Jun 15, 2008
I left from the parking area along the road just outside of The Crags campground and trailhead at 6:45 AM. I was on the summit of Pikes Peak at 10:45 AM.

I stayed on or near the summit for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. The descent took close to 3.5 hours, which included time to change socks.

Round trip distance was about 13 miles.

Jun 8, 2008
Without a definite altitude goal, I began hiking from the Barr Trail Trailhead toward the summit of Pikes Peak. My first rest stop was about 9 miles up the trail at the A-frame. After spending about 1.25 hours at the A-frame, I headed to the summit.

After topping out on top of Pikes Peak, I headed for the high point, which is the pile of talus in the center of the parking area.

I debated whether to hitch a ride down the mountain, but opted instead to hike down. About 1 mile below the summit, my little toe began to hurt due to my boots. Changing socks, tightening boot laces, etc., did not fix the problem. I hiked out the last 10+ miles with an acute awareness of each step.

The distance of this route is about 24 miles round trip, so that is the main factor in my difficulty rating of this ascent.

Although the mileage was tough, I had an absolute blast ascending the east face above treeline. The scenery was great as low clouds kept moving across the mountain. Several snow fields obliterated the trail, which made the hike even more interesting. It had been 19 years since I last trod over the high east face of Pikes Peak. I never enjoyed it more than I did on this trip.

Aug 18, 2007
While I was climbing Pikes Peak from The Crags, more than 1,900 runners were racing up Barr Trail to the summit. There was a lot of activity on the mountain.

Jan 21, 2006
It had snowed a few days before this climb and the warm temperatures of the previous week had vanished. Although not a significant snow storm, it did freshen up the snow and gave me a chance to break out my snowshoes.

It turned out that the cold temperature was the major factor on this climb, at least once I reached altitude. As in October, I met high winds and tough conditions at Devil's Playground and turned back.

Cold and wind contributed to a well-below-zero wind chill near 13,000 feet. While I was able to protect my face and hands, my feet took a beating from the cold.

It appears that I suffered from frostbite, although the severity isn't clear. My toes were numb for quite a while during the upper parts of the climb. Although they warmed during the descent, my right big toe was still partially numb the next day. Permanent numbness can be a result of frostbite, although I'm hoping my condition is temporary. Time will tell.

Footnote:

As of October 1, 2006, more than 8 months have passed since this climb. Although the toe recovered a portion of its feeling, it did not recover completely. Then, it suffered a setback during a minor incident at Lake Como, which is detailed in the Ellingwood Point / Blanca Peak trip report.

At this point, it appears that the toe may forever be susceptible to minor exposure to cold conditions, which is causing difficulty in protecting it during late-season climbs in the mountains.

Oct 30, 2005
For this trip, I decided to ascend Pikes Peak from the west on a trail rated at Class 2. The Crags trailhead, located at an elevation of about 10,100 feet, was the starting point. Snow was still on the ground at the trailhead, left over from a snow storm a few weeks before.

Ultimately, I would not summit on this day. Even though the summit was within view from my turn-around point, the conditions were brutal and the hour was late, so I turned back. Blizzard conditions at 13,000 feet, along with thunder and lightning, had sent me running for cover. With every few steps of my descent, I would 'post hole' up to my knee. I soon slowed my pace, figuring that the lightning posed less of a threat than torquing my knee or wiping out on the slope.

The sun was just about to dip behind the western horizon as I arrived back at the trailhead.

I definitely underestimated the fury that the mountain would throw at me during this climb. Reaching the blacktop of Highway 67, I discovered very icy conditions, which had already caused a wreck. Two highway patrol vehicles had their lights going at both ends of the slickest stretch of road, trying to prevent any more accidents.

Sep 23, 1989
After enduring a grueling round-trip ascent and descent of Pikes Peak one month earlier, I decided only do the ascent this time. That sounds like cheating now, but at the time it sounded like a pretty good idea.

This time, I would hike Pikes Peak with a co-worker, Scott Demaree, who also happened to be an ultra-marathoner. He had run in the Leadville 100 more than once, as well as tackling some 24- and 48-hour races. For him, the hike to the top of the mountain was just a warm-up for his run back down the trail. I took the cog train down. With Scott getting a 30-40 minute head start as I waited for the train to depart, he beat me down the mountain. He was waiting at the car when the cog train finished its 45-minute descent.

I don't recall many details about this trip, since I'm writing about it almost 15 years after the actual event. I do recall, however, that we kept a pretty steady hiking pace to the top, stopping occassionally for a snack or to rest a bit.

Trip Report To Be Completed Soon

Aug 19, 1989
In the late summer of 1989, with very little preparation and less experience, I decided to climb Pikes Peak. This would be my first attempt to climb a "14er."

My training consisted of one meager 7-mile hike on the Waldo Canyon Trail the previous week. This minimal training was a result of impatience to hike the peak, but it would prove to be extremely unwise.

Trip Report To Be Completed Soon

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