Leadville 100 Course

The primary thing to manage on this trip is Sunday afternoon thunderstorm exposure. Today (Friday) and Saturday are clean — sunny, winds 10-20 mph W, zero meaningful precip chance. You've got nothing to worry about on those days beyond the cold overnight lows (24°F Friday night, 27°F Saturday night), which means starting cold on morning runs. Sunday is where you need timing discipline: high of 62°F with a 16% chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. On the Leadville 100 course, that means Hope Pass (12,600 ft), the Powerline climb, and the Sugarloaf exposure all need to be behind you before noon. Plan your Sunday start accordingly.

Snowpack at elevation is real. Long Lake SNOTEL shows 61 inches of depth with SWE still at 26.4 inches and trending down — that's melt, not fresh snow, so it's consolidating but it's still 5+ feet of snow at high elevations. Expect coverage on north-facing sections above 10,000 ft, particularly on the Hope Pass approach and descent toward Winfield. Post-holing is likely off-trail; stay on the packed path where it exists. The overnight lows will refreeze any afternoon melt by morning, so early starts on Saturday and Sunday will have firmer, crustier snow — faster but potentially icy on steeper chutes near the pass.

Stream crossings are normal — all five gauges at or near median flows, nothing flagged. The Colorado River crossings and creek drainages on the course are not an issue this week.

You've got 14.5 hours of daylight (5:48 AM to 8:19 PM) which is plenty of runway. A 30-mile effort at a moderate mountain pace of 15-17 min/mile puts you at 7.5-8.5 hours moving — easy to manage in a day. If you're doing longer segments (50+ miles), do them today or Saturday to keep your Sunday options flexible around the storm window. Temperatures are moderate enough that heat isn't a concern, but the 24°F overnight lows combined with afternoon wind on the ridges mean a wind layer is worth having on the pass crossings even on the warmest day.