Cirque of the Towers Conditions

Thanks for the beta Dan! I'm hoping to get out there in early July. Hopefully things shape up by then.

I will have a celebratory ham waiting for you at the Cirque.

We had a little bit of a snow event in Pinedale on Tuesday. Elevations above 8000' received significant snow. I have heard that the southern end didn't get hit as hard, but up high around Pinedale saw upwards of 10". It's supposed to be nice and warm this weekend and my friend will be snowshoeing up to Big Sandy Lake. I will post what he reports back to me up here on Monday or Tuesday.

Thanks for the update. I'm also looking at an early season trip. (Going in around July 8th)

I was in the cirque the last week of May and there was a rather large pack still. Here are some pics from it. The only water accessible at the time was the falls that is about in the middle of the cirque.

I have some friends going in there this weekend and will post an update on what current conditions are, as well as try to get into deep lakes for some action on Haystack before too long.

Thank you for the beta, keep it coming!

Here is the status from last weekend.

Were snowshoes required to get in?

Dan / Anyone Else,

Think of heading into the cirque around July 4th..,

How bad will the crowds be?
How bad will the bugs be?
How much snow should we expect?

Thanks!

Hey! I have attempted to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge below; maybe somebody with more experience can expand if I get anything wrong:

1.) No. I would not expect crowds. Even on it's worst days (late July, August), the Cirque is somewhat chill. Big Sandy Lake might be a junk show, since it's the 4th, but BS Lake should pretty much be avoided at all times of the year, anyway.

2.) I have noticed that the hordes are congregating in the lower elevations (8-9,000' approx.) right now. They move up as the season progresses and conditions become warmer in the higher elevations. Basically: if the Cirque is melted out and warm like you want it to be, there will probably be bugs.

3.) I dunno. It's raining like a sucker right now in the Winds and it's about 70-80 degrees during the day, and the days are long. That should melt some stuff. There was approx. 4 feet on Jackass Pass last weekend (according to a friend). 1.5 weeks from now...I can't say anything with certainty. There will probably be less than four feet.

Bottom line: I totally think that climbing in the Cirque or in Deep Lake area will be doable on July 4th weekend. Or at least I pray it will.

Julie and I are planning to go up July 3-7 to do some climbs on Haystack and hang out in the Cirque. Let me know what you're up to.

Cameron: Really appreciated the very nice photo. Thank you.

And thank you to anyone who can provide future updates!

O ya, no problem. That photo was taken by some friends but passed it along as myself and I'm sure many others are interested in getting the alpine season rolling.

I plan to go into either Deep lake or the Cirque for a fast mission the weekend of the 4th and am banking on being able to get on a pretty snow free route. The decents will be the question, but if managed correctly no problem.

Unless it drops a lot of snow, I plan on heading up to the Cirque this weekend. See you up there!

Any more condition report? That'll be greatly appreciated. Planning on being at the trailhead in 24 hours and would love to know whether we need to change our weekend plan or not.

I have heard there are places to camp in the climber's meadow. Snow on Jackass Pass, etc. but people have been up there and say it seems doable. I'm heading out tomorrow. I have a feeling it will be nice (fewer bugs than lower elevations, I'm guessing).

A good backup would be Haystack. Deep Lake is pretty much snow and ice free, from what I hear.

I have good feelings.

How's it looking!

It was amazing!

The bugs were frustrating, but the weather was fantastic!

Awesome! Thank you! Would approach shoes and an ice axe be sufficient for getting to camp and on/off climbs, or are boots necessary?

Thanks!

Wow that is a lot of snow! Was up there last year for 4th of July and the snow was not even comparable to that (snow in shady sections of the cirque but nothing in the valleys). Here is our backpacking trip from a year ago for comparison: andylibrande.com/news/2013/…

Brandon Gratias wrote:Awesome! Thank you! Would approach shoes and an ice axe be sufficient for getting to camp and on/off climbs, or are boots necessary? Thanks!

Depends on where you are planning on climbing. Sundance Pinnacle was snow-free. Warbonnet was mostly dry except few spots on descent but the north side was still snowed in (we wanted to do feather buttress but bailed). Black elk looked like the driest option among the classic routes. Tons of snow at the base of Wolf's head, Shark's nose, etc. If you are planning on climbing those formations, an ice ax would probably come in handy. Pingora looked fine without an ax. Saw avalanche and a couple of rock falls on Mt. Mitchell and descent on Warbonnet due to freeze and thaw cycle. I had just approach shoes and my feet got soaked but they dried out fast and wasn't a problem for me.