Mt. Bierstadt

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 10/5/2024, By: Max+Karen2
Info: Arrived at the parking lot at 6:20am and it was only 1/3 full. Fantastic weather, much warmer than normal. Clear blue skies, no wind. I hiked solo and am 69, so also quite slow. The trail was easy to follow and there were only a few other hikers now and then, not crowded at all like Bierstadt can be. Conditions couldn't have been better! And thanks to the two hikers at the summit that gave me some extra water! 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/20/2024, By: jeffrey2212
Info: Sunshine: Sunrise mid September is 6:45am but being on the west slopes the sun doesn't hit the parking lot until around 8:20. We started the hike at 6:15, and were in the mountain shadow until 8:45am. Air temp in the 40's. Windchill in the upper 30's. Very windy. Gloves and hat/hood are a must. Trail and Summit: Rain the day before, but trail dry. Boardwalks frosty but not too slick. Easy rock hop across stream. Small patches of snow up high, but nothing to sink into. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 9/11/2024, By: justind145
Info: Good conditions overall; boardwalk through marsh was slippery from overnight frost, around 13200 there's a few seeps creating a bit of frozen water flow on the trail before temps warm up. Easy enough to go around, traction not needed. A few moose in the willows at the start very close to the trail, two bulls sparring, cool sight but give them space. 

Route: Tour de Abyss Loop
Posted On: 8/11/2024, By: Ssgustafson
Info: Did the Abyss Loop that began with watching the sunrise from the summit of Blue Sky. Due to recent rains, and the additional light rain today at around 8AM, the rocks were somewhat wet and slick. Overall, this is a very fun route that also largely avoids the crowds on the standard Bierstadt and Blue Sky trails. The Bierstadt East Ridge and well-cairned Sawtooth routes go no higher than Class 3. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/11/2024, By: jujubandit
Info: Trail in good shape to top. Only issue was ice from moisture on boardwalk covering the marshland in the beginning. Some of platform is slanted slightly and made it very slippery before the sunrise. Be careful. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 8/2/2024, By: holl1021
Info: Great conditions. Weekdays are the best time to beat the crowds. First time made it to the summit. 6 Mountains goat around the upper trail. Dont feed the wildlife or leave food/water on the trail for them. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/29/2024, By: SWINTJJ
Info: My first 14er! I parked at the West Slope trailhead and was heading up at 0500. There were about 20 cars in the lot and it appeared most were overnighters. One guys Jeep panic horn was going off waking everyone up. There were four groups of lights already on the trail when I started. Trail conditions were very good with only a few mud puddles in the willows that were easily avoidable. There are two snow fields just off the trail. I have thrown a snowball in every month so far this year and just barely got my July one in. The temperature was about 34 at the trail head and the wind went from zero as I started to about 20 as I ascended. I took off my outer layer pants at about 12K. I regretted that decision and put them back on at the summit. I made the summit at 0750 and back to the car at 1030. There were three of us on the summit at 0750, but I did pass a few groups heading down as I closed in on the summit. On the way down I passed at least 100 people heading up. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/27/2024, By: samuelbrwn
Info: Perfect conditions. Busy as always. Avoid on weekends if at all possible. 

Route: Tour de Abyss Loop
Posted On: 7/9/2024, By: ballardwf04
Info: Great hike. Parked at the summit of Blue Sky then hiked down and over to Bierstadt, taking the Sawtooth back. Personally I'm very glad I chose to park at the summit instead of the pullout at 13.3k- hiking down in the afternoon with cars going by doesn't sound fun. Condition wise the route is snow free except for a snowfield on the way down from Bierstadt on the sawtooth (pic attached). I used spikes for a brief crossing, figuring I had them and if I fell I probably couldn't stop. The snowfield will be gone soon and it is possible to avoid with some extra elevation gain. This hike was meant to give me some exposure training- that it did. Climbing up and down 13,641' and the last portion of the Sawtooth definitely has some pucker factor. Neither are actually difficult, just the mental aspect. Would recommend this hike for a quick jaunt in the Front Range to get some exposure training and to get ready for bigger, more committing objectives. 

Route: East Ridge
Posted On: 7/7/2024, By: Willy the Kid
Info: No snow or ice at all on the route, but there are tons of flowers. I mean TONS. The ascent of Point 13,641 isn't really as spicy as people make it out to be, but there is an exposed 20 foot section on the downclimb that involved a lot of butscooching and hoping our feet landed in the right places. The descent from Bierstadt to Abyss Lake is a really, really tedious 1500 foot steep talus slope. Not fun. And the ascent back up the gulley at the saddle between Blue Sky and Epaulet is also unfun steep. Packing a change of socks just in case you slip into one of the bogs in Abyss Lake Basin wouldn't be a bad idea. Still a great day, and if you are seeking some solitude on Bierstadt, this is the way (didn't encounter anyone on the ascent until the summit, which was a zoo)! 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 7/6/2024, By: FoxintheForest
Info: We did this starting from summit lake (a great alternative thats a bit tougher, less miles but more elevation gain & scrambling, and also avoids muddy willows). There is a sizable snowfield you cant really see from the top of Beirstadt. If you stick close to the ridge proper (skiers left) heading down the sawtooth youll avoid it. We saw several parties head too far skiers right and have to traverse across steep snow to avoid loosing too much elevation in the wrong direction. Looked unpleasant. Otherwise summer conditions. Flowers are lovely! 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 7/6/2024, By: FoxintheForest
Info: We did this starting from summit lake (a great alternative thats a bit tougher, less miles but more elevation gain & scrambling, and also avoids muddy willows). There is a sizable snowfield you cant really see from the top of Beirstadt. If you stick close to the ridge proper (skiers left) heading down the sawtooth youll avoid it. We saw several parties head too far skiers right and have to traverse across steep snow to avoid loosing too much elevation in the wrong direction. Looked unpleasant. Otherwise summer conditions. Flowers are lovely! 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth
Posted On: 7/6/2024, By: MaryinColorado
Info: Bierstadt is summer conditions now. Sawtooth, choose your own adventure! The lengthy snowfield remains. You can either go to the left of it from above and avoid it altogether, but without knowing if that would land us in any class 4 terrain (and I had someone with me doing class 3 for the first time), I stuck to the right of the snow field and crossed it much further down but without losing elevation unnecessarily. Crossing was probably 20 feet, and we put in good kicksteps across. It was not a problematic crossing at all; snow was nice and firm but not icy. We did the direct up-and-over of the class 3 tower. The "exit ramp" is in great shape. This was my first time down the Gomer gully dry, and I absolutely hated it, but it goes! Willows were the wet, muddy mess we expected. We were prepared with waterproof boots and gaiters. After enduring the gully, we were oddly joyful at the refreshing nature of slopping through mud. :) 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/4/2024, By: mjm1231
Info: Hiked Mt. Bierstadt on July 4th. Conditions are dry to the top. Theres a smear of snow left at the bottom of the summit pitch but easily walked around it. Stream isnt high anymore, can traverse on the rocks and stay drysuggest poles, person in front of me slipped and fell in. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 7/1/2024, By: OTD913
Info: Trail was in good condition. A little muddy from recent rains, and a bit of rain during our hike this AM, but nothing major. Summitted without stepping foot in snow, which was nice