Pikes Peak

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/1/2019, By: ClimberSkierDave64
Info: Did the Northwest Slopes route on Pikes Peak on Memorial Day. Once you are above treeline, it is 75% on the snow. No post-holing all-day for the most part except for a little on the way down later into the day but that was only ankle deep so snowshoes aren't necessary. The snow is hard and grippy in the morning before it becomes slushy. We didn't use micro-spikes at all and were absolutely fine. There is a large snowfield with moderate steepness on the left of Point 13,363 that has a trail cut into it but is a little bit slippery and sketchy in the morning. Past the snowfield on the final pitch, it is mixed snow and rock. But, if you follow the summer trail it is well defined and is a great trail with a good bootpack with steps kicked into the snow. A picture of the final slope is attached below. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/26/2019, By: johntmv
Info: Intermittent snow from TH to treeline, but is easily avoidable in most places. Above treeline, the snow depth is inconsistent. Our group started early (4AM), and only used microspikes, which were definitely sufficient. We encountered some post-holing here and there, but nothing more than ankle-calf deep. Snow is definitely beginning to warm up and melt! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/27/2019, By: 13erRetriever
Info: Dry to Barr Camp, but the last few switchbacks up the A-frame have some snow. No spikes really needed though to pass to that point. We made the choice to cut across and follow the east gully from about 12,300 all the way to the summit but it looked like you could stay on the main trail until about 13,200 before heading up the gully. Several other parties skipped the center of the gully, instead opting to follow the switchbacks up to 13,500 then heading up the east ridge, south of the gully. Flotation would have been overkill but spikes were a must by this point. We were late climbers, hitting the gully after noon and starting the descent at 4 pm but did fine. Really great glissades on the way back!

Photos (NOT in order of taken):
1) Glissade on the way down
2) Looking at the east face from near the A-frame
3) Climbing the gully
4) Looking up the gully
5) Crux of the gully. We headed right after this point, toward the rocks bordering the Golden Stairs and followed those to the summit
6) On the way down, following southeast ridge now
7) Summit from southeast ridge on way down 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/15/2019, By: MOUNTAINMANMIKE88
Info: Was good till treeline. Until sun was hitting the snow great.. we post hold alot at 12,500 and even more on 13 and the final pitch up the summit. 3 other hikers on the trail I suppose had SAR looking for them.. when we got up to summit. Weather was looking pretty shitty. Lighting and snow by the summit 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/16/2019, By: ZodiiakClimber
Info: From Crags trailhead to treeline didn't need spikes. Parts of trail were snow covered and other parts weren't. Above treeline I put on spikes. Trail cannot be followed past here. I just hiked straight up the slope as couldn't find a trail to follow. Once I hit the saddle, trail was mostly hard packed with a few spots of post holing. Summited way too late though and the final summit push was post holing into kneww deep snow every step with a few spots that were deeper. If you can get up and down early, you should have no problem with only spikes 

Route: Y Couloir
Posted On: 5/6/2019, By: jmanner
Info: Skied the Right arm of the Y today, definitely regretting not skiing the direct; the direct had a weirder entry, but definitely goes all the way. Right arm went, but I had to do some tricky side stepping. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/7/2019, By: Txhiker42
Info: Left Barr Camp at 4:30 am. We used microspikes and poles starting from about 1.75 miles past camp to the summit and back. We headed over to the East gully just past the A frame and went straight up the obvious boot path. Minor postholing in the morning hours, softer snow on the afternoon but not bad enough to put on the snowshoes. 

Route: Y COULIOR - HERO
Posted On: 5/5/2019, By: angry
Info: Via the Hero Traverse. Snow was somewhat sloppy from the entry point until reaching the coulior. A couple spots along the way were mixed (ice/snow over rock) making the down climbing slow and tedious. Bluebird day and a great team made for an enjoyable traverse and summit. 

Route: Y Couloir Direct
Posted On: 4/27/2019, By: rivrrapids
Info: Snow in trees from BP turnoff to BP was a mix bag of soft and hard. Wore snowshoes but think I'd have been better without them but I hit turnoff about 545 when snow was still good. Was planning to hit Railroad Col but it looked to be melted out so I hit the Y. Snow appeared to have melted and was wind scoured just since JaredJohnson's report as his tracks were barely visible especially higher. Snow was solid pretty much whole way. Barr snow was still ok about 1030-1130? on descent.
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3596288313 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/28/2019, By: Phill the Thrill
Info: No snowshoes needed at this time, however spikes/trekking poles very helpful, especially above tree line. We took the Barr Trail on the way up, and there is still a very long and deep snowfield to cross between 12,800-13,100. On the way down we came directly down the chute which is mostly dry and avoided a lot of afternoon postholing as a result. The trail is pretty much snow-free all the way to Barr Camp. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/29/2019, By: Danger_D
Info: The gate to the trailhead was still closed, so that added about 2.5 mile RT to the hike. There was constant snow from where the trail crosses to the south side of the river to about 11,000'. After that the snow becomes more spotty and the trail more rocky. Trail was often wind-scoured after the Devil's Playground, but the final 2nd Class slope still holds quite a bit of snow making you pay attention.

Flotation highly recommended as things are melting out fast. I was post-holing at 12,500 at 11am, so its full spring conditions. Unfortunately the trail isn't marked well for winter and finding the actual trail can be hard (especially around the switchbacks and climb to the Devils Playground). Because of this confusion there are a lot of separate trails and no good trench, so expect some route-finding and post-holing on the way down. 

Route: Y Couloir
Posted On: 4/26/2019, By: JaredJohnson
Info: Took Barr Trail to Barr Camp, up from there to Bottomless Pit, up the Y Couloir, then descended the Barr Trail.

Not much snow on trail up to the camp
From camp to the bottomless pit turn-off, a lot of snow but very well packed.

Snowshoes MANDATORY from the turn-off to the bottomless pit. Not sure how other routes to the pit are.

The Couloir snow was varied, always doable. Pretty hard in some places, a little sugary in others especially near the top. Had to place very carefully in those places but I always felt safe.

I avoided the left branch, it's not entirely clear to me which of the not-left branches I wound up exiting. There was no cornice to speak of at my exit.

Some post-holing descending above treeline on Barr but I didn't bother putting on the snowshoes. They would probably have been useful on ascent but not critical.

I'll upload more images later but for now some can be found here:

https://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=55943 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/21/2019, By: bmcizzle
Info: Quite a bit of snow through the trees, but it held very firm in the morning and I didn't even think about using my snowshoes the entire way up. Look for a good freeze the night before you go.
Descent was a very different story. Snow had softened into a horrible snow cone consistency. Very heavy, very wet. Snowshoes had minimal impact. Never regretted leaving my tails behind more than today, though even they might have done little to prevent the post-hole nightmare.
That being said, it'll probably be fine once enough people get a good pack going on the trail. Nobody else on the trail today besides my dad and me. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/15/2019, By: Lithobatiks
Info: Still quite snowy. I was glad I didn't bring my big powder snowshoes, but I was wishing I had some lightweight mountaineering snowshoes for the tree section. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 4/3/2019, By: stevechappell15
Info: March 31st 2019. Summited Pikes Peak from Barr Camp starting at 4:45 am and finishing at 11:40am, just under 7 hours.

Left Barr Camp early to avoid hitting melting snow below treeline. Snow below A-frame is icy with tricky post-holes every now and then. Slow moving, but made it to A-frame in about an hour and a half.

After A-frame, we put on snowshoes and shot straight up the East face through the gully where the snow was the best. Measured the snow to be about 75cm most of the way up. Patchy sections of soft snow made the steep sections slippery at times. Made it to the summit in under 4 hours from the start time using snowshoes and an ice axe. 15 degrees, no wind and a double cloud inversion made for a perfect summit break.

Glissaded down the East face and made it back down to A-frame in an hour and half. Jogged back down to Barr Camp over the icy post-holes to finish in 7 hours. Overall smooth trip, but expect slow conditions due to variable snow.