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After 4 peaks in a row class 2+ or harder and involving long drives, I thought I'd do one of the few close to home that I have left. It was nice to leave crampons, ice axe, gaiters, helmet, jacket, and boots all inclusively at home for the first time this year. I had a late start at 8:40 a.m., but wasn't too concerned because I knew I could make a good pace with running shoes; camera and liquid would be my only weight constraints. The parking lot was quite full, and having four wheel drive almost came in handy. I made it to the bridge (the one after 2 or so miles) in 30 minutes and kept the pace up. Only 5 weeks ago, the Horn Fork Basin was still pretty snowed in, and it was nice to tread on dirt here for a change. The route is quite obvious once breaking treeline (photo on right).
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The turn of the trail to the southeast had me wondering for a second, because there were a few small trails headed north branching off the large trail. I followed what my experience told me and ignored them. The trail was quite gentle for some time, and it was quite hot out - having shorts on was a plus. There were a couple groups making their way to Bear Lake, which ended up being the final destination before returning to the trailhead. Harvard was quickly looming large ahead, and the weather was holding up well. The dirt trail ended, and the talus hiking began (photo on left), which was still class 1. CFI did a great job on this trail, and as far as the cairns go, from what I understand, they are the Forest Service's directives to the CFI. In any event, routefinding was non-existent until reaching a long but narrow snowfield.
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With about 800 vertical feet remaining, the trail actually switches back west, but is not apparent because the switch was covered. I later watched just about everyone I had passed earlier miss this and continue off-trail up the grass and talus. It was 11:00 a.m. at this point and the first signs of altitude were taking effect - requiring an ocassional 15 second rest. There was a group of uncultured young yahoos yelling from the summit for the last hour or so that was getting more annoying with each step closer. I can say with certainty now that the more difficult-classed peaks have their own social advantages. The highlight of the day for me was the appearance of the summit block(s) on Harvard's summit - you could 4th class these if desirable with little exposure. In fact I did, just for kicks. This might have been a bad decision though, because some people who watched me from below later tried to do the same thing, thinking it was the correct route.
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There was no room on the summit, just like the damn parking lot. At 11:25 a.m., I began my descent after getting on the highest part of the summit block (Mount Belford as seen from the summit on left). Snowmass still had an incredible amount of snow on its East Face. The descent took 10 minutes less than the ascent, as I wasn't as enthusiastic about running down the trail as up it earlier. This was a workout, but the easiest overall since Mount Belford in August 2002. 12.6 miles can be a lot or very little depending on the terrain, as evidenced by the fact that it took me 4 hours snowshoeing in late November before turning around at the same point that took me 50 minutes to arrive at this time around.
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