Grays Peak

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/21/2025, By: mapleaf
Info: Trails clear, very well maintained. Trail traffic moderate. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/9/2025, By: CEColton
Info: The trail up Grays is snow free and in great condition. The route from the summit of Grays to the summit of Torrey’s is also slow free. However, the connecting trail used to bypass Grays Peak on the return from Torreys crosses a snowfield. 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/6/2025, By: RobMcG
Info: Grays and Torreys route from the CDT Trail 321 is totally uncovered from snow except about a 100 meter snow drift on the Torreys branch. It was soft and walkable on the established tracks, but glad I had my trekking poles to self arrest if I slipped. It was passable without axe or poles or micro spikes if you're careful and take your time. No post-holing, just a nice single track established through the drift. Otherwise, this route just had some wet sections and the standard creek crossings that you can manage easily without getting wet feet. Great day to be on the mountain, and good to get off early as the storm clouds form up pretty early these days. We saw a herd of Mountain Goats on the Grays branch, and a beautiful Fox on the Torreys route above the saddle. This is another reason to go early, as the animals are often more active in the early morning. Fun day with a great crew!! 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/7/2025, By: aych
Info: Absolutely perfect conditions on a bluebird day after the July 4th holiday. No snow on either peak and the only snow encountered on trail was descending Torreys back towards the junction (was pretty compact but I still used a pole to stabilize). 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 7/7/2025, By: aroooooon
Info: The trail is in pretty good condition and there was almost no snow on the way up to Grays and on the saddle over to Torreys. The way down from Torreys had a stretch where there is a 1ft wide path of snow/ice and it would’ve been very nice to have microspikes. It’s doable without but I was using hiking poles to make sure I don’t slip down the mountain which didn’t feel great. Other than that, the trail was great and easy to follow and there are plenty of wildflowers everywhere which look beautiful. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 6/30/2025, By: pajryan
Info: Great conditions on both Grays and Torreys. Tiny bit of water/ice on the trail near the trailhead, but otherwise dry all the way up Grays. The snowfield to/from the saddle between Grays and Torreys is easily passable. We were just in hiking shoes (no spikes) - there's a solid trench in, and footing was firm but good around 6:30AM (the kind of snowfield where you think "hmm, this would be a bad place to fall - an ice axe would feel good", but it's 3-5 minutes to cross and pretty unlikely to cause issues). We skied the snowfield below Grays and had great conditions. Snow started to soften enough for fun skiing around 9:00AM. We had about 1500 feet of continuous vertical - starting a few hundred feet below the summit of Grays and going as far as the snow would let us. Bottom few hundred feet were suncupped survival skiing, but the rest was good fun. We slept at the trailhead and left around 4:30AM. By that time the lot was almost full - I'm sure it was full before 5AM. The road to the trailhead is rough as always, but doable (plenty of Subarus up there). We didn't do Kelso ridge, but plenty of people were on that route and it seemed to go easily as well. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 6/22/2025, By: bschiff
Info: Really great conditions the whole way up. Loose rock on the ridge at times but can be mostly avoided and is not exposed. Skiing looked like it was in great shape too. I’d go earlier to avoid the trail at the bottom becoming a river! 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 6/22/2025, By: Lrsnsam
Info: The connecting trail under the saddle of grays and torreys has a good bit of packed snow but decent traction when the sun is out and no postholing. Near the trailhead hiking back down became a little wet when the sun came out but the water was always completely avoidable and my feet stayed dry. The summit of Grays was very windy, so naturally so was the hike up Torreys. Gusts made people lose their footing a few times. I grew up in the Cascades of WA where I hiked a ton, but moved here a couple years ago for work and this was my 1st 14er. Overall it was a great introduction to what you guys have to offer :) 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 6/19/2025, By: slawrence2011
Info: Started from Argentine Pass trailhead around 5 am. We had to cross one snowfield on the right side of the basin to get past the cliff bands, it was quite firm and we did not use traction, fortunately it had just enough suncupping to make it safe. Microspikes would have been a lot more comfortable. The rest of the basin and ridge was dry to the summit, summited around 9. Dropped into the SE face for skiing around 9:30. It was continuous from around 20 feet below the summit to 12,7. Linked a few snowfields including taking off skis, and got to 12,1. Hiked in ski boots to the left and got on one final snowfield and followed a barely intact snowbridge and managed to get to 11,7 on snow. Back to the car before noon. Thanks to Eric Ahlstedt for the beta on this last weekend that inspired the trip! 

Route: Grays and Torreys
Posted On: 6/17/2025, By: tate_voeller
Info: Arrived at 530 am lots of parking still during the week, the trial in the first 2 miles is snow free and then you will have your first snow crossing, not super hard or anything just a little wet and slippery. We did Torrys first and then grays. Torrys was dry on the ridge, the path up to grays still has a good bit of snow on it. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 6/17/2025, By: ochres
Info: Road is pretty wet/icy in the mornings but I managed to keep my feet somewhat dry. A few snow crossings (2-3) that I didn't find avoidable if you want to stay on trail, but the steepest was glissade-able on the way down which was nice because the snow was starting to get slushy/posthole-y on the descent. Holding snow on the ridge, but the trail trends left of the snow on dry ground. Gully holding a lot of snow and still ski-able! 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 6/14/2025, By: carmitz001
Info: Trail is about 75% dry. Snow was supportive but slippery from 9-11 am. The trail from 12.7k to 13.0k was a narrow line of footsteps in the snow, which made it tricky to pass other hikers. Spikes would have helped. At 13.6k feet, I detoured south to reach the Continental Divide trail on the Grays-Edwards ridge. It was much drier than the upper standard trail, although not as easy to follow. Snow was annoying on the descent to Torreys at 11:30 am because it was very slippery but not steep enough to glissade. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 6/13/2025, By: ericahlstedt
Info: Route is mostly snow free to the summit ridge where there is snow. The SE face still has close to 2000ft of skiing off the summit. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 6/13/2025, By: carmitz001
Info: Great day for a fun alternative route! A few avoidable snowfields around 11.8k to 12.5k feet. The rest of the trail is snow-free. Lots of runoff on the gravel road, which made it difficult to keep my feet dry. The upper slopes are steep but manageable, especially if you can stay on the faint trail. Snow was in good condition for three separate glissades on the descent, totaling 1100 feet. Had to avoid a direct glissade from the summit, though, as there were cornices and deep, crusty snow. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 6/10/2025, By: Michael Underwood
Info: Lots of postholing during the warmer parts of the day. Traction for your footwear is helpful, and a trekking pole will allow self-belay in the event of a slip. Gaiters are very nice to have, even if you're wearing boots.