Mt. Antero

Route: West slopes (winter variation)
Posted On: 1/3/2025, By: headsizeburrito
Info: Successful summit, took the same route as supranihilest in the report posted 01/15/2020 in case anyone is looking for a handy .gpx file.

CR162 was plowed to the trailhead, although the pullout hadn't been plowed and had several inches of snow, not an issue. There was a faint but helpful trench up CR277 that looked to be a couple days old with about 3 inches of fresh snow on top, I wore snowshoes from the start and repacked it. The faint old trench disappeared at the 277/278 junction when you cross Baldwin Creek (which was an easy crossing, it's pretty well bridged with snow). From here the snow was softer and deeper, typically ankle to mid-calf. Approaching treeline I occasionally ended up knee deep, but fortunately these were fairly limited. Stashed snowshoes at treeline. Booted all the way up to the sub peak with the random mining stuff. The summit ridge is actually a little tricky here. I also put on microspikes. The wind loading on the eastern slope of the ridge made me nervous so I stayed ridge direct as much as possible on the rocks, which means class 2 and a little easy class 3 scrambling. Fortunately this section is fairly short, as the ridge gets steeper it's back to talus and it's easy to stay ridge direct on dry ground, or on the boundary between dry and a trivial bit of snow. After getting back through the slightly tricky bit of ridge I kept my spikes on all the way down to treeline, which was helpful because it's quite steep and there is just enough snow to slip on when descending. Snowshoes back on at treeline all the way to the car. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 11/2/2024, By: josephsiefers
Info: Only went to the river crossing at 10,800. Full on winter conditions. Road was quite icy in spots. Might be drier above treeline. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/12/2024, By: leesnj
Info: Small amounts of ice present on the mine roads (due to the streams freezing overnight). The summit and summit ridge is completely dry. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/8/2024, By: NativeTransplant
Info: 100% dry with no snow or ice. Stock tacoma made it to 12k easily and could probably make it to 13k if you want to shorten it even more 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/29/2024, By: AndrewBV22
Info: Traditional route ascent today. Streams were passable and easy by foot and the route was clear of snow and was relatively dry. 

Route: Little Brown's Creek
Posted On: 9/16/2024, By: BricART
Info: The snow from the previous days had not stuck to any part of the trail in any significant amount. Great route and I'm glad I did that instead of slogging up the standard road. 

Route: Little Brown Creek
Posted On: 8/24/2024, By: Troyister
Info: Hike up Little Brown Creek to the saddle between White Mt. and Antero then the Jeep trails to the ridge and scrambled up. The trailhead has room for about 30 car, with a pit toilet, and was easy to get to with my Honda Accord. At 1.4 miles go north (right) onto the CT trail for a 1/4 mile then left back onto Little Brown Creek Trail. It is all marked well. Round trip was 16.3 miles and about 5800 feet of elevation gain. I liked this better than a full Jeep trail hike. The trail is easy to follow and in good shape. There are numerous opportunities to filter water between 2.7 and 5.5 miles from the trailhead as the creek runs close to the trail. There were numerous camping spots also if one wanted to backpack in. I passed 3 or 4 backing groups heading up on my way down. A great alternate over the primary route. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/18/2024, By: matt9094
Info: Beautiful day today. The trail is a 4WD Jeep trail all the way to 13,700. There are numerous water crossings (nothing more than a couple inches). Some parts of the trail have streaming water running down, but nothing you can't drive or walk over. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/12/2024, By: bparham
Info: Road up was muddy due to large amount of rain the day before. Otherwise clear and easy to hike. Took 4x4 vehicle up past tree line then hiked from there. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/23/2024, By: hsiegel3
Info: Beautiful day. We did it from the bottom. It is quite a hike. We could have made it up the road in my Honda Pilot. We had far too many jeeps on road which is why I have waited to do it. The last bit is the best since it is a hiking trail. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/16/2024, By: ColoNativeGal
Info: Like the other reports, summer conditions. I would say the snow patch as you transition to the ridge is melting fast and has some ice early in the morning. No traction needed, just careful foot placements. Took the direct line on the ridge to the summit, it was pretty simple to follow. Saw a couple Jeeps make it all the way to the top. I greatly appreciated the friendliness of the 4wheeler crowd, one group even offered a water bowl for my dog. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/13/2024, By: JackAndCaesar89
Info: The boulder mentioned previously has been removed from the road and I saw someone parked at 13,500. The wildflowers are out and the major stream crossing is easily manageable with some large rocks that require only one big step if you have short legs. Photo of creek crossing below. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/13/2024, By: Patrickk
Info: Summer conditions and wildflowers are out in force! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/11/2024, By: Ariella6
Info: Trail is dry. Summer conditions. Wildflowers are popping! Some snow on boulder area right before summit had to go straight up in the ridge instead of recommended route.

River crossing was high. One big step for rocks. Rest were doable. Both in my group made it across okay however without wet shoes/socks. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/1/2024, By: samfarmer789
Info: The route is in complete summer conditions, great hike. I was trying to beat my time from the very bottom from 2022 & made it up in 2:54! Then ran down, total time was 4:28, my watch had 15.3 mi total and 4960 ft of gain