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Mt. Sneffels 14,150' - Trip Report

September 29, 1999

On Wednesday, September 29, we hiked to the summit of Mount Sneffels via
Yankee Boy Basin and Levander Col.  We were concerned that we might
encounter snow in the couloir above the saddle so we carried crampons and
ice axes.  It turned out that there was plenty of snow on the north side of
the mountain and virtually none on the south side or in the couloir.  When
we reached Levander Col, we were surprised to see that there were actually
two couloirs  leading upward toward the summit.  The one on the left
(south) looked like the way, but when we started up, another climber who
was sitting there waiting for his slower companions still coming up told us
the correct route was up the right hand couloir.  When we expressed doubt,
he advised us that he had reached the summit that way three times before so
we bought it and headed up the right hand couloir.  When it became obvious
we had been sent on a fool's errand, we descended back to the saddle,
accepted the gentleman's apology and then headed back up the left hand
couloir.  We found the exit "crack" near the top of the couloir right where
the guide book said it would be.  Climbing out through this crack was
pretty easy even though a couple of the best footholds were iced over.  The
short scramble to the summit from here was very easy as the rock was bone
dry.  We signed the register, took a few pictures and headed down.  Getting
back down through the crack was a little harder than going up since you
can't very well see where your feet are but we managed.   Climbing down the
couloir (on talus) to the saddle was no problem but the long, steep descent
from the saddle to the upper basin did a number on my glass knees.

By the way, we drove a pretty low clearance Toyota to the "2WD" trailhead
at 10,700'.  We made it with the oilpan still intact but there were a few
places where we scraped bottom.  On the way in at 8:00 AM, ice covered the
road in a couple of scary places so it was kind of a white knuckle drive.

Carl Wingquist
Kathy Pierce

From the Rockies List Processor .

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