Mt. Antero

Route: West Rib (Winter Route)
Posted On: 11/13/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: There are several very large ice patches on the road 4WD - we were only able to drive about half a mile up before the ice stopped us. From our parking spot we wore microspikes for the entirety of the road as it was icy, snowy, and the creek crossings also icy. At treeline we took the west rib, which is just to climber's left at treeline. We took our spikes off here and just booted up it. There's some tundra and a lot of loose talus and other assorted annoying junk to climb up. Near the top we went left through what appears to be a mine or something, which is new as of this year. The summit ridge was quite snowy but Class 2+ at worst and only very briefly. Whether you take the trail around the side or the ridge direct there's going to be snow. We went over to Mount White afterwards, but for the descent we wore our microspikes down the tundra on the west rib. It was/is snowy and a slip might be difficult to stop. Snowshoes not needed (though tomorrow's storm may change that; hopefully our trench stays in place), ice axe not necessary, microspikes useful for the icy road and ascent/descent of the rib. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/2/2020, By: Mfloyd78
Info: Nice trench up to treeline from 2WD trailhead. Snow above treeline is easily avoidable by walking on the edge of the road. Path to summit and ridge completely clear. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/7/2020, By: coopereitel
Info: The peak is dry except for the last switchback on the 4x4 road before it reaches the saddle. This is not a problem for hikers but if you plan on driving it gets a little tight. Amazing weather, no wind and warm. I saw one Jeeper and otherwise had the mountain to myself (I think). A great day, and cool rocks if you are in to that.

I tagged on Cronin before Antero and it made a good loop. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/28/2020, By: mtgoatmike
Info: Summit is clear of snow. Only snow is below Unnamed Peak 13,800. Wind was almost nonexistent. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/29/2020, By: pokes1994
Info: Took my stock TRD Tacoma up the 4WD road up to about 13,000 feet. There was snow on the road past that and wasn't confident I could've made it. After hiking the last portion of the road, I could've easily made it. To the summit from where we parked ended up being 2.4 miles, and 4.8 RT. Past the mine, the ridge is pretty chill and we were able to catch the summit at sunset. Hiked down to the truck in the dark, and drove the road down in pitch black; a small price to pay instead of walking the whole thing. I did scrape a handful of times, but if you have any experience on these kinds of roads you can navigate your way as far as you want. Really enjoyed this summit. Happy Sending! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/26/2020, By: ColoradoAggie
Info: 4x4 road in good shape after the snowfall earlier this month. No very muddy areas and stream crossings at a low level. Easily drove my old F150 up to 12,036 where I parked (still wanted to get in at least 2000ft of elevation gain) -- could have driven up to about 12,600-12,700 ft (2 jeeps and a Tacoma did). Some of the switchbacks at about 12,700-12,800 still have quite a bit of snow making it pretty difficult to drive past in anything other than an ATV. Saw 2 ATVs make it all the way to the gate.

Trail is mostly snow-free and in good condition to hike. Did not need any special gear. Summit views were spectacular! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/25/2020, By: fosshage
Info: Beautiful day! Some snow on the Jeep track above 11,500' but it is melting quickly. No snow in the boulder field at the very top. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/22/2020, By: tlgold1990
Info: Some snow along the switchbacks. Was able to drive the jeep til about 2 miles from the summit. Did not use any traction for the hike. The route along the ridge was definitely the way to go. I ascended along the indirect route which seemed to take a lot longer than if I had gone up the ridge. Coming down the ridge seemed more defined and straight forward. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/19/2020, By: derekesq
Info: Hiked Antero Monday the 14th, there were snow patches along the road switchbacks, but generally avoidable (and i'm sure less snow by now); the higher you are on the road the more areas of snow. ATVers were unable to get past maybe halfway due to the snow as of the 14th; the window to hike without much vehicle traffic maybe fast closing (if it has not closed). Only saw 2 other hikers the entire day.

Also, going past the gate - I found the ridge direct route much better, easy to follow and no real exposure. I descended that route after going up the right "trail" which disappears (possibly due to the snow) and i made my way through talus hell to reach the summit. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/6/2020, By: NatDog
Info: Bluebird day on Antero. Started at 0500 from 10,500' and didn't see any other hikers until the ridge just below the summit. Moderate winds on portions of the ascent but was remarkably calm on the summit. Very little smoke remains in the Sawatch. 

Route: Little Browns Creek
Posted On: 8/16/2020, By: soxfan249
Info: Summitted via Little Browns Creek Trail as suggested by prior reports. Just over 15 miles, but much more enjoyable to do that through the woods than over a 4x4 road IMO. Nobody on the trail on the way up, but there were a few mountain bikers on the way down. The 1.5 mi spur back to the TH from the Colorado Trail was packed coming down around 12:30 - lots of day-hikers and boy scout trips.

Started at 5:45, made the summit around 9:45. Couldn't see very far at all due to the forest fire haze. Could barely make out Harvard and Columbia to the north, could not see the northern Sangre de Cristos at all, and the Elks to the west and Mosquitos to the northeast were completely obscured. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/17/2020, By: lvlivingston
Info: Holy crap... 16 miles is no joke. The Jeep Cherokee definitely would have made it up to the last scree field pitch, but a true 4x4 toy is probably the most fun to get up there. We walked all 16 miles starting at 2:45am. Should have started even earlier to catch the sunrise, because we had a group of 9. I will say, we had a jet boiler and champagne/orange juice for mimosas and coffee at the top! This kept me going for sure. If you"re walking, I would highly recommend poles for the way down. Overall extremely easy hike, but long. If I'd know how nice the road is, I would have driven! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/17/2020, By: dean20170
Info: I drove up about 1/4 mile past the intersection of 277 and 278, which is 1/4 mile past where you cross the main creek, stopping right at 11,000' elevation. I have a stock 4WD Jeep Renegade with bald tires. A couple of rocks jumped up and hit my skid plates at times, but if you have some experience picking your lines, the road is no problem with a small, stock 4WD like mine.

There was zero snow to be found. Others have said they came down the snow vs following the road the whole way; not possible on 8/13/20. Like everyone says, you're walking up a rocky 4WD road, and at times (especially on your return trip), sharing it with ATVs and Jeeps. I didn't find that part to be too bad, and I didn't find the road to be so bad walking up. Coming down, however, the loose gravel on top of slightly bigger loose rocks makes the walk quite "slippery"; I slipped and caught myself at least 5-10 times, and would have fallen a couple of those if I didn't have my poles. Given that the 3 miles I drove up (vs hiking) was the same loose rock, I was thankful at the end that I didn't have to go back down 3 more miles of slippery/loose rocks.

The views from the top were really, really nice!

Pic 1: the final climb once you get to about 13,700'.
Pics 2-5: views from the top on a gorgeous day.
Pics 6-8: some of the road you drive if you choose to drive up to where I did. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/1/2020, By: Msbaker
Info: Perfect day to finish out the Sawatch Range! Although I wasn't too excited about completing Antero due to the 16 mile RT distance and ATV/Jeep presence, I found the hike to be very enjoyable today. I started from the Baldwin Gulch Trailhead at 6:45 AM and only encountered a few ATVs on my way up to the summit. To those of you considering trying to drive the 4WD road (277), if you do not have an ATV or custom jeep with extremely high clearance, you will never make it and you will severely damage your vehicle. The "road" (if you can call it that) is awful. My Mazda CX-5 wouldn't have made it a mile up the road and my car did fine on Mt. Lindsey's 4WD road last weekend....Back to the hike, stream crossings are easily done with very little risk of getting wet. Summit views are amazing and Princeton looks stunning with the various shades of red on its backside right now. I even encountered a huge group of mountain goats at about 13,000 feet (my first sighting of the year). My favorite part of this hike was the descent. Given that the trail is a "road", I basically trail ran from the summit back to my car and was able to complete the hike in under 4.5 hours. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/3/2020, By: clincoln15
Info: Awesome combination of 4x4 drive up to the treeline and fairly easy hike from there. I have a stock Tacoma and only clipped a rock with one of my side steps one time. As long as you are careful, have some decent clearance (wouldn't recommend anything less than a truck or Jeep) and have experience driving in 4x4 conditions, this is a really fun approach. From the treeline, you're basically hiking on a mining road until the last 600 ft of elevation gain. There were definitely some UTVs on the trail by the time we descended, but not enough to take the fun out of the hike.