serpentine conditions?

[kurthicks]

I haven't been up to the Colchuck cirque this season. how's the approach to serpentine? approach shoes? all dry up high?

 

the descent is still snowy, i assume?

[jshamster]

approach shoes would be fine. snow from top of moraine to start of route. probably steps kicked in? not sure. all snow down to top of asgard w/ big cornice in the usual spot. asgard is 98% snow free. something like 15 yards of snow w/big steps kicked in.

the route looked totally dry to me. i'll post a pic of dtail when i get a chance.

 

cheers

jimbo

[kurthicks]

thanks! haven't been on it in a few years.

[jshamster]

here ya go:

 

 

descent:

 

 

hope that helps.

[kurthicks]

excellent. thanks jimbo.

 

i can't seem to find in my notes how short of a rope I can get by with...40M? 50M? i recall somewhat short pitches on the pillar, like 100'.

[Dannible]

Yep, shoes are fine. Axe and no crampons for that route. I climbed the G-S NF yesterday and just chopped some steps in the frozen snow to get to the base. I also chopped steps all the way up the last couloir of the TCs (brought one crampon), which was pretty silly.

[jshamster]

actually haven't climbed the route on a rope, but from what i recall a 30-40m rope should suffice. i suppose a 50 might be useful if pitching out anything below the steep cracks.

[counterfeitfake]

I would advocate crampons and no axe, but that's just me.

[jshamster]

so you wouldn't mind falling with spikes on yer feet & no way to arrest? interesting. snow is getting awfully soft in the middle of the day. perfect for balling on the bottom of the 'pons.

[johnson]

We did Serp a couple weeks ago and from reading the recent description of an almost snow free Suck my Aasgard Pass, a lot of snow has melted. We did the route on a very windy and cold Monday. The route had a bit of snow up top but its gotta be gone by now. A fun route indeed. An axe would suffice. A short rope would be nice for the simul climbing. However, a longer rope makes the cleaner pitches nice. Have fun!

[counterfeitfake]

so you wouldn't mind falling with spikes on yer feet & no way to arrest? interesting. snow is getting awfully soft in the middle of the day. perfect for balling on the bottom of the 'pons.

 

Walking across the snow in the morning to get on route with crampons will take 5 minutes. Chopping steps will take... how long?

 

Walking down the warm soft snow on the descent will require neither crampons nor axe. Yes, that descent is super easy. When I did it in August I certainly didn't crampon up. Maybe in September?

 

If the snow is so soft you're worried about it balling up on your feet, just arrest a fall with your knees and your chin. On the other hand, if the snow is so hard you need crampons to get down, what good will an axe do?

 

Like I said, that's just me. But it's not like both points of view haven't been voiced before.

[summitchaserCJB]

I'd say bring the ax-leave the pons. That worked for me on this route.

[genepires]

those little icy trail spikes that hikers use for thier shoes would be a good idea if you are on the fence about crampons. getting to the base would require about 20 minutes of step chopping if there is no boot pack across. Falling on that traverse would be a VERY BAD thing. (for someone without a axe)

 

Chopping steps would make the spirit of Conrad Kain proud though!