Mt. Blue Sky Trip Report 06/17/2024

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Mt. Blue Sky - 14,268 feet
Date Posted	06/17/2024
Date Climbed	06/16/2024
Author	MattDelSur
Additional Members	bosnian2014

Too good to be true
Mt Blue Sky Ridge trail; 6/16/24; approx 6 mi. RT; perfect conditions TL/DR: this is a great mountain. Highly recommend. Here’s why: 1. Easily accessible from Denver/DIA 2. Timed entry parking permits are easy to get, cheap, and effective 3. The experience has it all, a little something for everyone. Read for more: 1) I picked up my partner at the Wooly Mammoth lot in Golden, entered through the open gates, and had my pick of the parking spots at about 6:30am. I dropped my partner off at 3pm and was at DIA plenty early for a 5:30p flight. All roads are (not perfect but) totally accessible to all vehicles. Conditions as of June 16, 2024 could not have been better; clear, dry, windy, a little haze in the distance, but no complaints. 2) Yeah, the crowds … and the closer to Denver, the worse, but we climbed this on a blue bird summer Sunday and considering the exemplary conditions, the crowd was minimal (of course, the summit is another story). I think the timed entry parking pass system is working. It’s only $7 and it was easy to get. 3) Simply put, this was just a really fun climb. From the lake you can see the summit and the ridge, from most of the summit and ridge, you can see the lake. I find it entertaining to say “I’m going up there” and then “I came from down there”. The visuals give the hike dramatic perspective. It’s got a little hiking, a little rock hopping, a lot of route finding (“picking your way” I call it). It’s got a sweet gnarly link up to Bierstadt which is probably way better than the traditional route (you can literally see the crowd on Bierstadt from a mile away). You can make Blue Sky a long day or short day, with various options. The hill has some mixed climbs/gully routes, you can hitch down, there’s wildlife; I really just cannot say enough good things. My advice: as of mid June probably no more need for spikes/traction (up the ridge trail at least); get on early, even though it’s a short quick route and there’s not much snow, it was slush by 10am; get familiar with the route or be prepared to be looking at you map. Yes the summit is crowded bc you can drive to the top, but if you’re more about the climb than the summit, this is a terrific route and mountain.

Too good to be true

Mt Blue Sky Ridge trail; 6/16/24; approx 6 mi. RT; perfect conditions

TL/DR: this is a great mountain. Highly recommend.

Here’s why:
1. Easily accessible from Denver/DIA
2. Timed entry parking permits are easy to get, cheap, and effective
3. The experience has it all, a little something for everyone.

Read for more:
1) I picked up my partner at the Wooly Mammoth lot in Golden, entered through the open gates, and had my pick of the parking spots at about 6:30am. I dropped my partner off at 3pm and was at DIA plenty early for a 5:30p flight. All roads are (not perfect but) totally accessible to all vehicles. Conditions as of June 16, 2024 could not have been better; clear, dry, windy, a little haze in the distance, but no complaints.

2) Yeah, the crowds … and the closer to Denver, the worse, but we climbed this on a blue bird summer Sunday and considering the exemplary conditions, the crowd was minimal (of course, the summit is another story). I think the timed entry parking pass system is working. It’s only $7 and it was easy to get.

3) Simply put, this was just a really fun climb. From the lake you can see the summit and the ridge, from most of the summit and ridge, you can see the lake. I find it entertaining to say “I’m going up there” and then “I came from down there”. The visuals give the hike dramatic perspective.

It’s got a little hiking, a little rock hopping, a lot of route finding (“picking your way” I call it). It’s got a sweet gnarly link up to Bierstadt which is probably way better than the traditional route (you can literally see the crowd on Bierstadt from a mile away). You can make Blue Sky a long day or short day, with various options. The hill has some mixed climbs/gully routes, you can hitch down, there’s wildlife; I really just cannot say enough good things.

My advice: as of mid June probably no more need for spikes/traction (up the ridge trail at least); get on early, even though it’s a short quick route and there’s not much snow, it was slush by 10am; get familiar with the route or be prepared to be looking at you map.

Yes the summit is crowded bc you can drive to the top, but if you’re more about the climb than the summit, this is a terrific route and mountain.

Comments or Questions

Trotter	not a TR 6/19/2024 11:06am Trip reports are longer, lots of photos, etc this is a conditions report
Marmot72	Hey Matt 6/19/2024 8:58pm Lol - I cant wait to get the story behind this one. Hope youre well.

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