Mt. Bierstadt

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/5/2026, By: agane
Info: As predicted by previous updates, the snow has largely melted off. One ~50ft section of ice that is easy enough to dodge and one ~15ft section of packed snow that can't be avoided without going off trail but that was not treacherous. Biggest risk was early morning frost on the rocks at the river crossing. Bottom lot was full by 6am. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/11/2026, By: Tegerton1
Info: Parked at the upper trailhead at 8:00 AM on a Saturday, still some spots remaining. Few small patches of ice, but no need for microspikes or anything. Scramble was dry even a week ago. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/3/2026, By: SuperMario
Info: Very patchy snow above 13k, no traction needed. The snow should be gone within the next few days given that the sun is gonna be shining. Hit the summit at 5:30am and traversed the Sawtooth over to Blue Sky, similar conditions existed on both. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/1/2026, By: Alpine_Exchange_36
Info: Some packed snow is starting to develop from around 12kft on up. I imagine it'll melt off this week. Spikes were helpful but not necessary. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/18/2026, By: Peebs3
Info: Seriously some of the prettiest fall colors I’ve ever seen. Some muddy and puddle spots from the rain, but can easily be walked around. Start early around 5AM so the sunrise starts when you are at the good vantage points. Bring layers as it gets chilly at the top with the wind, however make sure you can stow them in a backpack for the way down. It heats up when the sun comes out. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/18/2026, By: mrschaible
Info: Fall colors are almost at peak. Should be 2-3 days till peak. Arrived at the trailhead around 5:30am and it was nearly empty. No snow or other hazards. Besides the rain and really bad visibility, it would have been a perfect day! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/21/2026, By: TylerBerndtMyToast
Info: Very very busy! Conditions are great but avoiding crowds on weekends is only possible by starting before 4am, even then be ready for a lot of avoiding people on the way down. Parking tickets are also on every single vehicle touching the road, saw at least 50. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/20/2026, By: coleboss 21
Info: Definitely one of the easier 14ers I’ve done. I hiked with a large group and we got a late start, hitting the trail around 9:15 AM. Surprisingly, there was still a good amount of parking available at that time.We kept a pretty casual, steady pace and summited around 12:00 PM. The descent took us about an 1:30. It was a beautiful, sunny day with completely clear trails and no snow. Fortunately, we managed to miss the usual afternoon thunderstorms. Overall, this was a fantastic hike! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/17/2026, By: alex3yoyo
Info: Plenty of upper parking lot space at 7am. Sunny day, no scary clouds until about 2pm. Lots of people. Nothing crazy in terms of scrambling. There are lots of braided trails on the way up, so make sure to walk on the most traveled/eroded. There's still a cornice off the east ridge, don't walk on top of it it's currently cracking. 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 7/6/2026, By: Lost Steez
Info: Epic hike. Summer conditions. Was expecting more class 3 moves, but it wasn't bad. Route finding is straightforward; cairns are placed all along the traverse. 

Route: Tour de Abyss Loop
Posted On: 6/23/2026, By: shakabrah
Info: Full summer conditions on most of the route except for patches of snow on the descent off Bierstadt. They were mostly avoidable but if you follow the "standard" descent I think that puts you right in the middle of the remaining snowfield. The snow was soft and somewhat unstable by 8:30AM this morning. I'd be prepared for a couple more class 2-3 downclimbs than usual for the next few weeks if you're trying to stay out of the snow. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/20/2026, By: UneasyHeart
Info: Conditions were great. A little bit wet in spots. No snow on the trail path so I didn't need to use spikes. Just a little windy at the top as predicted. Got to the summit at 5:45AM 

Route: Tour de Abyss Loop
Posted On: 6/19/2026, By: pthomps17
Info: Route is in full summer conditions except for a steep snowfield descending off Bierstadt to the sawtooth. Much longer and more difficult route than expected. Don’t take this lightly. Hope to have a trip report up soon with more thoughts! 

Route: Tour de Abyss Loop
Posted On: 6/24/2026, By: Mfariss45
Info: Awesome climb, but was tougher than expecting. The ridge on Bierstadt is rock-hoping not tundra. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/19/2026, By: HikesInGeologicTime
Info: You could step on snow, but you’d pretty much have to go out of your way to do it. Protip: if you aim to summit near sunset, you might get said summit to yourself in June, then potentially have the whole mountain to yourself, depending on how slow you are descending!

Pics not particularly relevant to conditions; I was just excited about how much better my “new” phone is at taking night shots than my old one was.