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 Peak:  Mt. Bierstadt
 Route:  West Slopes
 Range:  Front
 Posted By:  nicboerio
 Date of Info:  3/1/2016
 Date Posted:  3/1/2016
Details

Guanella Pass was clear all the way to the winter trail head. I left the lot at 7:50 and put on my snowshoes as soon as I got to the snow packed road. There was a nice 2-4 inches of fresh powder, but I could still make out previous tracks. I am sure that spikes would have been fine, but I didn't want to have to carry my snowshoes - and it was just easier to have them on. The 1.25 miles up the road was beautiful and quiet, with occasional gusts of wind and snow.

As soon as I reached the Bierstadt Trail parking lot, the wind was about as brutal as I have seen here. As usual, it was blowing directly from the east - bringing some extra power this morning. The trail was easy to find for the short trek to the large sign, but was nearly impossible to find after that due to the constantly moving snow drifts. I occasionally found some previous snowshoe tracks (I was the only car and only person out here today) and did my best to follow them. Since the wind was mostly at my back, I was able to see a decent distance in front of me. From mile 1.3 to about 2.5, I struggled often to find the trail, but only had a few post holes here and there.

From mile 2.5 the trail was easily visible, and around mile 4, the snowshoe trail deviated left of the actual trail. I realized that I was off the official trail, but I was on firm snow and cutting off some distance by following the previous tracks. I did this for about half a mile where I ended up tacking off the snowshoes since I was traversing almost completely on the rocks (I probably could have taken them off earlier, but I wanted to see what the snow was like near the top).

With the snowshoes off and the wind blasting harder than ever, the peak was in sight and I joyfully hiked the final pitch. Although I did have spikes with me, the wind was too brutal for me to stop and put them on. (It was so cold, my GoPro and iPhone both were not able to turn on.) I hung out at the top for just enough time for a few pictures, and then headed back down.

Usually this is the easiest part of the hike, but I now had to endure four miles of 50+ mph head winds blasting snow and ice in my face making it near impossible to see more than a few feet in front of me. I maintained my original trail for only a short time where I soon found myself far off path and post holing far more than I wanted to. At around mile 5.6, I deviated SW of the trail and ended up finding the trail again around mile 6.4 - to where the original trail was nearly impossible to spot due to the ever blowing snow.

Overal, it was an easy hike with difficult elements. Snowshoes were a must and goggles would have helped greatly.

Link to my Garmin Report: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1070038339



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