Pikes Peak

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/10/2018, By: hellmanm
Info: Still some snow on the route, but not until around treeline. I was glad to have microspikes on the final pitch, but you could probably do fine without them if you don't mind moving along some loose-ish rock to avoid snow patches. 

Route: Barr Trail
Posted On: 5/7/2018, By: Jeeves042
Info: Did a 2 day up Barr trail. Spent first night at Barr Camp, then made summit and exited May 6th. Started encountering snow patches then continuous snow about 3 miles before the summit. Never really needed traction, even though I had some with me. I stuck to the trail/switchbacks, although there is a wide set of tracks going straight up the east face that Barr Trail crossed over a few times. The standard trail was marked already before me with plenty of post holes. Snow was semi-solid in the morning, then from about 11:00 and onward it got slushy. Kinda felt like a few more days of sunshine will melt it off then it will be in summer conditions. Had a good day on top with low winds and summit house was open. Not sure what was worse, 6 miles of snow or the Incline traffic. 

Route: Y Couloir
Posted On: 5/7/2018, By: Kevin Baker
Info: No snowshoes needed on the Bottomless Pit trail. Approach was quicker than normal from Barr Camp. Did direct (middle branch) finish. Crux at the split is 5 feet of mixed climbing. Will likely melt out quick. Lower couloir is more winterlike conditions with better conditions in the last 400 feet. Hard snow in last 200 feet with a 20 feet of exposed rock at the topout. Left and right branches will have more mixed climbing. The Y won't be in for much longer without significant new snow. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/29/2018, By: lizh
Info: Patches of snow and ice both below and above treeline, but mostly clear. Traction not necessary, but could definitely be helpful. By mid-afternoon on the way down, many of the ice/snow patches were melting - spring is definitely here! The road to the summit is open, so be prepared for cars and tourists. Pretty windy today, but overall great day. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/28/2018, By: wcburke05
Info: Hiked Pikes Peak using the Crags route. Route is in great condition. Below tree line there were some snow/ice patches, but I did not need to use any traction. Above tree line, there was more snow but for the most part it was not very deep. Only post holed a handful of times. 

Route: Y-Couloir
Posted On: 4/30/2018, By: ralph
Info: Weather conditions were perfect! Snow was thin at the Bottomless Pit and at the top. Middle of the Couloir (right branch) was mixed with boot and knee deep snow. Upper parts also had hard packed snow and we did some mixed ice and rock climbing. I made a 2 minute fly over video with photos of the climb using my GPS track in Google Earth Pro. Cool perspective, but the latest satellite imagery in Google Earth was from last June. Odd enough, the conditions looked the same.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcLVlLRweQE 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/17/2018, By: Evan Giamundo21
Info: Hiked Pikes Peak April 16th 2018, didn't bring spikes (wouldn't have hurt below treeline) just my poles, hard packed in most areas where there was snow, took crags trail, wind speed was 62.5 mph consistently the last 3.5 miles, peak gust at 72. Great spring hike, took 8 hours round trip 👍🏻 Departed the trail head a 6:05am, summitted at 10:25 and was back in the car at 2:25. Trail was a little hard to first navigate once you left treeline. Post holed a hand full of times but the majority of any snow we encountered was hard packed. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/15/2018, By: JQDivide
Info: Trail is patchy in the trees... dirt, mud and ice.
Traction? I suggest taking microspikes, unless you really want to take you time. Can you go without? Absolutely. But the sure helped on the way down. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/1/2018, By: sebowen
Info: Hiked on 4/1/2018

My first 14er.
Hike up: 4 hours
Hike down 3.5

-Road to TH dry and any car should be able to make it as of 4/1, road not paved.
-Started at the Crags TH just after 6am, reached summit at 10am
-Other than some icy area in the trees the hike was not bad.
-No traction or anything needed, just good hiking boots.
-Summit was pretty windy but not much snow.
-After eating lunch at the summit house and a few photos I started the trip down around 11am.
-Walking down was then the ice in the trees was bad at spots, walking up wasn't too bad.
-Made it back to my car just before 2:30. 

Route: Northwest to Barr trail
Posted On: 3/25/2018, By: paigie_42
Info: Great day on Pikes! We hiked from crigs campground parking lot, up the northwest slopes, and down the Barr trail to manitou Springs. It was a long day, roughly 20 miles. We packed spikes and snowshoes but didn't use them. There were a few snowy parts, but they were mostly boot packed. There was more snow on the Barr trail, and even some icy spots, but we pasted them with no trouble. Overall a great day. Craig's campground is accessible by 2WD, there was a few snow/slush patches, but had no trouble. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 3/18/2018, By: sdicenso
Info: The trail is snow packed lower down and there is a frozen creek to cross, but I skirted it and went through some snow. Higher up in the trees the snow disappears. Not much snow above treeline, some drifts before Devils Playground. One snowfield to cross behind Little Pikes Peak. Some snow in the talus in the boulder field below the summit. The lack of snow was made up with high winds and cold temps on the route. My balaclava came in handy protecting my face.

I parked at the lower parking lot, but the gate to the Crags Campground is open. I walked up and down the road both ways between the parking lot and the campground. Snow packed mainly, some dirt and a few icy spots. Driving to the parking lot I did throw it into 4WD, because it was slick in one spot, but probably doable in 2WD, you will just fish tail a bit. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 3/11/2018, By: mikemalick
Info: The majority of the snow is down in the trees. Not really any of consequence anywhere else. No flotation needed. I didn't use spikes either, but some may want to keep them in their packs for those slick icy sections in the trees just in case. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 2/28/2018, By: DevonK
Info: The snow on the trail going from the Crags Campground up to Devil's Playground is packed down pretty hard. I brought snow shoes but microspikes would have been enough. Prepare yourself for the wind once you get to Devil's Playground. It turned me back before the summit and makes things a lot colder than you would expect up there. 

Route: East Slope (Barr)
Posted On: 2/24/2018, By: Jerousek
Info: 5-6" powdery snow from Barr Camp to A-Frame. 8-12"+ From A-Frame to 12k. Varying above treeline; alternating from bare wind-scoured bits to (some) unavoidable thigh deep drifts. High winds likely to continue to deposit onto the East slope. Recommend traction, flotation still optional. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 2/14/2018, By: Scott Conro
Info: Road to the trailhead is still open. You could probably make it in 2WD. The trail is visible most of the way until about 12,000ft. No need for floatation, but spikes were helpful in many spots. Turned around at 12,800 because of the crazy cold wind on the saddle before the Playground.