There's something for everyone on Mt Elbert right now (except shirtless men-see Surf 'n Turf's trip report for that). The 4wd road is definitely doable pretty far up with a 4wd but turned into a slushy, muddy mess the day I did it. The trail to tree line can probably be done in boots-I was regretting the snowshoes I had on until I hit the meadows and also in the afternoon-slushy, nasty postholing fest. Above treeline, the lack of snow is amazing-you can follow the dirt trail pretty far but I lost it and microspiked up the hardpacked snowfields which again became nasty in the sun. I had the mountain to myself which made for an amazing day. The route is packed and easy to follow. Firm snow, slush, dirt, hard snow, mud galore and beautiful swirled cornices on the summit-get the easy snowflake while you can!
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