LT100 Trail Report

I didn't see all of the course, but I looked at Sheep Gulch 2 weeks ago, and I saw very much of the rest of it this past weekend. So I will mix eye-witness accounts and extrapolated predictions.

You can run from the start to the dam without snow.
Right away, there's snow around the lake in drifts with dry ground around. So I predict you can run most of the way around the lake, while dodging drifts.

The basin west of Turquoise Lake has received an inordinate amount of snow - seemingly more than the rest of the course. The trail from Mayqueen to Hagerman road is very deep in snow up to 4 feet deep.

Since I have foot issues, I did some cross-training and shoveled for several hours below Hagerman Road. I wasn't trying to clear it so much as help get some heat down deeper, sooner.



Hagerman road is clear up to the switchback up towards the summit of Sugarloaf. Some of the northern road up Sugarloaf is clear, much of it not.

The southern side of Sugarloaf is 2/3 clear.

Further south, I hiked from the turn on Half Moon road up the Colorado Trail for two miles. This is the steepest part of the trail, and it was runnable the whole way, with insignificant snow patches.

I predict you can run from Powerline all the way to the river crossing.



If you try to cross the river very carefully, using the gravel-bars, you will still have to deal with water up to your navel. (It is my experience that rushing water up to your crotch will likely sweep you off your feet.)



From a distance, it appears that Hope Pass is horribly deep in snow, but I was able to get to 11,000 feet on the shady north side (Little Willis). No trouble getting to the intersection of Big and Little Willis, nor to the ditch that we cross above that.
Right after crossing the ditch, the trail starts to zig-zag up, and it gets very snowy.

However, it's so trampled that it's still worthy of LT100 training.
After that, the trail levels out and there's intermittent drifts. Finally, there's the first of a few clearings below Hopeless.

Beyond that clearing is pretty much solid, un-runnable snow.

Overall, about 12-15% of the course is still not runnable. With only 19 days to the Training Camp, I'm guessing there will have to be some training course modifications, but hopefully Ma Naturale will prove me wrong.