Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

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Do you hike the Manitou Incline? What's your time (from bottom to top step)?

5+ a week
2
2%
1-2 a week
6
7%
1-2 a month
3
3%
Handful times a year
29
32%
sub-30 minutes
9
10%
30-35 minutes
10
11%
36-40 minutes
13
14%
41-45 minutes
5
5%
46-50 minutes
4
4%
51-59 minutes
6
7%
1hr +
4
4%
 
Total votes: 91
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hellmanm
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by hellmanm »

I just moved back to the Springs. When I lived in the area before, I'd go 1-2x/month. I like it in the colder months when there aren't many people, and when it's too chilly up high. I hear the parking situation is a mess now though.
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12ersRule
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by 12ersRule »

d_baker wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:59 pm
12ersRule wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:39 pm I've never done the incline before but based on the fact that it takes me about 5 seconds to run from my basement to the main level, I'm going to guess it'd take me about 16 minutes and 40 seconds to do the incline.
You would rule the FKT with that time.



Towers Road is the big challenge in Fort Collins. On a good day, I'm around 48 minutes. That's 3.4 miles 1700ft.

The PR on that is around 28.5 minutes. 18 minutes being the PR on Manitou. So, I figure something like this:

18/28 = x/48. X = around 31 minutes. Somehow, I think the outcome would be slower than 31 minutes though. Even though the Towers people are super bad ass, I think the Incline PR is stiffer.
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by AndrewLyonsGeibel »

hellmanm wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:11 pm I just moved back to the Springs. When I lived in the area before, I'd go 1-2x/month. I like it in the colder months when there aren't many people, and when it's too chilly up high. I hear the parking situation is a mess now though.
Just park down at 10 Old Man’s Trail. It’s free and makes a nice 6 mile lollipop with Barr Trail down. Warm up and cool down.
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by d_baker »

hellmanm wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:11 pm I just moved back to the Springs. When I lived in the area before, I'd go 1-2x/month. I like it in the colder months when there aren't many people, and when it's too chilly up high. I hear the parking situation is a mess now though.
$10 to park at the Iron Springs Chateau.
Or, free (for now) parking at Memorial Park/Hiawatha Gardens and you can either walk/run the mile-plus to incline or take free shuttle that picks up every 20 minutes, starting at the top of each hour.

Incline reservations suggest parking at the Hiawatha Gardens, or at Chateau. They discourage parking at Barr Tr lot.
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by AndrewLyonsGeibel »

The shuttle is cheating. Just sayin’.
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lordhelmut
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by lordhelmut »

d_baker wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:59 pm
12ersRule wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:39 pm I've never done the incline before but based on the fact that it takes me about 5 seconds to run from my basement to the main level, I'm going to guess it'd take me about 16 minutes and 40 seconds to do the incline.
You would rule the FKT with that time.
stephakett wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 12:54 pm i did it once and do not understand the appeal in the slightest. probably worth another shot
It can be a love/hate for sure.
For those of us that do it regularly, it's more of an addiction!

I live close enough to walk to it, which adds 2+ miles (RT) to my outing, but I don't have to worry about parking or any type of commute.
I was about to say. Living close enough to walk changes things. Last time I did the Barr Trail, the parking situation gave me a mild brain aneurism and then at the end of the day, I got cut off by a large group coming off the incline and had to take aggressive manuevers to get around them, most of which was met with hostility. I haven't been back since, which is a shame, cause I love that area despite the gaperdom.

Isn't the record something stupid like 1,800x in a year?
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by d_baker »

lordhelmut wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:26 pm Isn't the record something stupid like 1,800x in a year?
1825x

"The verifiable satellite-tracked record was set September 25, 2015, of (17:45) by US mountain running team member Joseph Gray. Also notable is the time of twelve-time champion of the Pikes Peak Marathon Matt Carpenter (18:31).[16] The female Incline record is attributed to Allie McLaughlin of Colorado Springs (20:07).[17]

In 2012, local resident Ed Baxter, 58, became the first person to complete the "Inclinathon", 13 consecutive trips up and down the Incline in one day. Baxter completed the effort in just over 13 hours.[18] In 2012, Brandon Stapanowich broke the speed record for an Inclinathon at 11 hours 46 minutes.[19] In 2014, Stapanowich also completed the first ever Ultra-Inclinathon, completing 22 laps of the Incline in 24 hours, the most ever completed in a day. He gained 44,000 feet (13,000 m) of altitude in this endeavor.[20] On May 16, 2015, Wade Gardner broke the speed record for the Inclinathon with a time of 10 hours, 34 mins.

In 2011, Greg Cummings (a local resident with Type-I Diabetes) became the first person to hike the Incline more than 500 times in one year. Cummings hiked the Incline 601 times and ascended Pikes Peak 34 times, setting the World Record for elevation climbed in one year at just under 1.4 million vertical feet (430,000 metres).[21] In 2013, Roger Austin ascended the Incline 719 times and reset the World Record to roughly 1.45 million vertical feet (440,000 metres) hiked/climbed in one year.[22] In 2014, Greg Cummings ascended the Incline 1,400 times in 330 consecutive days, before the Incline closed for repairs. Along with other ascents, Cummings reset the World Record to 2.9 million vertical feet (880,000 metres) climbed in a year.[23] In 2015, Roger Austin ascended the Incline 1,719 times and again reset the World Record to 3.4 million vertical feet (1,000,000 metres). Along the way, Austin set the record for most Inclinathons in one year at 26. On January 11, 2020, at the age of 62, Greg Cummings retook the one year Incline ascent record by completing 1,825 ascents in the previous 365 days and reset the World Record to 3.6 million vertical feet (1,100,000 metres) climbed in one year."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_Incline
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by spoony »

d_baker wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:45 pm
lordhelmut wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:26 pm Isn't the record something stupid like 1,800x in a year?
1825x

"The verifiable satellite-tracked record was set September 25, 2015, of (17:45) by US mountain running team member Joseph Gray. Also notable is the time of twelve-time champion of the Pikes Peak Marathon Matt Carpenter (18:31).[16] The female Incline record is attributed to Allie McLaughlin of Colorado Springs (20:07).[17]

In 2012, local resident Ed Baxter, 58, became the first person to complete the "Inclinathon", 13 consecutive trips up and down the Incline in one day. Baxter completed the effort in just over 13 hours.[18] In 2012, Brandon Stapanowich broke the speed record for an Inclinathon at 11 hours 46 minutes.[19] In 2014, Stapanowich also completed the first ever Ultra-Inclinathon, completing 22 laps of the Incline in 24 hours, the most ever completed in a day. He gained 44,000 feet (13,000 m) of altitude in this endeavor.[20] On May 16, 2015, Wade Gardner broke the speed record for the Inclinathon with a time of 10 hours, 34 mins.

In 2011, Greg Cummings (a local resident with Type-I Diabetes) became the first person to hike the Incline more than 500 times in one year. Cummings hiked the Incline 601 times and ascended Pikes Peak 34 times, setting the World Record for elevation climbed in one year at just under 1.4 million vertical feet (430,000 metres).[21] In 2013, Roger Austin ascended the Incline 719 times and reset the World Record to roughly 1.45 million vertical feet (440,000 metres) hiked/climbed in one year.[22] In 2014, Greg Cummings ascended the Incline 1,400 times in 330 consecutive days, before the Incline closed for repairs. Along with other ascents, Cummings reset the World Record to 2.9 million vertical feet (880,000 metres) climbed in a year.[23] In 2015, Roger Austin ascended the Incline 1,719 times and again reset the World Record to 3.4 million vertical feet (1,000,000 metres). Along the way, Austin set the record for most Inclinathons in one year at 26. On January 11, 2020, at the age of 62, Greg Cummings retook the one year Incline ascent record by completing 1,825 ascents in the previous 365 days and reset the World Record to 3.6 million vertical feet (1,100,000 metres) climbed in one year."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_Incline
Not sure why he's wearing cycling gloves, but I suppose that many laps will do strange things to your gear choices: https://www.cpr.org/2019/12/20/climbing ... %20do%20it.
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by Eli Watson »

12ersRule wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 1:13 pm Towers Road is the big challenge in Fort Collins. On a good day, I'm around 48 minutes. That's 3.4 miles 1700ft.
Good to know, I'll keep that on my radar for vert workouts. I've biked Towers to get to better downhills in the Horsetooth area, but I usually stick to running a few laps up Maxwell for my vert workouts. It's only about 1 mi, 360' from the middle post to the top of the hill above the restrooms, but I live close enough that I can run to it unlike Towers.
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by madbuck »

spoony wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 3:47 pm

Not sure why he's wearing cycling gloves, but I suppose that many laps will do strange things to your gear choices: https://www.cpr.org/2019/12/20/climbing ... %20do%20it.
He might put a hand down once in awhile going up, especially on ice, but cycling gloves when running downhill are also practical.
Otherwise you slip and end up with a flapper (flap of skin) on your palm!
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by headsizeburrito »

The Incline has been on my list as one of those things you have to do at least once since moving here a few months ago, just made a reservation for Thursday.

Planning on doing a few laps to make the trip worthwhile. It looks like there is a connector trail between the Barr lot and the start of the Incline for laps, correct? Just refill water from the bathroom at the Barr lot, or is there another option? Any other logistics advice from the experts?

According to the website the Incline is only open 6am-3pm, so much for future 24 hour record attempts I guess... Not to mention it says to descend via Barr Trail rather than going back down the Incline. Makes sense from a safety standpoint when it's crowded, but probably also impacts comparison to previous records that presumably went both up and down the stairs.

I will make my second attempt to get a giant burrito from Alfonso's in Colorado Springs (which prompted this thing) afterwards and post an update in this thread. :lol:
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Re: Poll: Do you hike the Incline?

Post by d_baker »

headsizeburrito wrote: Mon Jan 25, 2021 4:27 pm
Planning on doing a few laps to make the trip worthwhile. It looks like there is a connector trail between the Barr lot and the start of the Incline for laps, correct?
Correct. Top of incline, turn left and follow trail to Barr. Make sure you turn left again when you come to the trail, as it's not obvious to everyone that is the correct direction to go down.

Just refill water from the bathroom at the Barr lot, or is there another option?
You could stash extra water in the bushes at the bottom. This is common.

Any other logistics advice from the experts?

According to the website the Incline is "only open 6am-3pm", so much for future 24 hour record attempts I guess...

Not to mention it says to descend via Barr Trail rather than going back down the Incline.
I rarely go down Barr. I prefer going back down the incline because it's faster and if I'm doing doubles or more, it's more expedient to do it this way. If you haven't gone down the incline before, your legs may start shaking/trembling by the bottom. Wear or bring microspikes this time of year. Fresh snow as of last night and again tonight will likely freeze up some areas above false summit. Can be done without, depending on your comfort level with snowpacked/icy steps.

Makes sense from a safety standpoint when it's crowded, but probably also impacts comparison to previous records that presumably went both up and down the stairs.
Previous records have used the incline for ascent and descent.

I will make my second attempt to get a giant burrito from Alfonso's in Colorado Springs (which prompted this thing) afterwards and post an update in this thread. :lol:
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