Snowmass Mountain

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 9/28/2026, By: XanderOutside
Info: Made it to the upper trail head in stock 2017 4runner no problem. There were a couple of junctions on the trail leading up to the boulder field that weren't properly marked. Be careful when hiking this trail. There was an inch of snow at the top. Forecast said clear and sunny day. It was very cloudy but no storms. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/27/2026, By: stealthiscamera
Info: A little bit of fresh snow above 13K, but mostly dry. It only took me three hours to hike the 8.5 miles from the trailhead to the lake (and three hours back) but 9hrs RT (6 miles) from the lake to Snowmass. Route finding is challenging and cairns are few and far between. The final push up Snowmass from the ridge saddle is very reminiscent of the final push up to Capitol - steep and loose. I ended up going way too far south and missed the ridge exit. Reconnecting with what you would call the trail required some class 3 and low 4 down climbing across many ribs. Most YouTube videos show people doing this when it’s covered in snow, and maybe it’s easier that way, but it’s a challenging mountain and a long day nonetheless. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 9/21/2026, By: constipated_pete
Info: Verglas all through the rocks in the grassy slope at the base of the gully was not chill. Made for a sketchy start of the day. Lots of frost on rocks on the way up added to the fun.

Thankfully had melted on the way down

Thought west slopes would be a slam dunk to finish out the Elk 14ers. Was not. Sketchy. Much more confusing route finding than expected through out the gully, topping out to the summit ridge was not trivial. Who the fuck enjoys this route?? 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 8/31/2026, By: wmagnuson7
Info: Obviously summer conditions, but I just wanted to say that this is a very good route and I was pleasantly surprised after what I have read on this website ("surfing down boulders on the descent" and the like). The trail is well marked, and where it isn't, the route of least resistance/best footing is apparent.

I am now at 55/58 and can easily think of less enjoyable portions of hikes with scree or worse rock (the approaches to Pyramid, Sneffels and Sunlight off the top of my head), so would definitely recommend this route. Whlie not as beautiful as the views of Snowmass Lake, Lead King Basin is quite beautiful in it's own right and the East Slopes is a very long day for those of us who prefer day trips. Enjoy and God bless! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/8/2026, By: BumbleBea123
Info: Not as exposed or lose as I expected. Done in one day, we live in Snowmass so that makes it easier to access. Still a super long almost 22 mile day with over 5k vert. Approach up from the lake can be easier if you stay on the solid rock where the waterfall normally is but not at this time of year and after the winter we had. Approach after the lake in the boulder field is solid boulder hopping between spaced out carins. Once at the saddle the views are insane and the route to the summit is backside of the ridge just below it. I would download the map and it was not as exposed as people made it out to be. Longs peak in my opinion is more exposed in some sections. It definitely takes time to get back down to the lake at treeline so we did not spend a ton of time at the summit but the views made that whole day worth it and definitely one I would do again. Route finding above the lake is not intuitive but with the carins and the map is easy enough with some experience and choosing your own path going in the general correct direction. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 8/18/2026, By: Chipmunk
Info: Ascended S-Ridge and descended a variation of the West Slopes route. Our group was intrigued by drchele's trip report, "S-Ridge, rumor of a West Ridge route." In that report, the author encountered a professional guide who recommended this route to avoid the much-reviled West Slopes. His navigation screen showed the proposed descent, including a key move around 12,800' where climbers need to cross north into an adjacent gully to avoid getting cliffed out. I have attached the photo of the guide's navigation screen from the original trip report for reference.

From the summit of Snowmass, head north toward "North Snowmass." At the point where you would normally descend toward North Snowmass, turn west onto the adjacent rib. Follow it down, staying on the descender's right whenever it branches.

The rib is mostly large boulders, many of which are unstable. We found a couple of cairns, but I would not rely on them for navigation. Around 13,000', a gully opens on the right. Its walls are noticeably smoother than the surrounding jumble of large, blocky rock, making it a useful landmark. At approximately 12,800', a short, loose Class 3 downclimb provides access to the gully. The rib cliffs out below this point, making this the key move described in the original trip report.

It took us just over an hour to descend from the top of the ridge to the key move at 12,800'. One member of our party descended the standard West Slopes, and it took them approximately the same amount of time. The main advantage of the rib was avoiding the sustained loose surface of the West Slopes, rather than providing a substantially faster or easier descent.

A GPX track of our descent has been added to the library as "Snowmass West Slopes Alt Descent." 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 8/18/2026, By: ShakyLegs18
Info: The route through the initial boulder field/head wall up to the (s)no(w)mass was better cairned than I anticipated. Little trouble, even in the dark. The drainage is down to a trickle so I avoided the nasty scree/gravel and maneuvered up/down the large slabs of rock as much as I could before crossing to a decent trail.

Then comes the boulder fields. Again, the route was decently cairned all the way to the ridge. From the ridge to the summit, cairns led in multiple directions (though generally towards the summit) so I ignored them and picked lines suited for my comfort level, sticking close to the ridge for the most part (requiring a few class 4 moves).

Other conditions updates affirm: once the route departs from the trail at Snowmass Lake, this is a grind through boulder field purgatory. 

Route: S Ridge
Posted On: 8/3/2026, By: drewskiclimbs
Info: Beautiful summer conditions -- colorful wildflowers around Geneva & Little Gem lakes are gorgeous. Climbing the S Ridge was a very fun route to get to the summit, lots of easy class 3 scrambling and can adjust the exposure to your comfort level. Highly recommended if you have a lifted 4x4 that can access Lead King Basin trailhead.

I used PKR's outstanding Trip Report to get me safely up & down on a solo climb -- by far the most thorough and helpful guide I looked at. Much appreciated. Link here -- https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=3455

FWIW -- if I did this route again, I would take the rock rib instead of the gully to gain the ridge. Once on the ridge it's a class 3 scramble all the way to the summit anyway, might as well start climbing at the top of the scree field and skip the loose gully. Probably faster & more fun. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/26/2026, By: kmoss2
Info: Yeah, so... not gonna repeat that one unless Snowmass is snowmassing & I can glissade my heart out on the descent. Epic day hike, the miles go by so fast to the lake. Willows aren't bad at all. On the way out I was on the lower trail, on the way back I was on a higher trail. All roads lead to Grandma's. One rec on gaining scree slope just before you cross drainage -- you can definitely use a lot of dry, big sturdy rocks to ascend/descend along the drainage line if you're careful to avoid the water. Ride it as long as you can, way easier than staying on the scree. More challenging than I expected to gain the ridge! In hindsight, I'd go direct line next time. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/20/2026, By: ctilbe
Info: Snowmass..... More like NoMass. Confirming no snow. Boulder hopping the whole way to the summit. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/16/2026, By: V1per41
Info: Some scattered snow high on the slopes, all easily avoidable. I didn't put a single foot in snow. 

Route: S-ridge
Posted On: 7/4/2026, By: drchele
Info: All stream crossings on FR 315 are easily navigable. One patch of snow on the north side of the upper S-ridge (route-adjacent, easily bypassed). All dry and summer conditions. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/5/2026, By: mtngnome
Info: We climbed the East Slopes from the lake. Still alot of sun pocketed snow fields over 12.7kft. The very supportive snow made for a nice climb and descent with just microspikes and poles. We enjoyed the Notch direct route, it is almost snow free and the steep scree was easy with spikes. Minimal wind and smoke made for a great morning. Plenty of water on route too. 

Route: West Slope
Posted On: 6/29/2026, By: jjasks
Info: The trail is great and slowly fades as you get closer to the summit base. The trail is pretty much gone at the rock slide area at the bottom. Just followed the general direction from the 14'ers route. The key is the green band. After the green band, there is still a little snow, but avoidable; no traction needed. We took a route that was more class 3/4 that avoided all the loose rock on what looked like the 'trail'. That was a good decision, although not for someone who does not like bouldering. We ended up popping out just about 20 feet left of the summit; that was a nice surprise. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/28/2026, By: Neil14707
Info: Attached a few photos of the snowfield taken on 6/27/26 from Snowmass Lake and going up Trail Rider pass. Did not attempt Snowmass Mountain this weekend due to high winds.