With severe avalanche danger at and above tree line, and considerable danger below, we decided to snowshoe around the Rampart Ridge loop. The trail was clear and compressed by earlier hikers; we did not need snowshoes. Spikes might have helped but were not necessary. We hiked clockwise until we reached an small open slope while still climbing the switchbacks.
We crossed one at a time, watching each other. Beyond the open slope the trail was obliterated, and the steepness combined with iciness under the new snow made us turn back. So we retraced our steps down, and hiked the loop counterclockwise. We got a lot further going this way, passing the turn off to Pyramid Creek Camp and continuing a good mile along the straightaway roughly paralleling Kautz Creek. Then we met another avalanche slope. We looked up and saw what appeared to be the top of the ridge just 20 feet above, so we headed straight up. At that point we ran into the Pineapple Express with strong winds blowing icy snow horizontally, and retreated. Even though we didn't quite make the whole loop it was a great day of snow hiking.
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