Mt. Columbia

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/7/2026, By: Will_E
Info: Beautiful light wind day on Columbia. Was in snowshoes all the way to the top, rare treat to get to trench all the way to summit. Trenching was pretty mellow in the trees, more work above treeline, I went straight up the west side at treeline. Snow was good in the morning, coming down the steep sections in the afternoon, less so. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/18/2026, By: skipperrrrr
Info: Started at 0900 summited at 1300 and was back at trailhead at 1600. Had the entire mountain to ourselves which was surprising given the perfect weather (44°F high, 5 MPH wind max, sunny). Lots of snow. Microspikes, poles, good hiking boots, and extra socks were helpful. Trailrunners won’t cut it. Below treeline had some very icy spots on the way up (muddy on the way down). Be careful on river crossings - I almost ate sh** on an icy rock that I thought was dry. Overall very manageable and enjoyable. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/11/2026, By: Nathaniel Brown
Info: There was just a little bit of snow on the upper part of the ridge. Very easy navigation; the trail is in exceptionally good condition. Lovely shoulder season weather! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/5/2026, By: Sweetdee17
Info: No snow until midway up the switchbacks. It was a little icy/snowy which made the steepness & route finding a bit more challenging. Having spikes helped. Once on the ridge there was snow, but enough foot traffic created an easy to follow path and no spikes were needed. Early afternoon everything started to melt, but having spikes for the descent still helped with loose scree/muddy conditions. Met a few folks who did the traverse from Harvard in these conditions and said it was the "worst decision they've ever made -- would never do that again!" 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/4/2026, By: Sarah063
Info: Snow above 12,000. Mostly melted up to 13,000 by the time we descended. Post holes on ridge. The snow was nice coming down the scree field. Beautiful sunny and calm day. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/4/2026, By: John619
Info: It was pretty windy all day. The trail is in great shape until about 12,900 ft. After that it's steep and loose until the ridge (it's especially "fun" when decending). 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/28/2026, By: newmanifest
Info: Trail in good shape. REALLY appreciate all the work of CFI on the steep zigzags! Still a lot of loose rock and slipping toward the top of that section, before reaching the ridge, but overall it's in solid shape. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 7/13/2026, By: UltraTrailSteven
Info: Beautiful blue bird day. Southeast Ridge is very steep, some sections 40% grade. If you want solitude, do this route. I didn’t see a single person until I joined the main trail near the summit, and no one on the descent back either. No water along the way, so carry what you need. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/11/2026, By: jessishiking
Info: After many smoky days we got lucky with AQI remaining below 60 all day. (Highly recommend AirNow to check quality.) Snowed on the summit for about ten minutes. Multiple groups came over from Harvard via traverse, said it was a long day but summer conditions all the way across. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/14/2026, By: bryanpeck3
Info: Summer conditions 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/2/2026, By: WinterisClimbing
Info: I know pretty much everyone knows Columbia is basically summer conditions right now. I'll post some pictures of the snowfields below treeline. I wanted to post this for the people who are considering Harvard as well, there's still some snow in the basin that falls on the route for Harvard. Picture for that as well. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/31/2026, By: jthorn
Info: Trail was essentially summer conditions - intermittent snow patches on the switchbacks and on the ridge, but largely clear of snow. Hiked in trail runners, had microspikes and gaiters but didn't need to use either. 

Route: Harvard and Columbia Traverse
Posted On: 5/26/2026, By: jakeandorbake
Info: posting this tuesday but summited sunday of memorial day weekend

i don't know the why or how based on slope aspect or luck of the draw on snowfall, but the collegiate and further south sawatch stuff has some potential for major snow sloggin, as opposed to massive which was fun and clear. probably melting fast this week, but for most people right now, I'd heavily recommend spikes and/or great poles for the traverse - even harvard alone to be honest. snow even in the woods starting at 11k

the last headwall up harvard, and much of the back bowl, actually was a booter more or less. that made the non-rock-hopping traverse sections mentally easier because the line was visible from miles away. the rock hopping parts were admittedly a little sketchy though - certain types of boulder fields felt obscured and confusing. also, imo, if you happened to be too late in the day, the steeper snow would definitely be too soft to confidently kick steps into

going back down the standard columbia way, things were so much better. intermittent but not bad snow. that was the real fun of the day

7.5 hours RT 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/24/2026, By: nohandz
Info: Pics of Yale, Harvard, Princeton included. I knew I was gonna pay for the gentle first half of the trail - the shoulder is mean! Still have some snow crossings on the trail, but waterproof trail runners, spikes and gaiters will do the trick. If you need anything else, you are off trail, which is easy to do with the snow. Word is Harvard is a mess - miles of wading in snow. I slept in the car at the TH, but not very level, so next time it’ll be down the road, maybe near the bathroom. Road is fine for 2WD if you take it slow. 

Route: Southeast Ridge
Posted On: 5/5/2026, By: Kcmartinez22
Info: Great conditions all the way. Mostly dry in trees barring minor snowy sections just before rock outcroppings that were slippery on the way down. The ridge leading up to 13298 holding knee deep (a little deeper on descent later in day) snow. Poles were helpful here. Remainder of ridge is mixture of embedded snow requiring boulder hopping to dry. Final summit block collected a good bit of snow in latest storm making it a little tedious to avoid the ankle sharks awaiting. Spikes helped here. Great spring training day!