St. Mary's Glacier (CO), skiable in september?

[Sven2388]

trying to ski every month of the year of 2009 in CO. got them all so far. anyone know if the glacier will still be skiable in september? I really hope so cause a 1/4 mile hike to the glacier seems a lot nicer than the ~12 mile round trip hikes we did for june, july and august. any info would be appreciated, thanks

[COpow]

Yes. But often full of suncups...

[Vermonter]

Right now its real sun cupped, but it is still well covered and will certainly count as a day of skiing to keep your streak going

[Sven2388]

thanks for the info guys. suncups never stopped me before...

[durangotang]

sick, I had some friends go there today but not for skiing. they did the jump into the lake. burrrrrrrrrr

[durangotang]

btw, solid first thread. a gold star for you

[Sven2388]

^thank you. let me to further introduce myself...

June 20th, Comanche Peak, Comanche Peak wilderness, hiked to from Pingree Park






btw, all these^ pics are of buddies. im the one behind the camera


July 5th, skiing The Mummy in RMNP, hiked to from Pingree Park

me^

[Sir Jongalot]

For what its worth those aren't suncups that you posted.

THESE are suncups on St Mary's in September:

[buckethead]

yea, thanks for the good stoke sven and props on your streak - keep it alive!
...the suncups in your pics actually look mighty inviting in this, my fourth consecutive (and hopefully last) month without snow...


the ones in jongalot's post...not so much.

[jump]

Nice goal man! 12 months in a row is a worthwhile pursuit, and good on you for keeping up the stoke! It's been awhile since I have been out there, but St. Mary's can be fun pretty much all year if I remember correctly.

And yes, the short hike is for the win!

Ensure a TR is soon to follow!

[Edgnar]

I went and rode there on August 30, and it was definitely still "skiable", in that there was snow and you could slide on it. But it was pretty bad. I was at Rollins pass two weeks ago and that seems like it might be the place to go. I didn't actually get to the skyscraper glacier, but there was still plenty of snow there. I'm just not sure how suncupped and runnelled it is.

Anyway, I had fun at St. Mary's and like I said, there is snow and you can make turns on it, but it is definitely summer snow and not very good. My board is all muddy from when I did it. That said, I'm probably going back this Friday for my September turns to try to keep my once a month streak up. That is, unless I can get a partner for Skyscraper glacier.

IF you do go, go sooner than later. It was getting pretty narrow and looked like it might become two separate snowfields before too. For the short and easy approach you really can't beat it.

[COGreaser]

Suncupped as hell, but skiable for sure if your on the hunt for skiing every month. I was just up there a couple weeks back, coverage was fine but don't expect great skiing. Good Luck!

[lowPro]

Skip St. Mary's, if you know RMNP as it seems you do, then hit up Andrew's Glacier- should be in fine shape for more than a few turns and maybe isn't as suncupped. Watch out for crevasses and black ice though they sometimes lurk near the steeper parts.

[skiracer88_00]

I didn't actually get to the skyscraper glacier, but there was still plenty of snow there. I'm just not sure how suncupped and runnelled it is.

skyscraper 8/29/09: its actually a lot worse than these pictures even can show. The top portion is downright scary because the runnels are so deep and wide, there is not much ski to snow contact area to hold an edge at times. I don't recommend it at this point.

[Ccard257]

Some shots from Sunday 8/30





only the last 30 yards or so was this dirty

[Crusty]

I recommend Ptarmigan in RMNP for Sept. It was better than Andrews for August.

[leroy jenkins]

Remember to keep an eye out for burnhards dog kiska.

[Sven2388]

thanks for all the info and sharing pictures guys, its greatly appreciated.

I recommend Ptarmigan in RMNP for Sept. It was better than Andrews for August.

care to elaborate? i am not familiar...

[SILENCER]

Totally agreed here. I went out to Skyscraper two Saturdays ago and it was hands down the worst snow I've ever skied in my 47 month streak. Well, the lower apron was just fine, but don't even think of dropping the upper pitch. I had to downclimb it the runnels were so deep once I got out there. You're basically supported across a four foot trough on two contact points. It was awful. Good character building though!

I guess you could lap the apron for a while, but would take longer to rack up vert.

skyscraper 8/29/09: its actually a lot worse than these pictures even can show. The top portion is downright scary because the runnels are so deep and wide, there is not much ski to snow contact area to hold an edge at times. I don't recommend it at this point.

[Cross]

You can always hit up Montazuma Basin near Aspen. With a decent 4wd vehicle you can get closer than 1/4 mile to the snow.

Here is a video I made from last weekend.
[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/6397318"]Untitled on Vimeo[/ame]

Lots of sun cupping but it just makes the skiing that much better.

[powdork]

nice edit. were moving the camera into place and then hiking back up to ski down?

[Solesides]

Nice first post, Cross. That looked fun!

[Cross]

Yep, just setup the tripod and camera and hit record. Then I would hike up then ski down where I had the camera pointed. Some shots I skied right from where the camera was and hiked back to it.