Clear Lake 6.18.15
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The ski season was still going strong, so Brittany and I started talking about new places to check out. We had heard about Clear Lake in the San Juans near Silverton from some friends. As is often the case in the San Juans, access looked good and the basin looked like it would have lots of choices, so that’s where we headed, along with Josh and Natalie. Some downed trees blocked the road a little lower than we had hoped, but we still found ourselves at treeline before we knew it. We had a great view of Ice Lakes basin along the way:
We were hoping to ski some of the couloirs in the area, but the recent heat and rains created huge runnels and we had to shift plans.
The southern facing slopes above the lake on a subpeak of South Lookout Peak looked smooth and fun as a consolation prize.:
A quick climb brought us to the top of the line.
Josh:
A few people have told us that Rolling Mountain should be on our list. Now that I’ve seen it, I concur:
We found great smooth corn, especially for mid to late June. Josh:
Brittany:
Frank:
Natalie (who recently completed her goal of climbing Colorado’s highest 100 Peaks, the Centennials) Congrats!
Another route on the other side of the basin looked good as well, so we decided to go for run number two. First, the climb:
Turns out the peak is V2, and we got to summit:
US Grant also looks like a fun ski:
Fun skiing. Me:
Brittany:
Natalie:
Josh:
We found ourselves back at Clear Lake, which was still mostly frozen:
While we didn’t get to ski the lines we were hoping to, The Clear Lake area has a number of different options so it was easy to come up with a plan B. After heading back into Silverton for some food, we spent the rest of the day driving the San Juans looking for other lines. I love this place- they plow all the roads. More from Silverton later…
- Bluebird Backcountry Ski Area - February 14, 2020
- Gear Review: Smith 4D MAG Goggles - January 6, 2020
- Gear Review: LEKI Tour Stick Vario Carbon Ski Poles - December 9, 2019
I camped there last summer, in August, I thought there looked to be some good aspects. You guys got it!
If they plow all the roads, how close did you get?
Hi Rick! While the South Mineral Creek Rd gets plowed, it does not appear that the road that forks off to Clear Lake does. So you’re at the mercy of lower-elevation snow-melt. We encountered treefall blockage in the road before snow plugs, which put us about 1.5 miles out from the lake. Still, not a bad approach!