Pikes Peak

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 2/20/2021, By: gasseljo
Info: Pretty good conditions on the route today. Brought snowshoes but never used them. Micro spikes were nice to have as usual, but not actually necessary.

The boot back loses the trail around 11.7k and stays that way for a few hundred feet. It was okay on the way up because it was frozen but pretty punchy at the end of the day. Someone should pay more attention and pack out the proper trail if possible.

Some wind slab around Little Pikes but it felt ok today. Not a lot of snow to cause concern but it was frozen solid you'd want traction for that section.

Great day out. First time on Pikes. Solo. Summited. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 2/5/2021, By: olgav100
Info: Lots of dirt almost to Barr camp with intermittent icy patches. Hard packed snow from there to A-frame. Plenty of dry and a good foot-dug trail above tree line. In some snow drifts spikes are definitely helpful, the rest is ok with screw-shoes. Cold, North wind above 11,500 gusts to 40 mph. Sunshine, until last mile and half before top socked in the cloud. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 2/1/2021, By: macg91
Info: Good trench in place. Spikes helpful, no flotation needed. Terrain very windswept from Devils Playground onward. Followed the trail up but came down on the road as the shorter distance didn't seem worth downclimbing the talus/snow combo on the summit block. Lots of construction at the summit. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 1/22/2021, By: timewarp01
Info: Road is closed 1.1 miles below the TH. Trail's in pretty good shape; easy to follow and snowshoes not really necessary anywhere. The most time-consuming area is the switchbacks below Devil's Playground, the snow is deep enough to be annoying but not enough for floatation. Didn't see any evidence of slides in the area either and lots of rocks and dirt showing through. Perfect conditions today but man that summit block goes on forever. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 1/21/2021, By: headsizeburrito
Info: Pikes Peak via Barr Trail. First three miles mostly bare, a few slippery patches of ice here and there. Put spikes on about 8700'. From there consistent snow, but well packed up to Barr Camp. Barr Camp to Timberline Shelter was less packed and softer, slows you down a little but not an issue. Timberline Shelter to summit had patchy snow. The big upper switchbacks had a couple short sloped sections that were very firm and a little sketchy to cross on spikes but could mostly be avoided.

I had originally planned to do Pikes via NW slope, but in the username inspiration thread Monte Meals told me there was a place in Colorado Springs with giant burritos (Alfonsos), so I had to do Barr instead to go there afterwards. I didn't eat enough on the hike to save room. Of course when I got there they told me it wasn't on the menu anymore. Only after ordering did I notice they had different extra large burrito, the "Don Poncho". It's probably smaller than the former "El Gordito" but I'll have to go back and try it. Maybe I'll just do a few laps on the Incline though, not sure I want to hike that far to end up at a construction site again for a bit.

Had great weather for a first calendar winter summit. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 1/15/2021, By: kalestew
Info: No flotation needed. Spikes were helpful but not necessary past the Devil's Playground, track is all wind blown beyond that point. Summit still under construction, no wind shelters whatsoever 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 1/15/2021, By: olgav100
Info: Via Barr trail. All was good, some snow drifts and route confirming, needed spikes last mile (not at all times). after turn-around snowfall hit, so the info had changed since then. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 1/3/2021, By: Unknown
Info: Super easy conditions. Booted up to summit and back at the lot in 6-7hrs 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 12/31/2020, By: VeraUndertow
Info: Climbed Pikes with my doggo today to ring in the new year properly and enjoy the perfect weather. The gate is closed about 1 mile from the summer trailhead but the road is hard packed. I took the trail on the left at the bathrooms and this was also super nicely packed or melted out already. The trench was in all the way till past treeline ~12k. From there it was mostly windblown snow, I stashed my snowshoes right near devil's playground since I didn't think I'd need them, and honestly the few postholes I had above this point were minimal and mostly crossing the East slope of "lil pikes peak" and up the final scramble to the summit. If you get it before it snows again I don't think you will need floatation. Below treeline on the west slopes seemed decent to ski as well, but only 6-8 inches of snow so don't take your new skis. Seems like Pikes from the crags trail melted out fast enough to avoid the weak facet layers that are plaguing the rest of the state. The construction crew and myself were the only people on the summit which surprised me for such a perfect nye day. Took me 9 hours to do the 15.5 miles including all my stoppage time. Definitely felt good to get another snowflake before 2021. Happy new years everyone and stay safe 

Route: Heizer Trail - Barr Trail - Summit - Manitou Spgs
Posted On: 12/24/2020, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: Took Heizer Trail to Trail # 638 (Manitou Reservoir Trail) to its junction with Barr Trail at mile 4.5 on Monday. Heizer started off dry through the switchbacks; once trees started thinning out, snow was variable - packed down with icy patches in places, but not bad enough to warrant microspikes going up, and certainly no need for flotation. Continuous snow from where trail goes down to the reservoir, though we still did not feel the need to use traction. Trail up from reservoir had mushy, spring-like snow that was ankle-deep in parts. The snow was deepest and caused the most postholing in the last half mile to the junction with Barr. Barr Trail was well-packed to the Camp (which is open year-round - current hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The hosts serve spaghetti dinners five days a week from Wednesday through Sunday and pancake breakfasts every day. If you just want a quick break without a full meal, they are friendly and will offer you hot drinks, and they appreciate knowing who's on the mountain and hearing condition updates).

Less previous foot traffic present above Barr Camp when we went for the summit on Tuesday, but enough that the trail was still decently packed down, enough that we cached snowshoes shortly before the A-Frame (a.k.a. Timberline Shelter). Trail above treeline filled in with wind-drifted snow; others had taken shortcuts directly up the slope, sticking to rocks as much as possible, and we followed suit. Re-joined trail and began traversing at sign 2 miles below summit. This area had enough snow with drifts - ranging from a few inches to six feet in height - to bury the trail completely, and my partner and I wound up making some Class 3 moves on snowy rock to stay on target. Snow eased up where trail starts going SE and even had dry patches almost up to 16 Golden Stairs. Thank you to whoever left bootprints for us to follow up this portion!

Summited after construction workers had finished for the day. Unclear if Summit House or any sort of shelter is available when the road is open to drivers. Descent started off uneventful, then the snow that had originally been in the forecast on Sunday but had been un-forecasted Tuesday morning showed up. Wasn't bad until the winds picked up to ~30 mph, filling in tracks we'd made going up. After having enough fun trying to stay on trail with GPS batteries (including backups) that were not reacting well to the cold, we elected to bushwhack down to and through the uppermost section of trees to regain the trail. Going was much easier back to Barr Camp from here, but previous tracks were already filling in. I'd estimate 1-2" of new snow had fallen by the time we returned to camp.

Hiked all the way back down Barr Trail on Wednesday. First two miles were softer than they had been on Monday with at least one slick patch, but still easy to follow. After that, snow was increasingly intermittent and boot-packed enough, especially after junction with the top of Manitou Incline, that traction was not a necessity.

Never used snowshoes the whole time, but future hikers should likely be prepared for a fair bit of trailbreaking above treeline, as Tuesday's snowstorm probably filled in any tracks that had been present. Spikes might be helpful on continuous snow now as packed parts turn into ice. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 12/21/2020, By: JQDivide
Info: TH to Devil's Playground
Winter TH, gate is closed.
Bootpack on the road to summer TH.
From there, I usually go through the campground, it's a bit shorter.
But there were tracks on the normal trail and campground.
Lower part of trail has been hiked, but it was unconsolidated snow, so, kind of a bootpack, kind of not.
Didn't use snowshoes at all.
Put on traction at treeline. Some postholing, some nearly grassy areas. Tracks didn't last in the wind.
Top looks pretty wind blown. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 11/30/2020, By: marksilas
Info: Followed the Devils Playground trail up to Devils Playground. Mostly packed snow. Didn't use traction, but could see that others have been using microspikes. Didn't go above the Playground, but probably similar conditions. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 10/9/2020, By: aholle88
Info: Barr Trail/Barr Trail Parking and the Incline is closed until further notice due to a new fire that started yesterday in the lower portion of Barr Trail. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/4/2020, By: AH1366
Info: Arrived trailhead at 6:30AM, temp was 28 degrees. Road up was no problem 7 cars in the lot. A little cool as we started up to Devils Playground but warmed up quickly. Needed gloves as we were in the shade but visibility was no problem. Trail was in great shape, perfectly dry with no snow. Passed 3 hikers on the way up and 2 passed us, otherwise no one. Arrived at Devils Playground at 9:30 in bright sun and zero wind, temp probably 50. Route to the Peak was clear and sunny. Back down at 11:00 with temp 65, lot was full. Last 1/2 mile many hikers of all shapes and sizes and dogs coming up. Glad we started early. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/5/2020, By: dsaint1884
Info: beautiful day for the trek. No need for traction of any sort just yet, it was dry all the way to the top where you find the massive amounts of construction.