6/4/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 6/4/2011, By: mtnmike Info: Great climb this morning, pre-dawn. Deep firm snow through the Willows, then intermittent hardpack to the summit. Crampons/microspikes may be useful high up, but some kind of floatation is definitely required down low. After sunrise the stuff softens fast and without snowshoes, the postholing is painful! |
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5/22/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 5/22/2011, By: Jay521 Info: Snowshoes mandatory, traction devices very helpful. Be sure and start early because the snow turns to mush before noon. |
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5/7/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 5/8/2011, By: ktrainor Info: The road up from Grant is passable up to the last switch back before the winter closure. I used my 4wd for one section about a mile back from where the road is closed. Beyond the closure, the road is snow packed all the way to the trailhead. From the trailhead there is a well defined track up to the summit. Overall conditions are good, enjoy! |
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2/21/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 3/5/2011, By: Walk29 Info: Guanella Pass road had too much snow for my Forester at mile marker 8 which is 5 miles south of the trailhead. Add 10 miles roundtrip! The snow is deep in the willows and we postholed a lot due to the warm day. Only made it to 12,200 feet. My first trip report will be coming soon. |
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2/12/2011 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 2/12/2011, By: Br0k3r Info: 3:00 AM Guanella Pass not accessible from the south 8 miles in. Snow too deep for clearance on 4x4 jeep grand cherokee with chains. Adds extra 8 miles roundtrip to the summit. |
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12/4/2010 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 12/6/2010, By: rijaca Info: The road up to Guanella Pass from Grant is gated at Duck Lake (~1.5 miles below Pass). Some snow on the road (before and after the gate). We put in a good track through the snow in the willows and didn‘t need snowshoes. The slopes are wind scoured above the willows. |
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11/23/2010 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 11/24/2010, By: bednorz41@hotmail.com Info: 14ers, I attempted Bierstadt on Tuesday Nov 23 but only made it up to the ridge at about 12,000. The road up to Duck Lake required chains to get to it but then it got plowed while I was hiking. The road after Duck lake had some snow on it but not a lot but the gate was closed. I did not need snowshoes. I got started to late to summit and not come down in the dark. Any day out hiking is better than sitting at home. Matt Bednorz |
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11/20/2010 Route: West Slopes Posted On: 11/22/2010, By: Satama Info: Road from Grant to the trailhead is/was open but after the winter closure gate would probably require a 4WD vehicle. Snow was pretty wind blown off the west slopes to the north and east sides where there was a lot of wind loading. There were drifts in places along the route but the snow was mostly packed down by the wind and there was very little ice. Didn‘t require any sort of traction devices to reach the summit. The wind was pretty intense at times. Snowshoes would be helpful for some short stretches to prevent postholing but weren‘t needed for most of the route to the summit. |
