Mt. Massive

The two primary ways to climb Mount Massive are the standard East Slopes route (via the Main Mount Massive Trailhead) and the Southwest Slopes route (via the North Halfmoon Creek Trailhead). Both routes are accessed directly from Halfmoon Creek Road (FSR 110) near Leadville. The East Slopes is longer but gentler at nearly 14 miles round-trip, while the Southwest Slopes route offers a shorter, significantly steeper 7.75-mile round-trip alternative.

Mount Massive is a Class 2 hike, making it slightly more physically demanding and rugged than neighboring Mount Elbert. While the approach trails are excellently maintained, neither route has a defined trail on the final summit ridge. Navigating this upper crest requires basic route-finding skills, and careful stepping over talus. It is a solid step up for beginners who have already completed a Class 1 peak.

While it is technically possible for elite, ultra-endurance athletes, hiking both peaks in a single day is highly discouraged for normal climbers. Despite sitting directly across the valley from one another, they are not connected by a continuous ridge. Connecting them requires dropping all the way back down to the Halfmoon Creek valley floor, crossing the road, and re-climbing a completely separate mountain. Attempting this creates a dangerous 22+ mile day with nearly 9,000 feet of elevation gain, drastically increasing your exposure to afternoon alpine thunderstorms.

It depends on which trailhead you choose to use. The standard Main Mount Massive Trailhead (used for the East Slopes route) sits right off the lower section of Halfmoon Creek Road and is completely accessible to standard 2WD passenger cars. However, if you plan to hike the Southwest Slopes route, the road degenerates past the Elbert Creek Campground; reaching the North Halfmoon Creek Trailhead requires a high-clearance 4WD vehicle to safely clear deep ruts, and large rocks. However, most good-clearance AWD/4WD vehicles can make it to within 1/2 mile of the 4WD trailhead, where this is limited parking.