Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Colorado peak questions, condition requests and other info.
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gorshkov
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Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by gorshkov »

I'm planning to hike Mount Rosa (11,500') next week and I'm trying to decide whether to bring snowshoes. If anyone has done some hikes in the high country near Colorado Springs, including Barr Trail, what did the snow look like?
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by Ptglhs »

I've done Rosa 3x. Are you planning from the east from the falls or from the west off gold camp road? I'd bring traction for sure simce the upper part of that hike is on the northern side of Rosa. Flotation probably won't be needed so long as you summit in the early side (by 10).
gorshkov
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by gorshkov »

Thanks for the advice. I'll be coming from the East side, and definitely bringing microspikes.
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bdloftin77
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by bdloftin77 »

gorshkov wrote: Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:23 pm Thanks for the advice. I'll be coming from the East side, and definitely bringing microspikes.
You’ll probably want gaitors too. Probably not too much snow near N Cheyenne Canyon (tends to melt out quicker there and is lower in elevation), but then more and more as you get higher up. Near the top there’ll probably be deeper drifts. From the snow depth link on NOAA, expect at least 1-2 feet near the top, and even more in drifts.

The last time I was up in that area was a month or two ago. Lots of deep, unconsolidated snow to trudge through on the east slope of Almagre. With all the melting and refreezing lately, I’d hope it’d be more solid than otherwise now.
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by brerrabbit »

Most years it's pretty snowy at this time, I'd expect some significant postholing, primarily after crossing that forest service road and the rest of the ~35% of the route. It just depends how deadset you are on the summit. If I wanted to certainly get to the summit I'd take snowshoes. I did run into 4 trail runners about 3 weeks ago who were going for the summit but I do not know how far they got.
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by bdloftin77 »

brerrabbit wrote: Fri Apr 23, 2021 7:44 am Most years it's pretty snowy at this time, I'd expect some significant postholing, primarily after crossing that forest service road and the rest of the ~35% of the route. It just depends how deadset you are on the summit. If I wanted to certainly get to the summit I'd take snowshoes. I did run into 4 trail runners about 3 weeks ago who were going for the summit but I do not know how far they got.
+1
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bdloftin77
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by bdloftin77 »

Met a friend of a friend who trail-ran it on 4/24. Said near the top snow was mid-shin to knee deep. He did summit.

https://www.strava.com/activities/5185915145
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12ersRule
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by 12ersRule »

Has anyone been up here recently?

The snow map looks promising from the south - but I've been burned by it before! I'd probably prefer the north if the trail has been packed down though.

https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive ... ar=shading
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by enoki »

Lower trails (7-9k) look like they got a few inches over the past few days. Assume more higher up toward Rosa.
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bdloftin77
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by bdloftin77 »

Yeah, upper slopes might have a foot to a foot and a half, based on recent snow. An alternative to the 3 mi RT route via Frosty Park is shown below. Driving is solid, hiking is dotted. There's a faint trail branching off west of the parking spot (X), which you can reach by following an existing trail west first, or going north toward the old mine and then bushwhacking NW. The trail peters out as you get closer to the summit and there's some rocky areas to maneuver as you reach the top, but the south slopes of Rosa have considerably less snow than the north slopes and ridge. An added bonus - you can see if you can spot "Pike's Cave" above the mine, in the red circled area. (I can send you or anyone coordinates of that if you're interested).

Picture of cave is near bottom of article explaining why Rosa was likely the mountain climbed by Pike.
https://citizenexplorer.org/pike-myster ... ike-climb/
Mt Rosa South Slopes.png
Mt Rosa South Slopes.png (1.14 MiB) Viewed 2045 times
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susanjoypaul
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by susanjoypaul »

bdloftin77 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 12:15 pm
Picture of cave is near bottom of article explaining why Rosa was likely the mountain climbed by Pike.
https://citizenexplorer.org/pike-myster ... ike-climb/

Mt Rosa South Slopes.png
Thanks for sharing that article. I hadn't seen it. The last paragraph:

To commemorate Pike’s climb, Murphy, the Colorado Springs Gazette writer Dave Philipps, and others organized a climb of Mt. Rosa on November 26, 2006, the bicentennial of Pike’s attempt. The party slept overnight in the cave and honored Pike by getting up the next morning and hiking to the Pike’s Peak, finishing what the hungry explorers had started two-hundred years before.

I was on that hike along with Philipps, Gazette photographer Christian Murdoch, my old hiking buddy Doug Hatfield, my other old hiking buddy Eric Hunter, Dan Anderson, Cathy McKeen, and another guy whose name I can't recall at the moment. Haven't thought about it in years, but it was quite a trip. We started where Murphy thought Pike began, somewhere near Fort Carson, and it took us three days to summit.

It was cold out, just nine degrees, as we approached the top of Pikes Peak. The snow started coming down and the road was closed, but they let our friend Bill Brown drive up and get us. I have the newspapers around here somewhere...Phillips and Murdoch carried a laptop and camera equipment and somehow filed stories every day. As for the cave, I think just two guys slept in it. It's not a big cave.

Mount Rosa...it's a great hike and a beautiful peak!
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12ersRule
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Re: Mt. Rosa trail conditions

Post by 12ersRule »

Good stuff, Ben and SJP. Assuming I can get out on Saturday, I think I'll do exactly that route you mentioned hoping to pass the cave along the way. Yes, I'll take the coordinates for the cave just in case I can't find it.
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