Mount Jefferson

Trail: Cog Rail Trail, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop Trail, Clay Loop

Conditions: Ice - Black, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow/Ice - Small Patches

“Up and down the cog to Jefferson. On the way back, I went over Clay (bypassed it on the way to Jefferson). Spikes from the trailhead to about 4,000, where I put on crampons. The section up through Jacob’s Ladder was, like last weekend, icy enough that I definitely wanted crampons. Once I got to the top of the steeper portion, spikes went on and stayed on the rest of the day, including the descent down the cog. Above tree line is a mix of rocks and frozen granular. In general there’s more rock than not, but I definitely wanted spikes. There are a couple of quite impressive snow fields on the east side of Clay. They’re supportive for now but will likely soften up. No more need for snowshoes if you’re going above tree line and taking the cog both ways [wrong. There is significant snowpack in the woods, so in the event of emergency, it may be deemed reckless if not having flotation when ascending above treeline without the ability to get back to safety via an alternate route]. Spikes and crampons only. IMHO an ice axe is overkill but I did see some people carrying them past Jacob’s Ladder.”

Trail: Jewell Trail, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop

Conditions: Ice - Blue, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular, Snow - Drifts, Snow/Ice - Monorail (Stable), Snow/Ice - Monorail (Unstable)

“Jewell from the Cog Cutoff was a seasonal mixed bag. We encountered lots of hard ice interspersed with hard packed snow. As elevation increased, there was less ice and more snow with developed narrow monorail. Above tree line we experienced ice, rocks, snow, monorail and drifts. the drifting was mostly on Gulfside mostly in the Sphinx Col. The two small snowfields north of Sphinx Col were hard and icy and hillsounds worked but K-10s would have been better. I was in my “rock spikes” but newer ones would have been a help.”

Trail: Jewell Trail, Gulfside, Jefferson Loop

Conditions: Ice - Black, Ice - Blue, Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Ice - Breakable Crust, Snow/Ice - Frozen Granular

“This was a tale of all the seasons. We started in rock spikes since the trail had stretches of ice and packed powder. Things were very solid given the cold temps. Up higher there were many stretches where postholes and water had caused the packed trail to deteriorate leaving a 3 inch wide stretch to walk on with a 2 to 2 1/2 foot drop on either side. Above treeline had plenty of ice but also plenty of bare rock. The ice was bullet proof so we opted to further trash our rock spikes by walking on exposed rocks. We all had brought real traction but stuck to our rock spikes given all the exposed rocks. This required careful foot placement both ascending and descending. Snowshoes may be needed if things warm up again or we get more snow but today we managed in light traction. Conditions are tedious so bring your best hiking pals and a good sense of humor. Our crew had a great time out there!”