A Walk in the Clouds

James Peak Snow Climb Attempt

Dad and I had been talking for quite some time about getting out for a snow climb. He hadn't donned crampons in quite some time so we looked for an alpine objective relatively close to town. The East Face of James Peak has a couple snow couloirs that looked particularly interesting to us. We aimed for Shooting Star Couloir. I was optimistic at our prospects as Colorado had a very dry winter and the snow was melting fast. We met early and made our way to the St. Mary's Lake Trailhead.

A touch of summer

 A few late spring storms surprised us with 6-10 inches of new snow well above treeline. The mountains were also veiled in wispy, low-lying clouds.

Gorgeous scenery

 As we got higher, it became evident that the combination of fresh snow and warm temperatures were going to be a problem. We watched a point-release wet snow avalanche on a potential slope we were intending to traverse to get to the base of James' East Face. Instead, we were forced to climb much higher (to about 12,800 feet) before we could find a safe descent to the base of our intended route.

Descending into position

East Face of James Peak

 Clouds engulfed the valley below James' East Face. We descended into the unknown void before stopping at a flat area to wait for the mountain to open up. While we waited, we listened to the mountain literally fall apart. Almost continuous rockfall and avalanches echoed around us. After a half hour of waiting, the clouds rolled back and we were greeted by a remarkable vista. It was clear that our snow climb was not in the cards today, but we lingered for awhile longer to enjoy the dramatic scene before us.

 Because of the cloud cover, we had to carefully orienteer our way back to the trailhead. We actually used our compass, GPS and map to get us down the right drainage to St. Marys Lake. All in all, it was an interesting adventure with Dad.

Dad trickin' out the ski jump on St. Marys Glacier