Drive Snowmass Creek Road ~1.7 miles until the road ends in a “T”. Turn left onto Snowmass Creek Road and follow the road for an additional ~9.2 miles. The road will turn to dirt about 5.5 miles after the turn.  The road will cross Snowmass Crrek and ends in another "T". From here turn right and go another ~0.4 miles to the trailhead, which is at the gate of the Snowmass Falls Ranch. The road is well-maintained the whole way, and any vehicle should be able to make it.

Once across the creek, the trail continues another quarter-mile next to the beaver ponds, and then begins to switchback and traverse more steeply up the valley, eventually entering the dense pine forest and ending up at breathtaking Snowmass Lake. Campsites are plentiful near the lake.

From the lake, follow a faint trail clockwise (i.e. climbers' left) around the lake. It starts out right at the shoreline, eventually climbing away from the shore as you curve around the far end of the lake. Once there, the trail leads across a small boulder-field and then begins a steep climb up next to a prominent gully to the basin at 12,000' where Snowmass's namesake snowfield lies. If possible, hike the snowfield and aim for the ridge between Hagerman Peak and Snowmass Mountain, then follow the ridgeline to the summit (solid Class 3). In low-snow years, just pick the best route through the talus and boulders to teh ridgeline and continue to the summit.

I headed out of Denver early on Saturday the 16th, teaming west on I-70 with all the other weekenders. The cloudy weather turned rainy by Idaho Springs and progressed to full-on blizzard conditions heading down Vail Pass. There were no less than a half-dozen spinouts and fender benders in the reduced visibility, and I started to think that maybe I'd just spend a nice night in Glenwood Springs and enjoy the hot springs. Luckily, the weather let up considerably by Glenwood, and the drive south on CO82 was merely cloudy, although I could see that there was more than a light dusting of snow on nearby Mt. Sopris, which told me that conditions above treeline would indeed be more winter than summer.

From the Snowmass turnoff, I followed the directions per Roach (see above also) along the Snowmass Creek Road...well maintained even when it turns to dirt. The trailhead at the Snowmass Falls Ranch was damp from rain, but clear of snow, which I took as a good sign. Hefting my pack I headed down the trail a few minutes before 1:00. The 8-mile approach hike was absoutely stunning, partially because of the dramatic weather that would swoop in, snow for 5 minutes and then dissolve into sunshine, and partially due to the changing fall colors - the hills were speckled with yellow and orange aspen. The well-maintained trail runs through the Snowmass Falls Ranch for the first mile and a half, and then descends next to Snowmass Creek until mile 3. The trail then climbs away from the creek and traverses a little higher along the valley.  Around mile 4 I was treated to an incredible view of Snowmass Mountain west across the valley. At mile 5 the valley floor opened up into a series of beaver ponds, and at mile 6 I was faced with the tricky part of the hike -- crossing Snowmass Creek. There's no bridge, and the choices are either a the wobbly beaver dams or else finding a shallow spot to wade across. I shed my boots and socks for the latter, and accepting the shocking cold of the water, padded barefoot across about 20 feet of calf-deep water. By the time I was done, my feet were quite refreshed! From the crossing, I continued along the trail as it did a couple switchabacks and then a long traverse, finally coming through a clearing to Snowmass Lake, which is just jaw-droppping to approach. The high alpine lake is accented by Snowmass Peak (not Snowmass Mountain) directly across from where the trail empties to the lake. Looking to the right of Snowmass Peak, Hagerman Peak and Snowmass Mountain manifest as less impressive and farther away bumps. The high peaks were all snow-covered from the recent weather front, and there was a couple inches of snow at the lake itself. I found a prime camping spot and quickly set up for the night. The hike from the trailhead had taken just over 4 hours. After setting up and filtering water for the next morning, it was time for a steaming meal of Mountain House mac & cheese and then bedtime as the sun set and the temperatures began to seriously drop.

The next morning I awoke with my watch alarm at 5:00am while it was still pitch-dark outside. The skies had cleared, the stars were blazing bright and it was frickin' COLD! I was very grateful for my down jacket as I extracted myself from my tent and assembled my daypack for the mornings' assault. By 6:00 I was off along the climbers' trail that ran clockwise around the lake. The trail starts out right next to the shoreline and eventually climbs a hundred feet or so above the lake and then around to the west side of the lake. I moved at a moderate but steady pace, trying to keep warm in the cold morning air. At the west end of the lake, the trail dissolves as the talus and boulders take over, but cairns mark the way to the edge of the main gully just north of the west end of the lake.  From here a steep trail led me up to a shallow basin at 12,000' as the morning sun made its appearance and slowly began to warm me up. It was a perfect morning, calm and clear, with the sky such a deep shade of cobalt blue that you keep glancing at it to make sure it's real. My hope was that the terrain at the higher altitudes would be mostly snow-free and windblown, but no such luck. The higher up I went in the basin the deeper the snow got. I still had a cairned path to follow, but the route became unpredicatable and exhausting as the snowcover hid deep holes and unstable rocks. It was 9:00 when I climbed up a shallow gully to 13,000 and could really see a good view of the summit. But, based on my increasingly slowing progress and the fact I still had to hike out (~4 hours) and drive home (another 4 hours), I knew I wouldn't be able to summit and get back in a reasonable amount of time. So, reluctantly, I called it a day there at 13,000'. Still, I wasn't all that upset about it. It was a beautiful day and I had the mountain to myself. The Maroon Bells and Pyramid were easily visible close to the southeast. I turned around and began the arduous descent. By the time I reached my camp I was grateful to be back on solid and relatively snow-free ground. It took only minutes to pack up camp and head down the trail, still under clear and calm skies. I knew that I'd be back in the spring to try again, and even the 8-mile hike out didn't seem all that bad.