Mt. Antero

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/25/2021, By: ktfoote628
Info: We drove up to 13.8k in a lifted, modified XTerra X with minimal challenges but wanted to update that the road is very wet, even for hikers. The intersection with Baldwin Lake has some rocks to hop across but the road from there to the next waterfall road crossing is essentially all a stream. Large puddles above.

We started around 2 PM and got rain and snowflakes... earlier in the day, according to a prospector we met along the way, they got snow and hail.

Besides that, it is very beautiful with wildflowers and waterfalls. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/17/2021, By: maximiliancarr
Info: Parked at 2WD trailhead. Entire route in summer conditions. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/15/2021, By: jeffh7
Info: This is a long shot but I happened to leave my black diamond hiking poles at around 13,800 feet by the gate. If anyone happened to find them up there, I would be really appreciative if I could pick them up from you somewhere and even would pay.

As for the conditions, I was able to drive up to 13,800 in a jeep wrangler with 33 inch tires but otherwise stock with no issues. A few spots were tight so I would recommend a short wheelbase on some of the switchbacks above treeline. 

Route: Little Browns Creek
Posted On: 7/5/2021, By: brauda02
Info: I didn't summit Antero today but I did hike up the Little Browns Creek trail in the dark as part of a long run today. The trail is in good shape with plenty of water and campsites available and minimal blowdowns. Not sure why this route isn't used more than the road. 

Route: Little Browns Creek
Posted On: 7/5/2021, By: durkan
Info: Dog and I summited via the gorgeous Little Browns Creek Trail. Trail in full summer conditions. Final push toward summit after the rocky ridge required staying ridge proper to avoid snow. Very glad to have done this instead of the road up! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/23/2021, By: silentsword3
Info: Hit the 12K parking at 7:25 AM. Dry route all the way to the 13,200 junction. Minor snowfields on some edges of the switchbacks when ascending the South side of Point 13,800, but all can be avoided. There was some mud/snow after the Gate at the end of the road on Point 13,800, but no issues going either direction that early. After everything was dry, with slight patches on snow on the East side of the final pitch, but again they can be avoided. 

Route: Browns Creek TH
Posted On: 6/15/2021, By: sehessler92
Info: The whole trail is dry until you get out of the trees. This route is fairly mellow and a gradual climb in elevation until you meet up with the Jeep road around 13,100'. There are a couple snowfields you can cross or hike up a little ways and avoid most of the snowfield. The snowfields were mashed potato like around 10AM when I was headed back from the summit where post holing and chances of slipping were very high. The switchbacks on the Jeep road on the side of Point 13,800 did have post hole worthy snow in areas where the road would switch back. In the earlier morning before the sun started melting the snow there was some ice on the road to navigate from runoff freezing overnight. Once up on Point 13,800 and starting your final approach there is a giant snow bank that you have to skirt around. To make me feel more secure I stuck my finger tips into the snow since some spots were pretty icy. The final bit of trail before the summit climb does have some snow throughout the rocks but most of the snow is avoidable and will probably be gone in the next week or two. I would recommend staying on the route on the left of Antero rather than the one that goes to the right since there is a big snowfield holding on the right side of Antero (Photo #17 on Antero's Route Description is a good representation of what I am talking about here with which route to pick to get to the summit). Reached the summit in roughly 4.5 hours and was back at my car in 2.5 hours. 

Route: Little Brown Creek
Posted On: 6/12/2021, By: thebeave7
Info: Up Little Brown Creek, trail is clear until above treeline then there's a few snow fields to cross but they are fading fast. The creek is roaring right now (relatively), water is available above treeline.
Final summit push has a few small snow patches to avoid but pretty much clear.
Ran down the Baldwin gulch Rd, a couple snowy spots that still prevent driving more than a few switchbacks up. One section on the final switchback is very eroded, and even when melted may prevent safe passage for anything larger than an ATV. Road clear to the river crossing. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/12/2021, By: Dayute
Info: Road was clear of snow to just below the big switchbacks. Would recommend good clearance and tires, was fun in a Tacoma with 2" of lift. A few short snow patches on the switchbacks, nothing worth putting spikes on for. The final ridge still has snow as well but it can be avoided by staying true to the ridge at the summit. Never put on spikes and feet stayed dry but I did park above the creek crossings. The creek crossings are all pretty mellow and if you have the clearance to get there you should be fine crossing. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/9/2021, By: oliver303
Info: Mount Antero + Cronin Peak.

Hiked Mt. Antero standard route from Baldwin Gulch 2WD parking area. Then hiked up the connecting ridge (Roach's "Extra Credit 1" for Antero) of Cronin Peak and came back down the same ridge and then the standard FR 278/FR277 route for Antero.

Strava says it was 19.1mi / 6230ft in total.

Snow patches on road mostly avoidable until 13,000 ft. Ice axe never came out of my pack on Antero. In hind-sight I would have brought poles as they would have helped with the creek crossings (some of the stepping stones were covered in verglas in the early morning). Glad I wore gore-tex shoes.

Nice hike. Not many hikers or cars on Antero road this morning. The smoke in the valley cleared out over night. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/10/2021, By: 100PeaksAdv
Info: The snowmelt is running fast down Mt. Antero. I opted to hike up from the trailhead at the bottom of the OHV road. The first and second stream crossings were the trickiest. The first one I had to travel upstream 50-100 feet or so where there are a couple of logs that can be traversed. The second I waded across on the ascent and hopped some rocks on the way down. A jeep had made it this far up the road. The snow folks could climb to skip the zig-zags starting at 12,500' had largely melted away by the end of the day. So you'll probably need to stick to the road for the rest of the season. Past these, there are a few snow fields left. Postholed a few times, but they're not bad enough to warrant any additional equipment. A bike might be able to navigate these, but it might take another week or two for 4-wheeled OHVs to be able to use the road past ~12,600'. The most difficult part of the hike is the ridge past Point 13,800. There's enough snow left on the ridge that you can't follow chunks of the actual route. But the snow is really soft so it's easy to slip. Gear wouldn't be helpful except poles and maybe an axe if you're really concerned.

All in all though a beautiful day and a solid hike. It was nice to get out before the OHVs took over the area. 

Route: Little Brown's Creek
Posted On: 6/3/2021, By: m1ssdarkness
Info: *BROWN'S CREEK ROUTE...NOT THE STANDARD ROUTE
The trail is mostly snow free until you pop out of the trees. Snowfields were strong enough to not punch through in the open area and once you reach the road. The road had snow the whole way, but mostly you can walk on the edge on the part that is melted. You can avoid some of the looser snow fields on the connecting ridge by staying on the ridge proper. Coming back down around 12:30 the snow was soft, super fun for running down. Snow is melting fast! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/25/2021, By: One Sierra Charlie
Info: Mt. Antero is still in good shape for skiing. We were able to make a continuous descent from the summit to 1/8 mile above the summer trailhead for a drop of over 3,000 ft. The road is blocked down low, so you will probably need to start at the winter trailhead and walk up the mostly dry road. Although we used a variant of the summer route for the ascent, you could easily skin and boot up the descent route. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/17/2021, By: Eagle Eye
Info: Starting from CC 162 (parked on 2wd road, updated Baldwin Gulch TH Conditions too) ) I went up the second ridge (just south of the initial switchbacks) yesterday.

I intended to intersect the last, long upper section of the road and take it. But as the previous report said, a good section of the road around 12,800 ft is in steep terrain and covered by a hard, smooth drift. So I continued the mostly straight line up past the road instead, then wrapped around until reaching the closed gate at the end of the 4wd road. The upper ridge and the final stretch to the summit still have plenty of snow on them but it can also be avoided. In many places on the side of the ridge there are well-formed steps in the snow.

"Climb2ski" was the only other person I saw, in the morning when we were both hoofing up the road. Nice to meet you! This way I went avoiding switchbacks cut some miles off and made for a 11.68 mile roundtrip, and 5,086 ft elevation gain. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/15/2021, By: dssmith15
Info: Antero: 13.8 miles RT. 10 hours. Parked at the 2wd trailhead. 4wd is pretty inaccessible due to snow (really need high clearance as well).

Started at 140am. Snow was nice and frozen. Used microspikes the whole time. Brought snowshoes but didn't need them even on our descent later in the morning. Not sure about the other groups that started later than us.

Cut some miles off by going up the initial gully you encounter. Steep and strenuous. Coming back we descended that way as well as the road looks pretty sketchy around 12,800.

The ridge over to antero was a lot of fun. We took the ridge crest up to the summit to stay on the snow with our spikes. No problems going up.

BEAUTIFUL day! Hit some cloud inversion and the views were incredible.

Traction I'd say is a must. We, thankfully, had ice axes as one of our team had an impromptu demonstration on self arresting after slipping and sliding about 150+ feet. Happened very quickly coming down the ridge crest from the summit.

Overall great day!