Antero 4x4 road

[kevintheclimber]

drove up to the creek with 2007 outback subaru. the road were definitely rougher than i expected, but seemed to make up and down with no problem, no undue damage but it depends on the driver. there were several spots that i had to choose carefully and then throttle up pretty quick. if you have a reasonable clearance you should be able to drive it all way up to 13,100 with no problems.

kevin

[jeffth5]

Don't underestimate this road. Having done this road, Princeton road, Yankee Boy, Nellie Creek and Matterhorn this summer, I thought that this one was the hardest of those classics. Traildamage.com backs up my experience, rating the Antero road harder than all of those others.

We are researching Nellie Creek for a trip to Lake City next week. My dad did Antero in his Xterra and made it to treeline, but prefers not to repeat the experience. I saw the differential on traildamage, but wondered if you could also tell what you felt made it easier than Baldwin Gulch specifically? It might help boost my dad's confidence level in attempting it. Thanks in advance!

IMO, Baldwin Gulch's biggest issue are the rocks - they are numerous and large(ish). Nellie Creek's challenges are the rollovers (big problem for full size trucks, but should be good in an Xterra - take them slowly on the way down), the 1st creek crossing (more of a problem during June when there is more melt water - it is fine now) and one rocky problem that is 100 yards from the start of the road. If you make it past that first problem about 100 yards up the road, you will be fine and the road gradually gets easier as it rises. In fact, the last mile of the Nellie Creek road is really easy.

Just take it really slowly through the harder parts and try to pick the best line and you will be good to go - you should make it without scraping. I thought going down the road was significantly easier than going up, so try to enjoy your time up there and not stress about the drive back down!

EDIT: There's also the plus that Uncompaghre is way prettier than Antero, so the risk/reward ratio ion getting to the TH is a lot better!

[rockchalker]

Planning to do Antero the first week of September, wondering if anyone has been up the road recently. We will have a 4-wheel, high clearance vehicle, thinking of maybe getting across the first creek crossing then parking and going on foot the rest of the way. At some point, it's probably just as fast to walk as it is to try and drive.

[AlexeyD]

Planning to do Antero the first week of September, wondering if anyone has been up the road recently. We will have a 4-wheel, high clearance vehicle, thinking of maybe getting across the first creek crossing then parking and going on foot the rest of the way. At some point, it's probably just as fast to walk as it is to try and drive.

Just made a brief comment about this in an Antero CR: http://14ers.com/php14ers/peakstatus_en ... ecnum=7302" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Traveler]

Saw a Jeep Cherokee make it all the way to the top yesterday.

[AlexeyD]

Saw a Jeep Cherokee make it all the way to the top yesterday.

Whoa - you mean all the way up to the mining claims at 13.8K? I think I know what Cherokee you're talking about...we passed them on our way down the W slope switchbacks. I didn't expect them to continue up beyond the flats at 13K, though!

[SolarAlex]

i drove a stock tacoma up to the creek crossing without any issues...the only reason i stopped was because I wanted to do at least some hiking up there . Just about any decent 4x4 should easily make it to the creek crossing.

[thurs]

Don't underestimate this road. Having done this road, Princeton road, Yankee Boy, Nellie Creek and Matterhorn this summer, I thought that this one was the hardest of those classics. Traildamage.com backs up my experience, rating the Antero road harder than all of those others. That being said, a jeep with an experienced driver should be fine. Subaru will depend on the driver and risk tolerance. 8in+ clearance and 4lo highly recommended.

This is correct from my experience.

Jeep: should be a non issue.

Subaru-esque: doable with a good driver, but you may definitely cause some undue hardship on your car. But in reality you could get a modern Outback or Forester up to 13k if you really wanted to.

[Traveler]

Saw a Jeep Cherokee make it all the way to the top yesterday.

Whoa - you mean all the way up to the mining claims at 13.8K? I think I know what Cherokee you're talking about...we passed them on our way down the W slope switchbacks. I didn't expect them to continue up beyond the flats at 13K, though!

Yes, all the way to the area before the final ridge. Not positive it was a Cherokee, but it was an older model SUV, reddish with black tinted windows.