Pikes Peak

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 11/30/2018, By: Squirrellysquirrel
Info: Well-established trail to start; used gaiters, poles, and microspikes. The stream crossing and the junction (Photo #3 and #4, 14ers) isn't all that obvious from the main trail in low light conditions, yet the double planks are recognizable. Thick, ankle to knee deep powder through trees; upper trail through 12ft tree area was covered in snow, but with careful inspection, a path was easy to discern with GPS. Above treeline: no trail, thick and juicy powder with crusty tops, knee-deep post-holing in spots, too lazy to put on snow shoes (might've helped?). Wind was super fierce from here on out, face protection advised. At saddle and to summit: windblown, hardpack snow with an easily found trail. I traversed the snow field on Little Pikes Peak; it seemed stable and upon inspection consisted of hardpack, consolidated snow with little to no duff underneath. I opted for the road for the last and final pitch for ease of travel due to windy conditions, I was no good at the drunken-monkey-wind-weaving-amongst-pointy-mountain-rocks-swagger this particular day. No donuts at the top, just 2 dozen or more construction workers busily milling about. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 11/22/2018, By: BColo
Info: Trail in good condition to tree line. However about 300 vert below tree line some went off route and made what looked like a steep ascent. I guess they missed a right turn switchback.

Once above tree line, trail is windblown and difficult to follow until you crest the ridge at 12,700. From there it's easy to follow, no post-holing but be careful crossing the small snowfield before the final ascent.

Wore spikes until Devil's playground. No flotation needed. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 11/5/2018, By: Westward
Info: Hiked the Crags/Devil's Playground route. Light snow pack until around 11,500 where the last set of footprints ended. At this point we had to consult our GPS to ensure we were on the trail. We didn't have snowshoes so around 12,000 it became difficult to traverse with knee high snow in some spots, we ended up turning around at 12,500. Easily accomplished with snowshoes, and absolutely beautiful. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 11/3/2018, By: HikersAreLikeOnions
Info: The trail was clear of snow up until Devils playground. once you cross the road there was snow, but snowshoes were not necessary. I brought my spikes but did not use them, but that was a personal preference. Watch out for greedy Gray Jays below the tree line! 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/27/2018, By: mickknu16
Info: The trail is pretty clear of snow up until the Devil's playground. The last push to the summit has probably the most snow. Deepest spot with a posthole was probably just above knee deep. Trail was still fairly easy to navigate.
Saw a few other groups where people were wearing spikes. I brought Yak Traks, but didn't put them on as the snow/terrain was all pretty manageable in my opinion and i'm generally too lazy to stop and put them on when i'm in the zone. But its worth having them for sure if you got em. Really quiet day on Pikes, road was closed till 11am and really not many groups out, only 4 cars when I left the TH at 5:45am. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/21/2018, By: afreder2
Info: Basically summer conditions with almost no snow at the top. The breakfast sandwich at the top is terrible. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 10/22/2018, By: Weflootin
Info: Trail had avoidable snow until final summit push past devils playground. A few people out on the same day hitchhiked down or had someone pick them up at the summit. Without microspikes I probably wouldve done the same. Also don't depend on filterable water being available past the first 2-3 miles till the summit. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 9/10/2018, By: RyGuy
Info: I was up on Pikes this last weekend for a finisher party. Some weird folks up there; you never know what you will see. (First picture)
The trail is in good shape overall. A little bit of snow and ice towards the top, but nothing terrible. (Pictures 2-5)
Microspikes wouldn't hurt if you are planning to chill out on the north side of the summit house for some strange reason.
Also check the Crags trailhead for updated into on the trailhead status. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 9/5/2018, By: Lucas Pattie
Info: It was a pretty clear day for this route. There were only 3 other cars in the lot. I started at 6:45 am and saw hardly anyone on the trail on the ascent. Just above treeline there was a sizable group performing trail work. Up high it was chilly with steady winds. There was some snow on the ground too - particularly on the final talus stretch, where there were a few small patches of ice as well - but nothing really consequential. I reached the top at 10:00 am, which was a bit of a shock to me, as I had never climbed Pikes Peak before. There were plenty of people and vehicles, as well as construction - with much of the summit area fenced off. On the way back I actually only passed a few people ascending. There were a number of casual hikers down low though, and about 12 cars in the lot when I returned at 1:30 pm.

P.S. - While reading through recent condition reports on this route, it came to my attention that someone briefly lost the trail on the descent at 11,600 feet. They said they saw the same thing happen to 2 other groups as well. I realized that had to be the place where I briefly lost the trail yesterday on the descent too. I actually took a picture of that location, which I am adding to the end of this sequence - #10. I ascended this short dirt incline, which has a decent switchbacking path up it. The continuation of the trail above this is pretty starightforward. However, on the way back down I descended the dirt incline then turned roughly to the NW (right) along the resumption of the regular forest trail. It was immediately after this I got messed up. I got sidetracked down what was probably some false path, and had to backtrack a bit to relocate the actual trail. So just be extra observant when you pass through the vicinity of the dirt incline, is what I would say. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 8/9/2018, By: BenV+P
Info: Barr Trail from the Hydro St to Barr Camp (beginning at 07AM) was clear but damp with some standing water from hard rain and hail the day before. Humidity was high making for some hard sweating. Trail looked good, no obstructions to note. no trash or litter was seen from Hydro St to the Pike's Peak summit. Water consumption was 72oz, total. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 7/2/2018, By: swesleyc7
Info: Perfect weather. It gets windy and chilly near Devil's Playground, but in full sun, with a long sleeve shirt and jacket, it's tolerable. Overall trail condition was ideal. Much of the trail is dirt and free of obstructions. Saw about 20+ people on the trail. Tourists join the trail at Devil's Playground and hike to the summit (posers... haha).

Side note: directions to the trailhead are vague. Just google Crag's Campground and park there. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/11/2018, By: troyflannigan
Info: I camped out at the Crags Trailhead the night before, don't trust your phone's GPS, it sent me somewhere else. I should have used the notes on this site as primary and GPS as secondary. I got started at 6am and there were about 12 cars in the trailhead parking lot. The trail was well marked until the final climb to the peak. It was a lot of rock hopping and I lost track of the trail, but wasn't a big deal because it was mostly straight up. No snow at all on the trail. I enjoyed 2 of the "world's famous" donuts at the top, took a couple of pics, and headed down. Only issue I had on the way down was I lost the trail at 11,600 ft. I came across 2 others that made the same mistake ahead of me, then another group behind me made the same mistake. That GPS that I was cursing the night before helped me get back on track. (the GAIA GPS app is amazing, and only $20). After backtracking for 10 minutes, we were back on track and found the trail that took us back to the trailhead. 

Route: Barr Trail
Posted On: 5/31/2018, By: pgerskovich
Info: Hiked the Barr Trail. Ate dinner at Barr Camp (I paid to sleep there but decided to move higher up the trail to get a jump on the hike in the morning) so I walked in the rain and dark up to the A-Frame(two hour hike), Slept there (amazing views of Colorado Springs). Left for the summit at 6am. Got to the top at 9am. Had a breakfast burrito and donuts at the summit. (how many summits can you do that at?).
There was a little ice on the trail in spots above the timberline, but most had melted on my way down. For a 100 year old trail, Barr trail could use some more marking (especially in the dark and rain). i used my GPS a few times to figure out where the switchback were going. You can filter water at Barr Camp.
Walked back down after stopping back at the A Frame to pick up my stuff. The lower portion is busy with people doing the Manitu incline but higher up not that much traffic. You can prepay for parking at the trailhead and save some money. (https://denverparking.spplus.com/city-of-manitou-springs.html#nogo) 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/16/2018, By: davidcampos24
Info: Basically summer conditions; only 2 small snow patches. No traction needed, but would recommend ski mask and goggles incase winds pick up.
The last pitch is a b!tc#, so be prepare for a horrible finish (but great donuts at the top). 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/12/2018, By: two lunches
Info: perfect hike through about 12,5.. but the wind got absolutely ridiculous after the third mile in today. traction was not necessary, per se, but could be beneficial for the segment from the ridge to the road- lot of avoidable ice patches. mostly, i wish i would have brought goggles, ski gloves, and a face mask for the last 4 miles. i'll be back with ten pounds of stuff i might not need for this route next time...