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Does anyone know if there is a line up/down pikes with little to no avy danger? I have to be in the springs for a few days early January and thought it might be a fun solo mission. Any info helps, Thanks!

Unfortunately, this is going to be difficult to pull off. Most of the terrain that is going to be holding snow on Pikes Peak is pretty much steep enough to have some avy danger. It also probably won't have enough snow anyway until much later in the spring. Access to Pikes can be really painful too, due to the way the city administrates the mountain access. I live in the Springs, and look up at Pikes every day. Most of the winter it is just too windblown and rocky. However, do not despair. There is some great skiing to be had around the Crags TH area, which is on the back side of Pikes, about 45 minutes from downtown Colorado Springs. If you are in the mood to venture a little further afield, you can get some great skiing in up towards Summit county direction. Also, if you re in the mood for a peak, there are some other "safer" options for bagging a peak with a ski descent (Massive, Bierstadt, Quandary, along with a few others...). Not knowing where you are coming from or what your idea of "fun" skiing is, there are a lot of options for winter time peak skiing in Colorado. Lots of folks would also tell you this concept is ridiculous; that is unless you like wind and wind hammered snow. My judgement should probably not be trusted though... If there is any way I can help out, let me know. Hope you get to ski, and be safe. Cheers.

Yeah, Pikes does not come into season for skiing until VERY late spring. I think one year I was able to ski it in early April, but that's rare. Its definitely worth getting up there in May/June though if you happen to be around, tends to be my go to spot at that time of year. The north side skiing above Glen Cove is pretty tough to beat, pretty good scene up there too. For a summit descent, the Y-Couloir is still one of my favorite spring lines of all time. Each variation is a little different, and each poses a unique challenge, ranging from ice bulges, to mando air, to chokes too small to get your skis sideways in. Pretty much always holds good snow somewhere. I will echo the above reply, the Crags is pretty popular to go tour around in mid-winter. Easy access, and low angle terrain that manages to hold on to substantially more snow than the rest of the mountain. Your next closest options will be northwest Park county by Alma/Breck, or anything on the I70 corridor. Iv'e heard the Sange de Cristos have been hit pretty hard this year, so if that keeps up there may be options down there as well.

Perusing the Trip Report section, there's only 1 TR from January. Lots from June. It will take a very rare storm to get enough coverage in January. Just too wind blasted.

I skied it twice in 1 season since the snow was actually good on the peak. But that's rare.