Climbing end april- beginning May : Wasatch Range and San Rafael Swell

Hi,

How are Wasatch Range and San Rafael Swell weather in
end april- beginning May ??

Any snow left for the approach and the descent of the multipitch route ?

Thanks

I know the Wasatch has been getting decent snow this winter, and it hasn't been unusual to see spring snow dumps. It'd be hard to say what you'll see there in April/May at the higher elevations. You can generally climb in pleasant sunshine on the lower escarpments of the canyons all year long.

April/May is a generally a great time to visit the Swell.

waltereo wrote:Any snow left for the approach and the descent of the multipitch route ?

You're going to have to be a bit more specific...

ALTA, UTAH (420072)
Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary
Period of Record : 11/16/1948 to 12/31/2005
Apr May
Average Max. Temperature (F) 41.2 52.2
Average Min. Temperature (F) 23.8 32.8
Average Total Precipitation (in.) 5.27 3.85
Average Total SnowFall (in.) 58.1 26.7
Average Snow Depth (in.) 87 49

COTTONWOOD WEIR, UTAH (421759)
Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary
Period of Record : 7/ 1/1948 to 12/31/2005
Apr May
Average Max. Temperature (F) 62.1 72.4
Average Min. Temperature (F) 39.7 48.2
Average Total Precipitation (in.) 3.03 2.69
Average Total SnowFall (in.) 6.2 0.9
Average Snow Depth (in.) 0 0

CASTLE DALE, UTAH (421214)
Period of Record Monthly Climate Summary
Period of Record : 1/ 1/1928 to 12/31/2005
Apr May
Average Max. Temperature (F) 62.5 72.5
Average Min. Temperature (F) 30.9 39.1
Average Total Precipitation (in.) 0.49 0.67
Average Total SnowFall (in.) 0.4 0.1
Average Snow Depth (in.) 0 0

Not to be a jerk but we are actually below average again this season for snowfall...the UAC put out a beautiful graph showing this, but for the life of me I can't find it. April/May is kind of hit or miss. Brian has the right idea with showing you the deviation between the bottom of LCC and the top. I'd say you're a lot more likely to hit especially with the winter trend we're having. However, a word of caution, in the past 2 years on memorial day weekend I've skied fat powder conditions both times.

The route I am talking in the wasatch range are :

The West Slabs 5.5 Trad, 10 pitches, 1660 feet, Grade III Mount Olympus : The West Slabs

Outside Corner 5.7 Trad, 3 pitches, 300 feet Big Cottonwood Canyon : JHCOB Wall

Crescent Crack 5.7 Trad, 2 pitches, 300 feet Little Cottonwood Canyon : Crescent Crack Buttress

Bushwhack Crack 5.8 Trad, 2 pitches, 250 feet Gate Buttress : Schoolroom Area

And in the San Rafael Swell :

1000' of Fun 5.6 Trad, 5 pitches, 1000 feet, Grade II Eastern Reef Area.. AKA The... : O Crags (Three Finger Canyo...
1200' of more Fun 5.7 Trad, 6 pitches, 1200 feet, Grade II Eastern Reef Area.. AKA The... : O Crags (Three Finger Canyo...
Death by Chocolate 5.8 Trad, 9 pitches, 1700 feet, Grade III Eastern Reef Area.. AKA The... : E Crags (DBC Canyon)
A Mile and a Bit of Fun 5.8 R Trad, 6600 feet, Grade III Eastern Reef Area.. AKA The... : P Crags
Knights-Errant 5.8 Trad, 5 pitches, 870 feet, Grade II Eastern Reef Area.. AKA The... : O Crags (Three Finger Canyo...

waltereo wrote:The route I am talking in the wasatch range are : The West Slabs 5.5 Trad, 10 pitches, 1660 feet, Grade III Mount Olympus

That'll have snow in the coulior leading up to the route, but, the route "should" be clear of snow. That coulior can be easy, or, frightening with steep, icy snow pack. Caution advised to be sure.

The rest shouldn't be a problem in "normal" conditions.

Toss Schoolroom on that list! Or the standard route up the Thumb!

Brian in SLC wrote: That'll have snow in the coulior leading up to the route, but, the route "should" be clear of snow. That coulior can be easy, or, frightening with steep, icy snow pack. Caution advised to be sure.

Descent could be exciting, no?

Yea bring a small axe and some self arrest skills for the west slabs that time of year.

As stated earlier all the other routes will be fine.

Travis Haussener wrote:...but we are actually below average again this season for snowfall.

All too true: alta.com/pages/snowfallhist…
wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/nwcc/site…

The latter site (SNOTEL) requires some manipulation to obtain the data of interest.

(OT: the SNOTEL site can be very useful; e.g., for many areas in Utah, you can plot the historical averages of snow on the ground by month vs. the current total. This is very helpful for, e.g., assessing runoff when planning a (pack)rafting trip in the spring.)

You could die. Or it could be Fricken Glorious.
You pick that.
I'll see you out there, sometime. Maybe.
Cheers.
I dig The Swell. My, that's a Place, eh?

Thanks for the information...
So i understand it could be a hit or miss !

I found the following new route : Squawstruck (sport 22 pitches)

What do you think for that time period (last week april - 1rst week may)

Thanks

I did squawstruck in the fall and it was beautiful temps.(can't remember the exact date) but it is in the sun all day so end of april beginning of may should be perfect. The approach is up a long scree field so if there is snow that might get a little interesting. We also broke it down into 16 pitches instead of 22.

Hi again !

Any update of the snow conditions in the wasatch range for Little CottonWood, Big Cotton Wood ?

Did someone climb one of the following routes and share its comment about the snow left on those routes ??

Squawstruck (22 pitches)

The West Slabs 5.5 Trad, 10 pitches, Mount Olympus : The West Slabs

Outside Corner 5.7 Big Cottonwood Canyon : JHCOB Wall

Crescent Crack 5.7 Little Cottonwood Canyon : Crescent Crack Buttress

Pentapitch 5.8 Little Cottonwood Canyon : Pentapitch Area

Bushwhack Crack 5.8 Gate Buttress : Schoolroom Area

Thanks a lot

Outside Corner, Crescent Crack, Pentapitch and Bushwhack should all be indecent shap as long as we didn't get rain or snow the day before. A good sunny day will take care of all those.

Where are you coming from? And how long do you plan to stay in the Wasatch?