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bluering
Mar 31, 2005, 11:09 PM
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Does anyone what the conditions are like at Lovers Leap and the Phantom Spires? Is there still snow on the ground, or on the routes? Are the trails cut if there is snow? Planning a trip for late April.
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tahoe_rock_master
Mar 31, 2005, 11:21 PM
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my guess would be that as of right now the leap is pretty buried. We have had a lot of snow in Thaoe this season, and even quite a bit this spring. However, it is suposed to be getting pretty warm in the following week . I am almostr certain though, that the Leap will be totally clear by the end of April.
Have Fun
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areuinclimber
Mar 31, 2005, 11:50 PM
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go here for a pic before the snow and a pic that is pretty recent:
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.html?m=67785&f=70&b=0
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chrismcnamara
Apr 6, 2005, 4:32 PM
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Right now the Leap has a lot of snow. As long as we don't get any more HUGE storms, then the dedicated people can start climbing there in mid april and by late april most of the routes should be climbable.
I bouldered there yesterday. The campground boulders are in great condition. no snow around the bases of the problems.
Phantom spires access road (Wrights Lake Road) is probably still a little snowy. so you have to access them from 50. By late april the wrights lake road will almost certainly be clear.
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sactownclimber
Apr 27, 2005, 5:41 PM
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anybody know if things have improved at the leap? man I'm itchin' to get out there . . .
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drkayak
Apr 27, 2005, 5:56 PM
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The Leap is mostly north facing @ 6,000ft... and it's been a big snow year. Even if the route is dry you will be in the shade and possibly wind. I remember one big snow year the Leap was not in "good" conditions till early June.
What's wrong with Sugarloaf?
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sactownclimber
Apr 27, 2005, 6:29 PM
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Nothing's wrong with Sugarloaf, I was just there last weekend. We did harding's chimney, and it started raining while my partner was cleaning the last pitch. We rapped in cold, windy, drizzle.
BTW, anybody know if you can rap Harding's Chimney in only two raps? From the second rap station (with the red slings around the chockstone), my partner went first and got to the top of the fang, threw the ropes down and said that he couldn't see if they were on the ground or not. We weren't interested in taking a chance and so we did a third rap from the top of the Fang. We were using two 60 m ropes.
Sorry for the thread drift . . .
At any rate, we'll probably continue to make trips to sugarloaf until we can climb at the leap . . .
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climbingkt
Apr 27, 2005, 6:47 PM
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In reply to: Nothing's wrong with Sugarloaf, I was just there last weekend
It must be nice to be able to climb outside
LUCKY
:lol:
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davidji
Apr 27, 2005, 6:49 PM
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In reply to: BTW, anybody know if you can rap Harding's Chimney in only two raps? |
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chrismcnamara
Apr 27, 2005, 10:15 PM
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i just hiked around the leap 10 minutes ago.
- campground is almost clear of snow
- the pony express trail to the east wall is clear of snow
- most of the routes are dry, but there is a lot of snow at the base of each climb
- there is still a ton of snow on the descent from the top of the main wall.
- about half the descent from the east wall has snow and half is dry
the bouldering ane south face of the hogs back are clear of snow and in great condition
you can climb at the leap now. but i wouldn't recommend it till the first or second week in may
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sactownclimber
Apr 27, 2005, 10:31 PM
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In reply to: i just hiked around the leap 10 minutes ago . . .
Geez, you gotta love the internet! Thanks for the very current information.
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sierramike
May 1, 2005, 2:29 AM
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Like Chris said, the Leap is open albeit with a snowy approach and descent. Lots of routes look dry. Phantom Spires is great. Very little snow on the approach. I did it in tennis shoes a few days ago. No worries.
Of course, Sugarloaf is good, but after this rain (it's raining now at 7:30 pm on Saturday), a few routes may be wet. Harding's Chimney actually has a walk off descent that is no big deal. Fun route though, huh.
Some day the winter of '04-'05 may end. Some day....
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