<br>http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/cdt-l<br></g></blockquote><br><p> 
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