Snowdrift Peak 7/27
4800' EVG, 15.6mi RT
Snowdrift is a pretty cool looking peak with a great vantage point, and always served as one of those climbs that I imagined doing "when I started running out of reasons to climb Flattop". Well, that time was now. My plan was to take the Tonahutu Trail across Bighorn Flats and around pesky PT 12277 before cutting off towards the Snowdrift saddle, and follow the ridgeline up. I can report that that was exactly what I did, with a bit of a tour of 12277 on the way back. The only complication(besides a bit of reclimbing that would be inevitable from any eastern approach) was the fact that I'd be above treeline for a very long time, so I'd either have to be quick or gamble for a good day.
I'll skip the boring part about climbing Flattop, since if a tourist from Wisconsin can figure it out; so can everyone else. I pondered how many times I'd climbed Flattop on the way up, settling on 7 as the number. I believe I set my personal record at 2:30 today, though even that felt too long and tedious having been somewhat crippled on the upper stretches(pulled both hamstrings between Dream and Emerald overlooks, I need to learn how to stretch or something). At the top I met a few trail runners who were headed to Grand Lake for the day. The Tonahutu Trail is officially closed due to the Big Meadows Fire that burned areas around the trail earlier in the year, but since I had no plans of descending into the trees I made myself an exception to the NPS' decision.
The trail climbs a bit to skirt Ptarmigan Point, but afterward levels out as it enters Bighorn Flats. There are lots of wildflowers this time of year, especially around some of the stagnant pools the trail crosses. There were clouds in the sky but they were moving north to south, which I wasn't sure what to make of. As the trail descended a bit near Sprague Pass I made my way to the saddle, which involved some boulder hopping amongst the low willows. Thankfully the snowfields had mostly vanished, and the marshes were avoidable. At the saddle a few trees are growing, and down below you can scope out 'Wonderland Lake'.
The next 800' to the summit starts out grassy before transforming into a rock pile which can be skirted to save elevation. From there the steepness and size of the boulders increases, and a few class 3 moves came in handy. Snowdrift can be kept to upper class 2, but I took the direct route towards the final saddle, comprised of what appeared to be finely ground, sandy pieces of feldspar(from the namesake snowdrift?). The last push is a broken(but stable) slope of rock to the register-less summit. Views are good in all directions, and many distant ranges could be seen through the haze.
Back at the saddle, I headed towards 12277 and the wide, flat tundra that lied between it and the saddle. Skirting around the south face of 12277 I was finally able to see Ptarmigan Lake, one of RMNPs largest lakes, yet one of the least visible. The rest of the way back to Flattop was smooth sailing, and I took a long break on top to talk to some of the people milling around. Clouds were starting to form into more menacing sizes and colors, and I noticed that they'd shifted back to the traditional west to east path.
I had been counting people on a whim, and when I reached the stretch of trail above Emerald overlook I met a group of 15, ranging from young kids up to middle agers. Leading the pack was a guy carrying one of the group members on his back, at first I thought they were messing around(it is tourist season, and a saturday as well) but as I passed them I saw that he had a temporary boot on his foot and was unable to walk. I didn't bother them with questions since they were obviously busy, but from overhearing their conversation I was able to gather that they'd contacted the NPS two hours ago, and they were sending up a horse. working backwards with their pace in mind, I figured that the injury had occurred near the summit of Flattop, and the horse would be close. An hour and a half later, midway between the Lake Helene and Beirstadt Lake intersections I met the ranger on horseback and told him where the group was when I had passed them. I highly doubt the ranger had started out from Bear Lake three and a half hours ago, unless they took a two hour long nap in a shady spot. This experience reminded me that just because help in on the way doesn't mean it's coming soon.
In all: 8 hours, 71 people, lots of pikas and marmots, 5 ptarmigan and no afternoon thunderstorms.
Snowdrift is a pretty cool looking peak with a great vantage point, and always served as one of those climbs that I imagined doing "when I started running out of reasons to climb Flattop". Well, that time was now. My plan was to take the Tonahutu Trail across Bighorn Flats and around pesky PT 12277 before cutting off towards the Snowdrift saddle, and follow the ridgeline up. I can report that that was exactly what I did, with a bit of a tour of 12277 on the way back. The only complication(besides a bit of reclimbing that would be inevitable from any eastern approach) was the fact that I'd be above treeline for a very long time, so I'd either have to be quick or gamble for a good day.
I'll skip the boring part about climbing Flattop, since if a tourist from Wisconsin can figure it out; so can everyone else. I pondered how many times I'd climbed Flattop on the way up, settling on 7 as the number. I believe I set my personal record at 2:30 today, though even that felt too long and tedious having been somewhat crippled on the upper stretches(pulled both hamstrings between Dream and Emerald overlooks, I need to learn how to stretch or something). At the top I met a few trail runners who were headed to Grand Lake for the day. The Tonahutu Trail is officially closed due to the Big Meadows Fire that burned areas around the trail earlier in the year, but since I had no plans of descending into the trees I made myself an exception to the NPS' decision.
The trail climbs a bit to skirt Ptarmigan Point, but afterward levels out as it enters Bighorn Flats. There are lots of wildflowers this time of year, especially around some of the stagnant pools the trail crosses. There were clouds in the sky but they were moving north to south, which I wasn't sure what to make of. As the trail descended a bit near Sprague Pass I made my way to the saddle, which involved some boulder hopping amongst the low willows. Thankfully the snowfields had mostly vanished, and the marshes were avoidable. At the saddle a few trees are growing, and down below you can scope out 'Wonderland Lake'.
The next 800' to the summit starts out grassy before transforming into a rock pile which can be skirted to save elevation. From there the steepness and size of the boulders increases, and a few class 3 moves came in handy. Snowdrift can be kept to upper class 2, but I took the direct route towards the final saddle, comprised of what appeared to be finely ground, sandy pieces of feldspar(from the namesake snowdrift?). The last push is a broken(but stable) slope of rock to the register-less summit. Views are good in all directions, and many distant ranges could be seen through the haze.
Back at the saddle, I headed towards 12277 and the wide, flat tundra that lied between it and the saddle. Skirting around the south face of 12277 I was finally able to see Ptarmigan Lake, one of RMNPs largest lakes, yet one of the least visible. The rest of the way back to Flattop was smooth sailing, and I took a long break on top to talk to some of the people milling around. Clouds were starting to form into more menacing sizes and colors, and I noticed that they'd shifted back to the traditional west to east path.
I had been counting people on a whim, and when I reached the stretch of trail above Emerald overlook I met a group of 15, ranging from young kids up to middle agers. Leading the pack was a guy carrying one of the group members on his back, at first I thought they were messing around(it is tourist season, and a saturday as well) but as I passed them I saw that he had a temporary boot on his foot and was unable to walk. I didn't bother them with questions since they were obviously busy, but from overhearing their conversation I was able to gather that they'd contacted the NPS two hours ago, and they were sending up a horse. working backwards with their pace in mind, I figured that the injury had occurred near the summit of Flattop, and the horse would be close. An hour and a half later, midway between the Lake Helene and Beirstadt Lake intersections I met the ranger on horseback and told him where the group was when I had passed them. I highly doubt the ranger had started out from Bear Lake three and a half hours ago, unless they took a two hour long nap in a shady spot. This experience reminded me that just because help in on the way doesn't mean it's coming soon.
In all: 8 hours, 71 people, lots of pikas and marmots, 5 ptarmigan and no afternoon thunderstorms.
