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Hey everyone! I got a new mountain bike for Christmas this year and was thinking of trying it out on something that relates to my passion of doing 13ers. I was wondering about riding the bike up to Summit Lake from Echo Lake and then climb up to Gray Wolf from there. I realize the road will have some snow and might be hard to ride in spots, but maybe do-able with walking some sections? If I can do that, I'd park the bike at the lake and do the rest on foot. Anybody climbed up the slope from Summit Lake towards Spalding and/or Gray Wolf in winter? Is that likely to be do-able with just poles/spikes? Or would flotation + crampons be a better bet?

I would think you're one good dump from getting shutdown until it gets plowed in... well at a later date - the road DOES cross a known avy path before summit lake, so it's something to think about. As for the status of the road, I'd think it would be more hike a bike than not. Mind the conditions - Evans has been the location of a lot of accidents, I would think due to the length of the approach and getting benighted.

In late Spring, I've simply hiked from Echo Lake to the Summit via the points the road goes up and around, and can be a long day. I wouldn't totally suggest that in Winter, as it's kind of a slog before you reach Goliath.

I'd almost consider the approach from Guanella. For that, I would probably suggest snowshoes. Slope angle sure looks a lot better from that side.

There are two avy paths along the way. Another after Warren Peak. How fat are your tires? The first couple miles of the road are hard packed from snowshoers/skiers. Beyond that it’s nice to have fat tires. You may find a mix of hard wind blown snow, ice, soft snow and maybe even pavement. If road conditions are sketchy, Rogers Peak is a nice easy climb after biking up ~8 miles.
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