Pikes Peak

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 7/3/2024, By: bagelbattalion
Info: Small snowfield by Little Pikes is still there but easy to traverse. Was getting softer by 11am on return but no post-holing at that point. Had a mountain lion scamper across the trail about 60 feet ahead of us about 1.3 miles from the start of Crags on our way up. Clearly was on its way somewhere else and not concerned with us but a good reminder to be aware and making noise when below tree line. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 7/1/2024, By: quinnwolf
Info: Summer conditions. Technically, there are three small snow patches that cover the trail above 13,800, but they are very short ( 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 7/1/2024, By: emilyshikes
Info: Beautiful day and hike! Arrived around 6:30 to trailhead and there were still a few spots left along the road in front of the actual parking spots. Avoided rain and lightning despite summiting later than I had hoped, but going down was much faster. Was fairly crowded on a weekend which made the last push to the summit slow going as everyone tried to navigate around each other. Total 8h30min moving time, 34min/mile (my watch recorded 15 miles).

Only one snow field left near Little Pike's, slushy but stable. Otherwise entirely summer conditions. Incredible wildflowers above treeline. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/30/2024, By: enoki
Info: Still one snow crossing below "Little Pikes" that did not require traction. Otherwise summer conditions. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/18/2024, By: Ryannelson182
Info: Almost entirely summer conditions. The two small snowfields between Devil's Playground and the summit were easily traversable without traction.

As mentioned in one earlier conditions update, the hill climb is coming up. When I arrived at the road, race cars were speeding by, getting in some practice runs (before 8am). It was really cool to witness, but if you are sensitive to loud noises, you might want to bring earplugs the remainder of this week! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/17/2024, By: sdicenso
Info: Sunday June 23rd! The Pikes Peak Highway will be closed due to the hill climb. If you hike up Barr Trail, you must hike back down. The Devils Playground trail is closed at the highway as well and no hikers will be allowed to continue to the summit past the playground. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/17/2024, By: sdicenso
Info: Sunday June 23rd! The Pikes Peak Highway will be closed due to the hill climb. If you hike up Barr Trail, you must hike back down. The Devils Playground trail is closed at the highway as well and no hikers will be allowed to continue to the summit past the playground. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/9/2024, By: austin132435
Info: A few snowfields but mostly summer conditions, never used spikes or snowshoes. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 6/6/2024, By: emadcox
Info: Summer TH is open. The trail is clear to treeline. The trail up to the ridge gets lost in knee-thigh deep snow pretty quickly- if you go early enough the snow is hard enough to walk on- with a few surprise sink holes now and then. The trail to Devil's Playground is like walking through a landmine-- you never know when you're going to sink! The snow is about 3 feet deep here. We stopped at DP- the trail looked to be pretty snow covered. Go early and be ready to sink on your way back! It was a gorgeous day though! 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 6/2/2024, By: tjagger
Info: I started at 5:30 am, with plenty of parking spots available. Coupons to reduce rate from 32.50 to 10 dollars available from caretakers.

Trail has one tight spot due to a rock fall near mile 1.5 from the trailhead.
No other problems noted up to Barr Camp. I arrived at Barr Camp, carrying snow shoes at 8:30 am.

From Barr Camp to the 3 mile marker, I followed the trail and boot track with care over small snow and ice patches. I arrived here about 10:45 am.

From mile three the main trail is buried, so I hiked uphill about 100 feet and contoured south to the Cabin creek drainage. I put on snowshoes at 11:15 am. I used Snowshoes from here to the summit.

While my original intent was to take cabin creek and topping out on the left side of the cornice. However, the snow is not continuous and I got off route. Following snow and rock patches, I crossed the trail at the 1 mile to go sign. I then contoured uphill to 13,500' crossing a small rock pile. This led me to the firmer snow below the cornice. I think climbed directly uphill topping out just south of the cornice, at 1:30pm. After topping out I followed the snow field near the cornice east of the cog tracks for about 1/4 mile to the summit house where I arrived at 1:45 pm.

I do not know if the cornice actually slides off, but I would have preferred to have an ice axe at 13,850' .
I road on the cog railway back to Manitou Springs. 

Route: Y Couloir
Posted On: 5/29/2024, By: bradyj
Info: The Y and Hero Traverse are definitely in. Took the road up at 7:30 and started at 8:15. Snow was in great shape the entire climb. 

Route: Y Couloir
Posted On: 5/27/2024, By: Veory
Info: Great skiing, crux is passable to the skiers right, or you can get a little (~3 ft) drop. Super filled in, really good snow today. Established bootpack is easy to follow back up, still enjoyed having crampons. 

Route: East Slopes
Posted On: 5/20/2024, By: Been_Jammin
Info: I attempted to climb the Y-Couloir today. My plan was to approach using the Bottomless Pit Trail that joins the Barr trail around mile 8. Barr Trail is cruiser up to ~11K... then traction starts becoming useful. The Bottomless Pit Trail is not currently a viable way to approach the Y-Couloir. I bushwhacked in snowshoes for about 30 minutes only to gain about .25 miles. That is when I decided to bail. Too bad... I bet the Y-Couloir was in prime condition. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 5/8/2024, By: bdloftin77
Info: Road happened to be open to Devils Playground, where I started. Snow was solid all the way up and down and didn't posthole, though conditions could have changed since then. Carried snowshoes but didn't use them. Some areas had no snow, other areas had likely very deep snow. 

Route: Northwest Slopes
Posted On: 4/23/2024, By: masonzastrow
Info: Decent trench from one mile short of the summer trailhead to treeline, more blown over after that but a path is still visible. Road is in good shape to the Mennonite Camp, then pretty rutted out from there to the (closed) gate. High clearance recommended. I put on snowshoes a couple miles in and wore them almost the whole time, my two partners didn't put them on until the descent and didn't posthole much. Great conditions, snow felt stable on the steepest section leading up to the ridge. Snow stayed firm below us until about 1 PM. We only made it to the ridge (~12,600) but some of the upper slopes looked dry from my vantage.

Around 11.5k, I found a piece of equipment with the number six written on it. Describe it to me and I'll get it back to you!