Massive - Southwest slope verses East slopes?

[jeffmpls]

Is there any reason not to do the Southwest slopes verses the East slopes? I'm would like to squeeze Massive in tomorrow before I head to Redrocks for Crosby, Stills, & Nash, and the shorter route might be a better option to keep me from over doing it, unless the East slopes are a better for some reason that I'm not aware.

Any imput is appreciated, thank you in advance.

Jeff

[SoCool]

Just FYI, the road to get to SW Slope route is slow and bumpy, and probably quite muddy at this moment. I recall using 4wd when I was there a month ago, in dry conditions.

[Turtle Boy]

+1 on the road.

The SW slopes are a knee buster. The grade plus the steps/talus make this a reasonably tough climb on the knees. I can't compare to the East Slopes as I've not done that route but if the East Slopes are comparable to Elbert's standard route then the SW slope is a harder than the East slopes even with the shorter mileage.

That said, the SW slopes are a great climb just add some time for the road.

[jeffmpls]

Thanks guys, that's good to know.

[JosephG]

Having done both routes, I highly recommend the SW slopes. Shorter and less exhausting, plus enjoyable views of Oklahoma, Mt. Champion, Deer Mountain, North Halfmoon Basin, and the French group. It's been awhile since I drove to that back TH, but when I did, I got a 2WD sedan there with minimal difficulty. Not sure what the road is like now, and clearly others have had problems even during the same time periods I drove the 2WD there, so certainly current information on the road's condition should control.

Further discussion on this found here:
http://14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f= ... 88#p448988" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bigredmachine]

I did the sw slopes 2weeks ago. There was one spot on the road that required 4wd (and some decent clearance). If I recall correctly it was about a mile from the th. While steep, the route isn't that bad, the first 1.25 miles are basically flat leaving roughly 3500 vert ft in 2.5 miles (all on a good trail). I'm sure the east slope is easier hiking, but your gonna save probably 3 hours rt doing the sw slopes.

Also, make sure you don't miss the turnoff for the sw slopes. I felt it was straightforward, but we ran into a couple guys on the slope who became separated from a slower hiker. Evidentially the slower hiker missed the turnoff.

[MtnHub]

The SW slopes is a lot more scenic and like others have said, quite steep. But another nice option (my preferred way actually) is to ascend the SW slopes and descend the East route. It makes for a very pleasant loop hike and the eastern trail is easier on your knees (my biggest problem when descending). Either way, it is a nice climb. Enjoy!

[bigredmachine]

The SW slopes is a lot more scenic and like others have said, quite steep. But another nice option (my preferred way actually) is to ascend the SW slopes and descend the East route. It makes for a very pleasant loop hike and the eastern trail is easier on your knees (my biggest problem when descending). Either way, it is a nice climb. Enjoy!

Keep in mind if you do this, you will have to walk 2 miles up the 4wd road to get back to your car at the end.

[bjkent76]

My buddy and I did the SW Slopes route 10 days ago. We drove my 2013 Dodge Durango, which is AWD, but NOT 4WD. We got within .4 of a mile of the Trailhead without much difficulty. There were a couple of spots shortly after we parked that I wouldn't have been comfortable with and was glad we stopped. That said, from that point the roundtrip was 8.8 miles, 4,800 feet elevation gain. We did it in 5:39 with several stops and 30 min on the summit on beautiful day. Fun and very scenic route. the first 1.2 miles are flat, leaving the final 3 miles or so very steep. It is a bit of knee-buster, but nothing too extreme.

Definitely recommend this over the East Slopes. We also needed to get back to town at a reasonable time and this route fit the bill for accomplishing that.

Have fun!

[Hungry Jack]

The SW route is the steepest class 1 trail I have ever hiked, but it beats the loooonnng slog of the east side. My one time on Massive was a tour de Massive, where we ascended the SW slope, and descended the east side and then looped all the way back up Half Moon rd to the truck at the SW TH.

It was a tough day for me because I made the horrible mistake of wolfing down two sausage biscuit egg sammiches from McDonalds in Frisco before the very steep climb up the SW slopes. I was certain I was going to hurl around 13k. I felt terrible. The day was redeemed with this chance photo of a leaping goat on Massive's summit ridge:



We also got a pretty good drenching on the road back to the car.

[2giqs]

Here's the sign and trail split to be looking for 1.3 miles from the TH:

160.JPG (303.56 KiB) Viewed 225 times