Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir Guide

January 29, 2024 The Virtual Sherpa Comments 0 Comment

Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir is a North facing snow line on this Front Range 14er. The line is about 1,000ft and ranges from 45-50° in steepness. Unless you REALLY like to suffer, this route requires the Mt Blue Sky Highway to be open which typically happens around Memorial Day. In addition, you must have a parking reservation at Summit Lake for this one. Although it does not look like much from far away, this line is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and continuous snow lines on Mt Blue Sky.

Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir Quick Facts

Virtual Trail Guide: Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir

Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)

Distance: 2 Miles RT (From Summit Lake)

Elevation Start: 12,830ft

High Point: 14,264ft

Total Elevation Gain: 1,450ft

Estimated Time to Complete: 2-3 Hours RT

Difficulty: Moderate to Difficult What does this mean?

Class: Class 2 – What does this mean?

Season: Late May – June: This line may last longer, but I wouldn’t push a climb into July due to the top of it melting out preventing you from getting up on the ridge. In general, hit this one as soon as Mt Blue Sky Highway opens for the season.

Snow Climb Grade: Moderate to Difficult: 40-50 Degrees at its crux

Check the Weather Forecast

Avalanche Risk: Crystal Couloir in the Winter and Spring does present avalanche risk, so please understand the conditions and risks before heading out. Watch this video for basic avalanche information.

Directions to Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir

Trailhead: Summit Lake

Getting Here: From either Evergreen or Idaho Springs, navigate up towards Echo Lake before entering the Mt Evans Highway and continuing up towards Summit Lake. This road usually opens around Memorial Day for the season. View the road status here.

Parking: Parking at Summit lake is about as straightforward as it gets, especially since you have to make a reservation to drive up (more on that below). At the TH (and summit) there are non-plumbing restrooms.

Fee: $7 or less depending on if you own an America the Beautiful Pass.

Reservation: Required – read more about how to book a spot here.

Summary

Dogs: I would not recommend bringing a dog up any couloir but Mt Blue Sky in general is a dog friendly hike.

Camping: The closest spot to officially camp is Echo Lake Campground. There are also dispersed camping spots along Squaw Pass that could be used in a punch for one night. You can’t camp at Summit Lake, but technically nothing is preventing you from sleeping in your car.

Make it a Loop: Once you top out of the Crystal Couloir, you have several options on how to descend.

The obvious is to ski/board/downclimb the couloir itself.
You could top out on the Summit and take the East slopes down. This option requires snow coverage to avoid a terribly scree filled field with no official trail.
There are a few other east facing bowls/snow lines that you can see while climbing the couloir.
Finally, you could take the standard Mt Blue Sky trail back to Summit Lake.

Trail X Factors: Exit of Couloir

Although Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir faces North and is shaded by the summit of the mountain, the exit of the couloir faces East and gets hit by the sun as soon as it rises. Therefore, the exit of this line will melt out much sooner than the rest of it. In addition, this section of the mountain is much more affected by winds than the protected couloir. There is nothing worse than climbing a snow line and not being able to exit it due to poor or dangerous conditions which is why I recommend hitting this line as early in the season as possible. You might be able to scout out the exit of this line when you park at Summit Lake but it will depend on the visibility that day.

Hike Tip: Before heading out to attempt ANY winter hike or couloir be sure to understand avalanche conditions. Crystal Couloir faces north/northeast so the snow will typically be fairly firm and well tracked out unless you are hitting it with fresh powder. However, due to low snow levels and heavy winds, the chances of getting a continuous ski from the top of the line to your car is not very high. Watch this video for basic avalanche information.

In addition, as I point out in my video, this line has two variations – the right (standard) top out and the left, more steeper option. Choose which option you feel better with as they both end up in essentially the same spot.

Best Views: Mt Blue Sky Crystal Couloir is a really cool looking snow line even though it may not seem like it from the parking lot. It gets quite narrow in sections and offers excellent views of Summit Lake. Once you top out of the line, look down in Denver and over to neighboring 14er, Mt Bierstadt in addition to all of the other Front Range Peaks. On a clear day, you should even be able to see down to Pikes Peak.