Grays Peak

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 9/19/2023, By: Javfa1958
Info: Grays a bit icy at the top on the ascent and decent to Torreys. Torreys is completely clear. Wind was whipping today at Grays while Torreys was peaceful. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 9/18/2023, By: acollar
Info: First 2 miles or so were safe to hike in the dark with a headlamp. After getting up a bit past treeline, recommend microspikes and/or trekking poles. There were some icy, slick patches once we got above 13,000. Photo was taken at 0930, about an hour into our descent from Grays, still a lot of snow for this time of year. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 8/28/2023, By: The_Ramp
Info: Summited both Grays & Torreys from Grays Peak TH as an "acclimatizer" for a big trip next weekend. Nothing to report on the trail; same old summer route we know and love. See splits (I'm a medium-speed hiker). I do have two comments though - see below. - 0400: Leave TH (Arrived to nearly empty lot; I will never climb these two on a weekend if it can be helped) - 0405: Discover head lamp not working properly... great... - 0410: Continue fighting head lamp; debate waiting for another group and using their light but decide to just wing it with my phone light as a supplement - 0545: Finally enough sunlight to remove faulty head lamp - 0620: Summit Grays, don't stay longer than 5 min - 0642: Saddle - 0703: Summit Torreys (stay for 15 min) - 0732: Saddle - 0850: Back at TH - 1030: Pull into REI parking lot for new head lamp; sheesh Comment #1: All this weekend and into yesterday, the forecast for G&T showed a significant chance of rain in the AM (>50%) and thunderstorms rolling in at 0900. Then last night, everything flipped and the forecast showed sunny conditions all morning into the afternoon. See the pictures attached; not a cloud in the sky during my descent! Note to self: stop stressing about forecasts. If it goes, it goes. Comment #2: I can't believe someone (who exactly I have no idea) hasn't fixed the sign a mile up the trail incorrectly identifying G&T (picture attached). After all these years, it is admittedly, kind of funny. And more importantly, it probably doesn't matter that much to climber safety since the risk of someone getting into trouble because they don't which peak is which is pretty low. Plus there's a map right next to the incorrect sign that shows them identified correctly. And it's all correct at the TH. But it's just so... wrong! And has been wrong for a long, long time! And it's such a popular trail too! It can't be that hard to fix! Who is in charge around here?! Ok... diatribe over. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/30/2023, By: NativeTransplant
Info: 100% dry 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/26/2023, By: jbferree
Info: Route to summit was all clear. Coming down from the trail to the saddle there are a few snow crossings. They are doable without spikes but I saw quite a few postholes. Not sure if it will slowly melt or give way at some point. There is one main creek crossing about 1.6 miles into the hike where you can fill up with water and one very small stream on the trail to the saddle that I used to fill up on the way down. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/24/2023, By: carlycaprio
Info: This route is the way to go if you want to avoid the conga line on Grays and Torreys. We made it through the 4WD road with two AWD SUVs. Just lots of potholes but if you go slow, it's no biggie. The parking lot can hold about 15 cars. There were only 5 including our 2 cars in the lot at 7am. We only saw 4 other people on the trail until we got to the top and saw the masses. The beginning part of the trail is mild and gradual. Very easy to follow the road. Look out for the big carin on the left where the sharp turn is. When it hits the slope, it becomes steeper and the calves feel the burn. There are a bunch of spagetti trails that all lead to the same point on the ridge. Super easy class 2 but, if you wanted to climb the snow gully it would add a little spice. Snow on the south facing side of the ridge but the climb to the submit is on the north facing side so snow wasn't an issue. We only submitted Grays but you could easily cross the saddle to Torreys and back again. Overall, I loved the South Ridge more than the standard route because of how uncrowded it was. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/21/2023, By: newmanifest
Info: The 3-mile road to the summer trailhead is rough, rocky and rutty, so be prepared. I had a Jeep Compass that did fine, but it was slow going. I arrived at 2:45 am; the lots were full by 5:30 or so with cars lined up along the road as well. Trail in good shape overall. It was cool and gusty much of the way up. Two small snow patches remain on the trail that connects to the saddle between Gray's and Torrey's, but they aren't bad. No spikes needed. When I was coming down around 9:30 am they were starting to get slushy. A great day on the mountains! 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: Graham_Bitner1
Info: Hike was very fun. The summit of Grays was extremely windy, there was also some snow between Grays and Torreys that you need to pass thru to get to or from Torreys if you are taking the standard route. Lots of animals today, saw a couple marmots and a mountain goat. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: dr_j
Info: Summer conditions. We started at around 10 AM, and saw 100+ people descending, but got Grays and Torreys summits mostly to ourselves. There remains two snow patches on the connector trail requiring some caution, its still a bit slippery. You dont need spikes, just proceed slowly. Trail is pretty clean, although there are still rocks with graffiti on top, plus a couple summit signs on Torreys that we took down. Minimal poop bags, just 1-2 left at the trailhead. Restrooms are full of litter. 

Route: Lost Rat Couloir
Posted On: 7/16/2023, By: CDubFTW
Info: Did not climb or descend the route. Got some photos from the top and bottom. My partner and I saw plenty of thin and dirty snow in the couloir and decided not to descend. Probably too late in the season to use it anymore. I'd love to hear what other people's opinions are of the current conditions. Still got that lovely cornice on top. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: bkrutsinger91
Info: The clouds came in faster than expected today but it cleared up and was super nice. Some ice on parts of the connecting trail getting down from Torreys. Micro spikes not needed but may come in handy. 

Route: Lost Rat Couloir
Posted On: 7/8/2023, By: Crestoner
Info: I didn't climb LRC, and I could only see it from the G/T trail. But, it looks like it still holds continuous snow! That cornice is still hanging on... Sorry, no photos. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/4/2023, By: Cruiser
Info: There's some water running down the trail in a couple of sections lower down and still some lingering snow fields to cross higher up. I used microspikes briefly during my ascent but could have made it ok without them. Saw several people glissading without an axe which is not a great idea. Thunder and lightning rolled thru around 10am and sent me running back down the trail. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/3/2023, By: adventure112521
Info: If you need to knock off Grays and want to avoid the mass of humanity, this is a viable option (only 4 other humans on this route. Basically had that side of the mountain to myself). Carried spikes and axe but used neither. 3-4 snow crossings in upper basin, but very manageable. Ridge is almost completely dry, snow and cornices avoidable and mostly off the route anyway.I'd say 85% of route is visible and/or cairned. Just some spots in high basin before reaching headwall where you may get off course a time or two. Happy Independence to all. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/2/2023, By: samharrison7
Info: It's still winter up there and spikes are definitely still worth taking, especially on the traverse from Grays to Torreys, where there are still patches that are difficult to avoid. As in the previous report, the switchbacks aren't entirely clear at the moment and if you're just going with the flow, you'll probably end up on the east ridge (which is a nice way up anyway). Conditions on Grays were cold and windy first thing, probably gusting 40mph and cold enough to warrant winter mitts. As I say, it's not quite summer up there yet! Lots of folks climbing Dead Dog, it looked good! 4WD trailhead was full by about 0430. Road is reasonable, no problem (with a little care) in an SUV/AWD. There was even a Tesla up there...