Grays Peak

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 1/2/2012, By: sdkeil
Info: We made it to within 1.2 miles of the summer trail head making the round trip distance about 10 miles and the elevation gain approximately 3500 feet. The entire trip is doable without snowshoes due to the lack of snow. This lack of snow made it possible to stay on the summer trail, even as it passed below the ever dicey slopes of Kelso. Be sure to reevaluate the avy conditions before staying on the summer trail and passing below Kelso Mountain. We used traction devices for the upper part of the route since most of the trail is snow that has frozen into ice. The upper part of the route is on a slope is more North facing than East and does not see much sun this time of year. Multiple groups were successful on Kelso Ridge today, hopefully they will post. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 1/2/2012, By: 54coldones
Info: The trees have been cut and removed and the road is not passable to however a few people tried. From the trail head the trail has drifted snow in some places but is easily identifiable. As you get higher the snow gets harder and is drifted into the trail. However after about 12500 the trail is the only snow on the ground. The ridge to Torreys is also in good condition except were the snow has created a large drift. The 4 foot high cairns are still visible. It was windy today but next week is looking like a great time to go. have fun. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 11/22/2011, By: DaveSwink
Info: The road to the trailhead has several downed trees across it. The first downed tree is about 1 mile from 70. I recommend parking at the pullout before the downed tree. Be careful of very slippery road conditions when departing downhill. The trail to Grays is mostly packed snow. There are a few postholing sections but not enough to warrant snowshoes. The trails on Grays and Torreys have many sections of ice so microspikes are very useful. The descent trail from the saddle between Grays and Torreys has several sections of loose, slippery powder over very hard snow/ice with significant fall consequences. Our team all made it with just microspikes but everyone would have been happier crossing with light crampons and an ice axe. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 11/21/2011, By: StikMan
Info: We did the whole hike in just Microspikes. The trail through the gulch at the base of Kelso was hit or miss - some areas were wind scoured, others had loose knee deep snow. I don‘t have any experience with snowshoes, so I can‘t really give an opinion on if they would have helped or not. For the most part we stuck to the Grays trail, which is still relatively easy to find so route finding was fairly straight forward. For the most part, snow on the trail was loose and not packed by wind, with some calf/knee deep sections mostly above 13,000 ft or so. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 10/14/2011, By: Alpinegoat
Info: Patchy snow on trail from the bridge across Stevens Gulch to the bushy area. From the rocky flat area continuous snow on trail. On the ridge upto the basin snow is compacted but good boots are adequate. Beyond the junction where the trail splits ( towards Torrey ) almost icy on trail and traction is required almost all the way upto the summit. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 10/1/2011, By: bf31415
Info: Combo report for G&T. Traverse across Grays to saddle still has snow. Torreys from saddle to peak is clear. Saddle to summit of Grays is icy. Front/east side of Grays is still lots of snow/ice but not as slick as Grays to saddle trail. Glad I had the microspikes for traverse and both trails to/off Gray‘s summit. Was snowing lightly late morning on the descent. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 9/19/2011, By: jpfeif001
Info: Conditions on the peak are snowy, up to a foot of snow with a layer of ice underneath. Microspikes are recommended. The wind was blowing hard at the time, knocking people off their feet. The climb is doable, just slick. Also saw some people going up Kelso Ridge. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 9/12/2011, By: ScottE22
Info: Hiked Gray‘s and Torrey‘s on Sunday and the snow had been well-packed by all the hikers making it VERY slick. The descent from Gray‘s to the saddle and most of the way back down from Torrey‘s was slow going. Even a guy with Yak-Trax was slipping and sliding. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 9/11/2011, By: deeplomassy
Info: Mount Grays was blanketed in snow when we hiked on Saturday. Both the route to the top of Grays and the route to the Saddle to do the Grays & Torreys combo required hiking a slushy, slippery path of packed snow. The snow was several inches thick on the trail, much deeper along the sides. I would recommend Yaktrax or waterproof shoes with significant traction. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 8/28/2011, By: Matt Lemke
Info: Did Grays and Torreys this past Saturday and lost count of the people I saw at a few hundred (no joke). Only reason why I did that was to bring two friends on their first 14er. There is a big rut in the Stevens Gulch road that will stop passenger cars about 1.25 miles short of the true trailhead. High clearance vehicles can pass by though. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 8/14/2011, By: juliaatje
Info: Stevens Gulch trailhead is definitely a challenge for low clearance cars, not recommended. On our way down we saw a mile long oil spill line and a car being lifted onto a flatbed truck. Better to walk a couple of extra miles. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/28/2011, By: Fast Jimm
Info: Some water on the trail in places. The trail is generally in excellent condition. One snow passage with no issues with slope. Snow was slushy on top, solid beneath and was perhaps 50 feet across. The approach road is very rough. A low clearance 2wd car will make it (I saw civics, mazdas, made it with my accord, etc..), but it‘s going to be very hard on your suspension. One portion is bad enough that I really should have stopped before I got to it. Not used to seeing babies being changed (and diapers being left behind in grocery store bags, although I did pack it out on the descent), and 6-7 year olds on the summit wearing jeans and cotton sweatshirts as black clouds swirl about in the last minutes before noon- not on a 14er at least. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/20/2011, By: ashlee03
Info: Not a whole lot to update since previous post. There are few patches of snow, one area in which you may need to go around, but not a big deal. There were still a few parts of the trail with some flooding (primarily towards the beginning of the trail), but I was able to walk on the rocks to cross without hiking boots. If you try doing the same thing, take it slowly to cross and beware of loose rocks. It was somewhat crowded when my friend and I began to ascend at 7:00am. I would recommend heading up at 5am for less crowds or even earlier if you want to avoid crowds on your descent. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/9/2011, By: tjerasdave
Info: Trails up to Grays is mostly snow free and snow patches are navigable. There are some muddy areas and a few cases where water is running down the path so waterproof boots are a good idea. If you plan on using the saddle route be aware that there is a rather large snow field crossing that is a bit slick. I was able to get across it with boots and poles but would not have felt comfortable doing it with sneakers. That being said, there were some other folks going across it with sneakers so if you‘re comfortable with the risk you should be ok. Lastly, make sure you get to the TH early. When I left the parking lot was full and cars were parked along the side of the road for at least another .5 miles. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/3/2011, By: Bean
Info: Can easily be hiked with trail runners. Gaiters and snowshoes have even less value than usual right now. If you‘re not confident in your footing you may do well to bring microspikes for the traverse over to Torreys. Skis strongly recommended for the descent, a short (100‘) re-climb gets you continuous snow to 5 minutes from the parking lot.