Mount Massive

From U.S. 24 just south of Leadville, turn onto Colorado 300. Drive 0.7 mile, turn left onto County Road 11 and continue another 1.2 miles before turning right onto the Halfmoon Creek road. Reset your trip odometer and follow the Halfmoon Creek dirt road for 5.3 miles to reach the Mt. Massive parking area on the right. The road above this point becomes more difficult so low-clearance or 2WD vehicles should definitely park at the Mt. Massive trailhead. Continue to 7.3 miles and keep straight at a junction. Now the road gets more difficult, requiring 4WD with good clearance. Overcome the last 0.5 mile to reach the small, marked trailhead on the right. There's parking for about 8-10 vehicles at or near the trailhead.

Taken from Mt. Elbert,  1 shows most of the route. From the trailhead ( 2), follow the excellent trail through the forest for 1.25 miles. Leave the forest and weave through bushes to reach a more open area at 11,200'. After leaving the forest, you'll catch sight of Massive's southwest slopes ( 3). Continue on the trail to reach a trail junction at 11,200' ( 4,  5). While the main trail continues west toward North Halfmoon Lakes, turn right onto the trail for Massive. Hike up through trees and a small boulder field near 11,300' ( 6).

You'll encounter a larger boulder field at 11,700', where the trail becomes slightly harder to follow as it weaves through the rocks ( 7). At approximately 11,900', the trail angles to the right (northeast) and begins ascending out of the boulder field. At 12,200', you'll reach gentler terrain and follow the trail northeast ( 8). As you approach a pointed rock pile , much of the remaining route becomes visible to your left. Continue all the way to the rock pile at 12,300' ( 9).

Beyond the rock pile, hike north over a small hill where the route ahead will become visible once more ( 10). Continue along the trail and prepare to ascend more challenging terrain on your left ( 11). Your next objective is to climb north/northwest and gain a ridge that intersects with the summit ridge. If snow covers the slopes, use  10 as a reference to identify the trail's general location. Follow the zigzagging trail as it climbs toward the ridge ( 12,  13). Keep ascending, weaving through the rocks ( 14). Above 14,000', the switchbacks begin to tighten, leading to a notch before the trail turns right toward the summit ridge ( 15).

Continue northeast to reach the "top" of the ridge near 14,200'. As you walk around a corner, the summit ridge will come into view ( 16). Drop slightly to reach a notch and signed (hopefully) junction , where the East Slopes trail intersects your route ( 17). From the junction, stay to the right of the ridge crest and work your way through the rocky terrain, eventually reaching easier ground on the ridge crest near 14,300' ( 18). Gain a false summit, from which the true summit finally comes into view ( 19). Drop slightly to a saddle before gaining the summit ( 20,  21).

To ski back to the SW Slopes, drop east off the summit:  22,  23
Above the saddle with "South Massive," drop south onto the SW Slopes:  24,  25

IMPORTANT: This route enters the Mount Massive Wilderness area. Designated wilderness areas have special regulations and restrictions for party size, dispersed camping, campfires, etc. Also, dog owners should read the wilderness information carefully because some wilderness areas prohibit dogs to be off-leash and/or limit how close dogs can be to lakes and streams. If you have questions about the wilderness area, please contact a U.S. Forest Service office for the National Forest(s) listed above.