Difficulty: Moderate
Route Name: Coleman-Deming
Snow Level: 6000 ft
Elevation Gain: 7000 ft
Total Miles: 11.52 mi
Weather: Excellent weather! Clear, little chilly at the summit. Warm on the way down.
Left Heliotrope ridge trailhead at 9pm July 18th. Hit the first snow at Hogsback basecamp and constant snow from the Hogsback headwall up. Found a few crevasses opened up in the football field so stayed on the steady boot pack that went to black buttes and then cuts left, following up the glacier, weaving through a few crevasses and ceracs. Near colfax Peak, 2 open and deep crevasses have unveiled themselves. Boot back goes over a very weak snow bridge on the first one but found a better snow bridge climbers left that has more life to it. The second crevasse was open and it seemed people were jumping the 4 or 5 foot gap. Not advised. Climbers left there is a snow bridge that seemed only skiiers used but it also has plenty of life. Pumice ridge still has plenty of snow too on the way up to the base of the roman wall. The snow closer to the exposed rock and pumice was more solid then the snow further from it. The warm temperatures have turned a majority of the snow on the ridge soft and slushy.
The roman wall was pretty solid with early morning temperatures keeping the snow pack pretty firm and hard. The summit Plateau had excellent snow, nice and firm, some soft spots but a majority hard.
The coleman demming route will be open for sometime but probably not after the end of the month. The second crevasse on the route spans from the Roman Mustache to the colfax icefall and is very very wide and deep. After this one opens up the rest of the way, i wouldn't advise going climbers left or right to get around it due to the icefall risks this time of year with warm temps during the day and night.
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