Grays Peak

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 8/21/2019, By: ZNixon
Info: Perfect conditions all the way to the summit! No snow encountered that had to be walked through. CFI was doing work in the late morning/afternoon, which was cool to see. (Thank you for everything you do, by the way!!) Not a cloud in the sky @ 11:30AM when I reached the summit, and the hike back down was clear of weather/clouds as well. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 8/14/2019, By: TheClassyDuck
Info: Amazing day for a climb. Started at 6 AM sharp and got one of the last spots in the parking lot. The trail is completely free of snow to Grays. There is no snow traversing over to Torreys either. The only snow I encountered was on the descent from Torreys. It's about 60 yards in length but, I had no issues crossing the snow field with my trekking poles. Overall time was 5:14. Not a bad day! P.S: There was a helicopter circling Torreys in the morning. Hoping nothing bad happened over there. If anyone has more information please leave a comment! 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 8/5/2019, By: supranihilest
Info: Still lots of snow on the Grays/Torreys saddle that would probably be pretty spicy early in the day if it's slick, prior to softening a little bit. I can't speak to the snow's condition, having come up Kelso Ridge and going down Grays' standard route, which is snow free, but if you wish to not step foot on snow at all you can either do Grays by itself or, if doing the combo, ascend Grays, ascend Torreys, and reascend Grays, descending Grays' standard route. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 8/3/2019, By: kspitzer1987
Info: I did the Grays/Torreys Combo, summiting Grays first, then Torreys, and there was no snow on any of the main trails or either summit. The only snow was after descending Torreys and taking the shortcut from the saddle back down to where the Grays/Torreys trails intersect. The path through the snow was well-carved with lots of footprints, but I would still recommend either spikes or trekking poles. I used just poles going down and had no problems. Lots of folks were going up the snow path to summit Torreys first because they didn't have spikes or poles, and they said there were no problems going up the snow, but going down was pretty slick so be careful. Aside from that 100-200 yards through the snow though, the trails and both summits were in perfect summer condition. The Steven's Gulch dirt road was open all the way up to the trailhead. I had no issues with a stock F150, but would not recommend driving a car up this road. Something with decent ground clearance is a must. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/29/2019, By: RyGuy
Info: I was up on Grays & Torreys doing trailwork with CFI on both Saturday and Sunday. Conditions for Grays are almost full summer conditions. A short snow crossing at the site of the Kelso avalanche runout, and then two shorter ones high near the summit are the only issues of note. Spikes certainly wouldn't hurt, but not required. Note: On the way down from Torreys, you will need to traverse across a decent snowfield to rejoin the main Grays trail. Please make sure you stay high and do not take the deep gouge in the snow that is lower. This leads to a social trail that is being closed by CFI and the slope is crappy and loose. Stay higher up and take the normal trail which is in far better shape. (See photos) Photo 1: Showing small snow crossings under Kelso's slopes Photo 2: Overall condition of Grays as seen from high on Torreys Photo 3: Close-up of trail closure area 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/22/2019, By: RossJ
Info: Peru Creek Road closed so add extra 90 min to your hike. Signs still missing marking Chihuahua Lake Trail. Avi debris on road but easily stepped over. Wood plank to cross river still submerged so it's necessary to wade through (highly recommend extra shoes and something to dry your feet). Several sections of Chihuahua Gulch Rd. are under water but we located ways to get around by accessing moose trails, stepping on logs or simply jumping over. After 2 miles, at the junction to Peru Creek/Ruby Gulch, cut through a moose trail to avoid the running water then turn right and the trail dries up after a few meters. Conditions on Ruby Gulch trail to the mine are good. Slopes to main ridge good - mixed grass, rock, boulders, sandy gravel, some snow banks with no identifiable trail. Trail is easily located at the ridge crest 13,600 - trail to right edge (S) is best. Final trail section to summit easy to spot; lots of loose scree but nothing difficult. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/20/2019, By: Armyoline68
Info: The road to the trailhead is closed 4 miles out... 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/19/2019, By: ether
Info: Everything is in great shape, a couple snow patches, nothing to worry about. Made it in sneakers. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/15/2019, By: 14ersRbetter
Info: Road conditions to TH are clear of debris. A little rough in some areas, with AWD and 4wd with good clearance is recommended. South slopes trail is wide open, and good condition. a few patchy snow areas but nothing a good pair of shoes cannot handle. The saddle is also wide open/Clear. The first 1/3 on the South slopes of Torrey's (T2) still has snow. Its very soft by 10am. We did some glissading down a short portion as it was just easier than slipping. We used crampons and other used Micro's thru this area but still very soft, mushy. T2 is Class 2 moderate so be ready for some down hill and technical with water runoff, small bouldering, and snow. WE removed crampons just before end of T2.......Parking lot was bull at 5am. On the trail at 515am and off by 1130am. We did Grays and Torrey's and T2 from saddle on return. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/15/2019, By: Carbroads
Info: Road is clear of avalanche debris, unlike most trail reports I will vouch for the quality of the road, although rough, we saw plenty of passenger cars at the trail head ranging form Imprezas to a Tesla (not kidding). So if you have the skill/balls you can romp anything up there if you so wish. Trail is 95% clear of snow. Two small snowfields remain on the decent form Torreys, easily traverse-able without traction (I did it in trail runners) . People in my group used trek poles or ice axes to cross, but other groups had no additional equipment. Camped overnight at the trail head the day before, arrived at 6 pm and camping was filling up. The next morning we were on the trail by 3:30 am with 2 groups in front. It was great conditions with a mild breeze. We gained the summit of Grays by 5:40 am, and the summit of Torreys was gained by 6:30 am. Back to the car by 9:15 am. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/8/2019, By: 1freeclimber
Info: Did North Slopes today. Parked just below avalanche debris mentioned in previous posts. Some snowy sections with good boot pack. Had crampons and ice axe with but never needed them. Was on summit by 10am and clouds were just starting to roll in. Packed out all the trash we saw including multiple forgotten bags of dog poop. There is now a road closed sign on 321 at the intersection of 321 & 319 (which wasn't there when we drove in) plus a crew staging a big bucket loader. Guess they are going to try to clear the avalanche debris. 

Route: Southwest Ridge
Posted On: 7/8/2019, By: RossJ
Info: Gate at Peru Creek and Montezuma Road was locked so required 45 min walk to Chihuahua Gulch trail head so you should check the gate is now open to vehicles. Road was blocked to vehicles after Chihuahua due to road repairs further east. Also the signs are gone identifying the Chihuahua trail. 1 mile up the trail there is considerable avalanche debris to be negotiated. The bridge (plank) is under fast moving water and the 4WD road was also fast and a bit deep for crossing so headed east up the boulders to the first large beaver pond and went left (N). Had to remove boots, put on trail shoes and find a suitable spot to wade through marshes to regain the road. Where the river crosses the road again also needed to wade through the very cold and fast moving stream (definitely recommend extra socks and shoes). I only progressed another half mile of 4WD road as I continuously encountered large pools and streams of meltwater. Original plan was to do SW slopes via Ruby Gulch but lost too much time and returned. This route will be a wet slog for a couple more weeks until things dry out. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/6/2019, By: fmv093042
Info: Snow along the east slope between Grays and Torrey but both Torrey and Gray peaks without snow. However, crampons helped me a bunch in various spots. Not 100% necessary but I would recommend for the next week or so as the snow melts. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/3/2019, By: dj3colorado
Info: Road still blocked as stated in previous reports. I parked along side of road about 1/4 mile from debris field and walked to bridge trailhead. Easy walk along trail road. Below are the condition reports/times for various sections of the hike. I met up with another solo hiker (Will) on Grays Peak, and we worked our way over to Torrey's and then DOWN Kelso Ridge. Yes, the last portion of the route was atypical, but it definitely kept our attention and offered change from typical routes. Bridge to Grays Peak: Start 615a, summit 745a (1.5 hrs). Conditions were a combination of clean trail, short water crossings, easily identifiable dry trail, and snowpack. I didn't have crampons, microspikes, or poles, and none are needed to complete the hike. Boots are just fine. Will left his snowshoes at trailhead. Depending on your comfort and hiking style, all are obviously beneficial through various sections. You'll be going 'back and forth' though because I would catch a section of snow, then clean trail, then snow, etc. A majority of trail is dirt/rock vs snow. Grays Peak to Torreys Peak: Start 808a, summit 840a (30-35 minutes). Conditions were great, no snow if you walked slightly west of...well...the snow while going over the ridge. I'd caution a curiosity walk onto the snow to try to grab a view of valley, there are still cornicesiz, cornici?? haha on the eastern side of ridge. Stay off of snow, and route is great, dry. Torreys Peak to lower trail, via descent of Kelso Ridge (Class 3, just FYI): Start 9a, back to bridge trail start 1045a (1 hr 45 mins). We completed for sake of just doing something different, gain a little experience with the Ridge. I think going up Kelso Ridge to complete the Torreys/Gray loop would be more gratifying than working down the Ridge to finish on tired legs. Not much in the way of snow until near summit, but loose rock and decent exposure made us ALERT AND AWAKE going down (Last photo is a group working UP the ridge, and they were using a rope for support in the most difficult section because of steepness of snow). Route finding slightly tricky. Recommend to bring a helmet if choosing this route (neither of us had one). Total hike time (bridge to bridge): 4 hrs 30 mins Great hike! 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/1/2019, By: odabbs
Info: Road still blocked about 1.5 miles from trailhead due to avalanche. We parked about a mile before the avalanche. Left the car at 6am. First couple miles of trail were good. Once we made it to the first ridge traverse things got tricky. The first ridge traverse is almost completely covered in snow still. Saw a few people turn around here. Snow was getting slushy even early in the day. Once we made it to the upper slopes it felt difficult to follow the trail. We saw some people traversing over snow to the middle of the saddle. We opted to go left at the fork but much of the normal trail is completely covered. We ended up way off trail scrambling on class 3 terrain. After a brief panic we skirted left and found the trail again near 13.9k. The rest of the trail was snow free and we summited just after 11. Very little wind at the summit. Beautiful weather all day long. The route to torreys looked to be in good shape but we decided to not go since it took us so long to make it up to Grays. Coming down the snow was very soft. Lots of water running under snow. We were able to glissade a bit which was a lot of fun. Some postholing but we were fine with spikes and poles. The lower trail was pretty much a creek due to runoff. The big highlight was crossing paths with three very polite mountain goats near the base of the mountain. They stepped off trail to let us pass. Marmots were out everywhere and making lots of noise. Overall, our first 14er was a bit more than we expected. The snow was pretty nerve wracking and the route finding was difficult. I had read over the trail description a lot and still wound up in a pretty bad spot on the upper slopes. Definitely doable but tough.