Alaska Climbing Season

Hello, 

A friend and I are in the beginning phases of planning an attempt on Ham and Eggs on Moose's Tooth this upcoming spring. We are planning on flying in right on the glacier and doing a fairly quick trip (a week) to get it done, as that is our only objective. 

We are debating on ideal times to make an attempt. It's obvious the most common time is April, however as a school teacher, I have a week off for Spring Break March 17-21st, and I am done with school for the summer the very last week of May (May 27), so those dates would be ideal with my work schedule. 

Question is, are those dates typically outside of the climbing window for Ham and Eggs? Would you go later March or Later May? I'm sure it's highly dependent on the year. Any firsthand experience with the climbing season window for this route would be much appreciated. 

Thanks!

 I can’t speak to the route conditions at all but you might give a call to TAT and see what they say about landing on the root canal that late. My sense is the landing might go out by late May/June.
Something to keep in mind about climbing in the AK range is you may easily burn several days waiting to fly in. Likewise if you need to get out on a schedule you might have to bail some days early to ensure flyable conditions. Put together you could easily bust and never even get on the ground with a one week hard schedule. Not saying don’t go for it but rather be prepared. 

The ideal time is mid April through mid May. In March you will have much much less day light and colder temps. I know of at least one winter ascent. It was basically a one day smash and grab ascent.  If you have never been in the Alaska Range May would probably be a better choices it would give you more options if out of condition. For instance, shift to something like 11,300. Also remember that you might wait days to fly in/out. So having more than week would hedge your bets on doing something.

Thank you both for your insight. 

I hear the route is quite busy these days so if conditions work for March, could be a unique time to have the route to yourself.  Takes more skill and time to discern conditions if you’re back there alone.

When we climbed it in late April we were late that season and needed to do the mixed variation to the right of the ice crux that was out (I found the mixed crux move stout for M5 but good gear).

No shame stopping at the Col if for whatever reason summit day isn’t going as planned. I think everything in Alaska is hard but I consider H&E a good first objective if you want some ice climbing at a grade that typically feels chill. I personally appreciate AK range partners with a mountaineering and technical climbing background .I’ve found the mountaineering skills/mt comfort is under-appreciated sometimes up there.

If you go during peak season maybe consider tying your trip to a last minute weather window. If you only want to do that one route you could be pretty quick with good weather (I’m too weather pessimistic to go up there for a week or 10 days hoping to get lucky). I think it’s worth starting at whatever funky time gives you the best shot at being first on route.

Reach out if you have more questions and good luck making it happen!

The Moose’s Tooth can definitely be done that early, but only if you get a favorable weather window. Given your timeframe I would approach it as a smash and grab, only going if conditions and weather look good. It’s really easy to get stuck up there and you’d want to go into it with a plan incase you get trapped and miss work.

Get some transferable tickets and if weather doesn’t look 100% pivot to Canmore or somewhere else reliable. There’s no deposit for TAT, so a last minute bail doesn’t cost you anything. 

For your first trip to the AK range, I'd avoid trying Ham and Eggs in March. No one else will have been there so you'll be clearing the route, good chance for lots of snow/hangfire on the walls, it'll be cold, no one to help you if something goes wrong, less light, etc...it's a place worth being conservative. Like others have said landing on the Root in late May is very likely to be out. Save up some days, find a substitute, and go for it in April. 

Later in May can be okay on the Kahiltna as routes like Mini-Moonflower and Bacon and Eggs are north facing and typically better in May.

Thank you so much all for your replies and advice. It is much appreciated.