CT in late April?

imported
#1

Just looked at flights for round-trip to Denver. Really cheap for late April departure. Very tempting to go again on the CT. When I hiked last fall, trail was incredible. How are conditions from Denver to, say, Creede, snow-wise? I’d expect snow at high elevation, but is there less snow this year vs. previous ones?

HankPoisson

#2

The snowpack right now is 76% of average. But that can all change in March and April with a few big storms. If you are planning on starting late April. I would bring snowshoes and a GPS since the trail will be under the snow a lot. Also, know how to avoid avalanches. The website to look at for snowpack is snotel.com Good luck…and have fun!

Lisa

#3

Nice knowing you Hank! :smiley:

apple

#4

I’m afraid to say that even with the low snow pack for the year, April is awfully early to backpack in the Colorado Rockies. It would be a challenge and like mentioned above, you’d need snowshoes.

Bullet

#5

The following was posted on the Colorado Trail Foundation Facebook Page this morning:

“SNOWPACK. How much? Everyone’s askin’. Look here: http://www.coloradotrail.org/snowandweather.html

Bernard

#6

About 8 inches of snow should hit the beginning of the trail in the next couple of days but should melt off by the weekend.

Denver

#7

Here’s a good map that has a snow depth overlay.Gives a good rough estimate in my experience. Keep in mind it is a model, and is an extrapolation from a set of real datapoints and historic data.

http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive/html/map.html

make sure to go to the “select physical element” selector and choose “snow depth”

Andrew M

#8

Here’s a good map that has a snow depth overlay.Gives a good rough estimate in my experience. Keep in mind it is a model, and is an extrapolation from a set of real datapoints and historic data.

http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive/html/map.html

make sure to go to the “select physical element” selector and choose “snow depth”

Andrew M