Mt. Antero

Route: N Face, N Ridge from Cascade
Posted On: 5/14/2021, By: arete66
Info: Snow's now melting in earnest. Start EARLY for good edging, cramponing and avalanche avoidance on descent. The big March storm made this route a joy this late in the calendar. You gotta love kicking steps for hours. No traction used in bottom or top of couloir--let's be honest, it's a gulley--not a couloir. No traction used on the ridge. Wish I'd gone right at the top bifurcation. It would have been slightly more interesting but not much more of a pucker. 7 hrs from car to summit, half of that spent getting to the ridge and 2.5 down.
Wouldn't recommend in warm weather under any conditions. Also, finding the right line at the base under the light of a headlamp is a tricky business; seems so simple in the daylight... 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 5/2/2021, By: noob_hiker
Info: Started from 2WD trailhead. Consistent snow coverage on road, with patchy spots. Rock hopped the stream crossing. Wore spikes from the beginning of the trail until the 11,700 winter turnoff. Stashed snowshoes there as well. Skirted around Pt. 13,800 and headed toward the summit ridge. Best to stay ridge proper as much as you can.


Absolutely no wind all day; you could hear a pin drop on the summit of Antero. Simply amazing. Back on the saddle, I hiked up to Pt. 13,800, then began my descent. Snowshoes came in handy from 11,700 to the stream crossing. Insert obligatory posthole statement. Started 05:40, 12 miles, 5065ft elevation gain, 8hrs 10min roundtrip. Great day. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 4/25/2021, By: ReggieBop
Info: Packed snow below treeline, starting at the low trailhead. Myself and the only other brave hiker out here today chose the West ridge, as it's mostly windblown. I didn't need any traction. However, be aware that the VERY high winds (55mph today) may shift some heavy snow drifts. Currently, no avalanche danger. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 4/9/2021, By: Gueza
Info: Yep! 

Route: North Ridge
Posted On: 3/4/2021, By: Wentzl
Info: Some snow from car to start of treeless gully, but not too bad without show shoes. Very little snow in gully getting up to N Ridge. Did not use traction although there was some rotten snow and ice which would have made them useful in a couple sections. Once on the N Ridge, no real technical issues. More details on this seldom climbed route will be posted in a trip report later today. 

Route: W. Slopes - road to ridge direct
Posted On: 3/2/2021, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Bottommost mile of road has three sheets of solid ice. Third one is bypassable via rocks on climber's edge of road; first two via cutting up to the trees on climber's right, with decently established social trails now present in the snow.

Trench present at least up to where we left the road at treeline to head up the ridge. After the creek crossing (which is easy right now - plenty of snow on solid cover), the trench is very soft along the edges with ample opportunities for postholing...flotation would not be a bad idea, especially as the snow gets easier to punch through the closet you get to treeline.

First section of ridge between leaving the road and first re-intersection of it is dry. Section from there up to next re-intersection is mixed snow and talus. Last push to summit has avoidable snow over the towers if you go directly over them; following summer trail just below and to climber's right of them has easily manageable, tracked snow. Snow can also be largely avoided beyond towers to summit by going straight up the ridge.

Last seven photos courtesy of daway8. 

Route: West Rib
Posted On: 2/7/2021, By: randallson
Info: Easy snowshoeing up the road. West rib is free of any appreciable snow. Minor loading on east side of rocky section on summit ridge. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 1/19/2021, By: samrosemac
Info: Summitted Antero via the West Slopes route on January 17, 2021.

Zero chance that even a 4WD vehicle could make it up the icy and snowed-out road past the lower trailhead, so plan to trek the entire 16 miles round-trip.

Used microspikes for the entire ascent. Tied our snowshoes to a tree just before leaving treeline, to reduce pack weight. Retrieved snowshoes and wore them on the descent from treeline because the snow had softened - very helpful.

Was relieved to see that there was barely any snow on the mountain slopes above treeline besides on the road/trail itself. Very low avalanche danger above treeline.

EXTREMELY STRONG wind - consistent 30-50mph. Highly recommend bringing an ice axe for stability and possible self arrest, as well as full-body protection (ski goggles, mittens, hand and foot warmers). Another climber we met turned around because of the wind (he didn't have an ice axe), which I very much respect.

The round-trip climb took 12 hours (5:30am-5:30pm). No cell service at the lower parking lot so have your GPS directions ready to get home. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 1/18/2021, By: 14ersRN
Info: Road is un drivable past the 2W TH. Spike needed for the majority of the "up" snow shoes recommend for the trip back down just before tree line. Store them somewhere after tree line. Avy danger minimal if you stick to the road. This obviously can change with any future storms. Have fun! I recommend this dull west slopes 14er in the winter since its a long long road hike. Great views! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 1/17/2021, By: wintersage
Info: Previous conditions report is still valid but I'd like to add that snowshoes were helpful from the TH to the start of the west rib. Microspikes weren't needed until you get to the final ridge to the summit. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 1/12/2021, By: jscully205
Info: West Slopes route on Mt. Antero is G2G. Well defined packed trail from parking area to tree line. I'm pretty sure you could walk up it without any floatation. I was able to skin up to 13200 and only did so to get back faster. There's a boot track on the ridge to summit that will keep you on top of the snow. 

Route: West Rib
Posted On: 1/11/2021, By: RobLowe
Info: There's a solid trench. Four of us went up on Saturday. Saturday's snow maybe deposited a new inch, at most. There were not avalanches below tree line as was reported a week earlier... what we observed is typical sun produced heat loosening rocks from ice on small slopes and pin-wheelies and roller balls. If there had been an avy that crossed the road, there would be a significant mound crossing the road (no such mounds were encountered below tree line; there were some above tree line along the road, however). This is an easier route in winter compared to more benign peaks that become significantly harder in winter (e.g. Belford or Missouri). The road is near two potential avalanche slopes below tree line. West rib is basically dry, with notable exceptions in the gully created by the two ribs that lead to the summit's shoulder. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 12/31/2020, By: Robert H
Info: Deep, soft snow from the very beginning of the lower Baldwin Gulch Trailhead at 9,420'. There was no trace of old tracks, all filled in by the recent storms. Some places sinking up to my knees, with 30" snowshoes. I broke trail all the way to around 11,700', just above tree-line, where I turned around since my feet were in bad shape, very cold, and I could not get them to warm up. Clear day but cold. My vehicle's temperature gauge reading as low as -22F near the start and 15F when I returned in the afternoon. My water was freezing and I had difficulty keeping my extremities and face warm despite proper gear. No one else was out there but I tried to improve my track on the descend as much as one person could. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 12/19/2020, By: Will_E
Info: Summitted Antero today, it was cold and windy, but had it to myself. There was a pretty good trench to 11,600, from there I was in snowshoes for a few miles until just above tree line where I stashed my snowshoes. Didn't use any traction from there to summit. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/29/2020, By: Mopphares
Info: 2WD road with small patches of ice but no 4WD needed to parking at 2WD TH. 278A to summit has snow and some patches of ice. Nice trench but I used snowshoes in long sections that were not trenched. Class two section below summit has snow but no microspikes needed. Pretty soft snow all around. Beautiful day!