12/31/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 12/31/2023, By: Steep Slabs Info: Started at the 2wd parking lot. Trekking poles and micro spikes were key. No need for snow shoes but gaiters were helpful in spots. I was able to follow the trail most of the way but there were some spots where route finding was surprisingly tricky due to snow cover. In some spots along the slopes, the trail was narrow, slippery and steep. There were some areas of trap door snow. The weather was great, minimal wind and very light snow at the summit. My GPS recorded 14 miles, it took 9 hours. This was difficult but more fun and easier than Yale's Southwest Slopes last week which required a large show shoe section through a forest of unbroken trail. It was a fun way to end the year. |
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12/21/2023 Route: Tigger up, Slopes Down Posted On: 12/22/2023, By: artemavovk Info: Snowshoes not strictly needed; spikes help on some slippery rocks; standard route is safe, except for some trapdoor sections. Snow-loaded gullies look sketch but snow is not solid so you can just punch through to avoid slipping |
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11/11/2023 Route: via Tigger Posted On: 11/13/2023, By: swilson753 Info: We attempted Princeton via the winter route over Tigger. We were able to get a Jeep Gladiator up to the campsites at 11k, then walked the rest of the road. Someone else had been up the road in a vehicle before us but we didn't see any footprints. The road is probably doable by any 4wd with good snow tires for now, but that could change with any new snow or freeze-thaw cycles. Above 11k, road had 1-3" of snow on north/shady aspects and was drifted up to 6" deep on some of the switchbacks. Once on the ridge to Tigger, there's horrendous trapdoor snow between the boulders. We had to probe every step to avoid falling in holes. Everything was completely unconsolidated, which is to be expected for this time of year. It was so slow going that we decided to turn around at the top of Tigger rather than make it a 10-12 hour day. We took traction but didn't use it - everything was powder on rock. Save this one for when there's more snow or it's more consolidated unless you're looking for a sufferfest. |
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10/31/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 11/5/2023, By: ProfetaP Info: Snowy. I decided to go right after Colorado got hit with the 12-17 inches in the mountains. I had to park at the bottom of the 2wd TH and broke trail till I turned around.. The snow ranged from an inch at the TH up to waist-high in certain parts. I decided not to take the standard route due to Avy danger and tried going up Tigger instead. I do not recommend doing this as the boulders on Tigger were not only covered with snow, but they are mostly loose and I kept falling in between them. Next time, I'll risk it on the standard route instead of trying to go up tigger. On the way back down it was fairly warm and the approach road was already starting to melt in certain places, so by now it should mostly be clear and you can probably reach the 4wd TH no problem. |
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10/15/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/18/2023, By: technicolorNH Info: No snow at all on the access road up to the radio towers. Minimal snow on the route; no spikes needed. |
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10/9/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/9/2023, By: will_klumpenhower Info: My Subaru made it up past the radio towers, but only just! I passed them in the dark by mistake and feel somewhat lucky not to have caused damage. Some minor snow patches on the slopes - only about 1 inch thick. I comfortably avoided most of it. |
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10/7/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 10/9/2023, By: raphaelroxas Info: Slept at the towers. Only snow/ice is in the boulder section, no snow above the point when you hit the ridge. Carried spikes but didn't use them as I didn't want to stop. |
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9/18/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 9/18/2023, By: skweiler17 Info: Road is clear to radio towers, saw a few subaru's make it up there. Couple rough spots. Snow most of the way once you hit singletrack to the summit, kind of a icy track through the boulders, maybe 4-5 inches of snow. Might not melt off this year. Did Yale same day and it only had snow on the ridge, weird. I didn't have spikes and was fine, another guy had one and wished he didn't as its mostly boulder hopping with minimal ice. Might get worse with more traffic. |
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8/26/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 8/28/2023, By: ColoNativeGal Info: Summer conditions, but due to the rain Friday night there was verglass on the talus along the ridge, and I heard from another group closer to the summit as well. However, once the sun came out it was gone. Good grippy soles help along with poles, microspikes would have been too much. In and out of the fog all day due to the weather pattern. Alpine tundra is starting to change colors, fall is coming. |
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8/12/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 8/19/2023, By: awjeter Info: took the 4wd road up to the antennaes. There is more parking here than one is led to beleive. Just up the hill a bit there is a large area for parking and camping. We started out aroud 5:30 and had good conditions until we hit the ridgeline. Wind, rain and then snow had most of our group turn back at around 13,500. The snow had begun to stick to the abundant talus and we had not prepared for the low temps. For the route, yes a lot of steep sidehill talus hopping, but easy to stay on path. Absolutely gorgeous however and very cool to be able to see the entire route as one is hiking. Don't let the jaded hikers talk you out of Princeton, I would do it again and love every minute, talus and all. |
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7/31/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/31/2023, By: Benito_Esposti Info: Summer conditions. The road up wasn't too bad and my Subaru Outback made it just short of the trailhead, (~11,600, the last hairpin before you get to the trail). Anything with 8.5+ in of clearance should make it but if you don't want to chance it, the road up to the antennas (~11,000) is pretty manageable if you know your car well, it gets worse after that. On the TH around 4:15, summit at 6:30. The trail isn't terrible, but is almost completely talus as others have mentioned. Nothing worse than class 2 but it goes pretty slow. I quite enjoyed it personally, but I know many others have not; if you like sustained talus, this one is for you. The view of Antero is spectacular. The top gets steep, but isn't exposed or too loose. There are some nice wind covers at the summit. Coming back down is easy, but slow in sections because of the steepness. Important to note that there are no streams to fill up water on the route, make sure you bring enough. Have fun! |
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7/10/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/10/2023, By: ashwihi Info: Definitely summer conditions as others have indicated. Leave the spikes at home. One of the harder hikes I've done with ~4 to 4.5 miles of non stop talus (round trip). Total Round Trip Distance from the communication towers clocked in at closer to 7.5 miles for us on the garmin watch. Road isn't that bad of a 4wd clearance. Made easily in my outback wilderness, just very narrow and difficult to pass. Several campsites and parking exist up the road past communications towers. |
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7/8/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/8/2023, By: V1per41 Info: 99% summer conditions. One very small show crossing. I brought spikes but didn't use them. |
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7/4/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 7/5/2023, By: blonde_dinosaur Info: Basically summer conditions, with two very small snow sections across the gullies. IMO spikes aren't necessary, just take it slow. The snow is very packed down at this point even in the afternoon. Poles are extremely helpful, especially coming down the loose scree at the top. There was a car parked right in front of the start of the trail, so my partner and I didn't see it and ended up climbing some snow to meet the trail. Please don't park your car right in front of the trail. PS - My hiking buddy and I were expecting Princeton to really suck based on what everyone says, but it really is not bad! Going in with low expectations is the way to go :) |
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6/25/2023 Route: East Slopes Posted On: 6/26/2023, By: mcosby Info: Hiked from the bottom 2WD lot. Road is dry almost all the way up. A few small snow patches before the ridge are well traveled. I tossed my spikes on and grabbed my axe (out of convenience), but some others did not. A fall on some sections would be consequential though. Ridge is fully dry to the summit. ~6hrs total up and down for me. |
