Mt. Bierstadt

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: 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: 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 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 6/30/2024, By: Ericsheffey
Info: Hiked the willows/drainage to mid way up the gully to the Sawtooth in search of the missing pup today, and returned the same way. Did not actually do the Sawtooth since my mission was just to search this area. I figured I'd try to get some good recon of the drainage area since it's a little more tough to access. Can confirm, it's probably as muddy as it gets right now, and that mud is more than willing to eat your shoes if you let it. Unfortunately no signs of the missing pup, but I was able to give recon info to the owners of the pup. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/28/2024, By: Sdnaron
Info: It was fairly muddy from recent rains, but easy to get around. Also easy to get around the little bit of snow left. No need for spikes. We got there at 5:45AM on a Friday and plenty of parking. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/27/2024, By: The_Ramp
Info: As discussed, besides a 30ft crossing of some quick-melting snow near the upper boulder field, trail is in full summer mode. Wet morning which made the muddier stretches in the willows even muddier. Cool rainbow though. 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 6/27/2024, By: Sameerkumar1979
Info: Long day on the mountain (9 plus hours). Bierstadt is almost summer conditions. There is snow right at the top of the boulders which can be avoided by taking a line on the left. Did sawtooth for the first time. Absolutely incredible. There is some class 3 once at the bottom of that traverse. A little bit of snow also that needed to be traversed. Did it without spikes or an ice axe although did feel a little uneasy, that may just be because of lack of my own experience dealing with different snow conditions. I would say it is okay to go without any special equipment, also understanding that the snow is melting faster each day. Mount Blue sky is also summer conditions and good to go. The route back through the gully was not fun at all. There is a steep drop off about 2K through very loose trail which was hard. But that was not the part because of which I would not do this again. The last mile to mile and a half off trail is buried in water and mud, many sections of which do not have a easy workaround, so it was yicky and mucky. Just really messy and you will have to walk over bushes to save yourself. That part was not fun at all. If that's your thing go for it. And I am not sure how all of that changes as the summer progresses. 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 6/24/2024, By: clarkakuthota
Info: Bierstadt had little to no snow. The same goes for the sawtooth. There was a snow field on the east face of Bierstadt but was easily avoidable by staying ridge proper while descending. The only snow that I really ran into was on Blue Sky on the mellow slopes near the top after joining the west ridge from summit lake trail. The bushwhack back down to Guanella Pass was very muddy at 10:30 and I fell into mid-thigh mud. Once I got back to the main trial it was smooth sailing with all the bridges. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/20/2024, By: cinnamontoast
Info: Hi, this is my first peak conditions update. I just wanted to add this mainly because the last few trip reports and peak conditions updates I read largely agreed that spikes were not necessary. While I agree that spikes would not be necessary if you have decent weather, it was cloudy and cold for most of the morning 6/19, and I think my spikes and my gloves were the 2 reasons I was able to summit. At the summit, I don't think I saw anyone without gloves, and maybe half of the people had spikes. I took one of the last parking spots around 6am on 6/19. The creek is still strong enough that the majority of hikers use the wooden plank to cross the water, the rock paths were still mostly water covered. There was a slight patch of ice up to the top that the spikes made it so much easier to ascend. If the sun comes out though, spikes are not as necessary. It was around 40 degrees when I started around 6am, and only got to around 50 degrees closer to midday. I was cold climbing up the last 1/4 of the ascent, and shivering at the summit once I stopped. For reference, I had on two thermal layers and a puffy jacket, and long leggings with pants over that, and was still cold. There was no visibility at the summit, but it was still a great first 14er. The mud was only an issue on the way down, and it was annoying but tolerable. Using hiking poles was helpful to jump around and over mud. 

Route: Tour de Abyss Loop
Posted On: 6/18/2024, By: sarahmariekirk
Info: Climbed the Tour de Abyss + Epaulet + Epaulie yesterday. Conditions up Bierstadt's East Ridge were fantastic, along with the full traverse over to Blue Sky. Stayed ridge direct along the length of the Sawtooth, as the sides are still snow-covered and rather steep. The climbing along the ridge was exposed but solid and fun, I would say this was mostly class 3 and class 4 throughout. We stayed high along Mount Blue Sky ridge, finally properly topping out on the West Peak of Blue Sky and then the tourist-filled actual summit of Blue Sky. I hoofed it onto Epaulet and Epaulie since they were at the 13,300 junction where we parked, this added about an hour round-trip onto the day. 

Route: West Slopes
Posted On: 6/16/2024, By: fredwordsplat
Info: Parked in the last regular spot at 5:45AM. Left for the trail around 6. The lower stream/creek is running and all the trail around it is very muddy. Had to cross the stream either on wet rocks or a single 2x6, but not a big deal. Snow is nearly gone with only some patches near the Ridgeline. No need for spikes. Weather was wonderful. Lots of people. 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 6/15/2024, By: Seanrask
Info: Beautiful day for this traverse. Parking lot at Bierstadt TH was nearly full before 5:00 AM. Started hiking around 5:10 AM. Minimal postholing the whole day. Sawtooth is decently marked with cairns, and if you can follow them it is pretty straight forward. The last section of the traverse is straight scree. Carried spikes, and did not need them once. No flotation and no ice axe. Photo 1 - shows view of sawtooth from bierstadt Photo 2 - view looking back from last section of sawtooth with bierstadt in the background. 

Route: Bierstadt, Sawtooth, Blue Sky
Posted On: 6/16/2024, By: creid27
Info: Summer conditions. Some snow but nothing requiring shoes or micro spikes. I postholed more on the decent back to the trailhead, maybe 50 ft. If you don't mind getting your feet wet, the decent is fine back to Bierstadt trailhead. Still muddy.