Antero 4wd trailhead anyone?

[Krullin_14ers]

Hi there -

Is anyone planning on driving the Antero road tomorrow (Saturday)? I'm looking to get a ride to 10,500. Just me and I am willing to dish out a few beers in compensation.

[CO_Wolfe]

I tried it on August 12 and ended up doing some rock damage to my Jeep Renegade. It was wet at the time, but trip reports from others made it seem like it would be a cake walk, which was not the case. A 4 wheel drive with decent clearance will do fine (4runner, wrangler, etc.), but I'd be hesitant to try with anything less. We were getting passed by some ATVs as I was turning around. Ended up doing Shavano/Tabeguache instead. Good luck.

[Hershel]

I wouldn't call it really short! It's all legit class two and the first section has a few borderline exposed spots. It's pretty fun and will take you more in the 30 - 50 minute range to hike it.

Are you hiking/climbing mountains or just acquiring checkmarks?

I don't think most people are going to hike this in 14 minutes and call it really really short. Otherwise not sure what you're getting at buddy!

[ezabielski]

I wouldn't call it really short! It's all legit class two and the first section has a few borderline exposed spots. It's pretty fun and will take you more in the 30 - 50 minute range to hike it.

Are you hiking/climbing mountains or just acquiring checkmarks?

I don't think most people are going to hike this in 14 minutes and call it really really short. Otherwise not sure what you're getting at buddy!

I mean that the distance is short regardless of the time. It's only got a sprinkle of class 2. In my opinion it's mostly steep class 1 on small talus, but a clear path.

[Bakes5]

Antero is a fun ATV ride and then a short fun hike to the top. Don't see any reason to slog up a dusty 4x4 road getting passed/dusted by motor vehicles every 5-10 minutes. As one of the few (only??) trails you can ATV most of the way up, one should at least give it a try. Leave the purist mentality for the real 14ers. Antero, Evans, Pikes are all just caged animals accessible to the masses. Slogging up one of them, just to keep things pure, would feel like dressing up in safari gear, taking malaria pills and hiring a guide for a safari at your local zoo.

Out of curiosity....is there an agreed upon distance requirement to claim a peak? For example, if I want to claim I climbed Antero, how far down would I have to park in order to not get scoffed at?

[justiner]

Antero, Evans, Pikes are all just caged animals accessible to the masses. Slogging up one of them, just to keep things pure, would feel like dressing up in safari gear, taking malaria pills and hiring a guide for a safari at your local zoo.

I don't believe that's the feeling you would get doing Pikes via Barr, Evans via Chicago Lakes or Antero via Browns Creek, honestly. It's not the feeling I got - it was more, "that was not easy"! There's more to a mountain than it's easiest route.

Out of curiosity....is there an agreed upon distance requirement to claim a peak? For example, if I want to claim I climbed Antero, how far down would I have to park in order to not get scoffed at?

"Claim" is such a weird word, as there is context to "claiming" something, especially on Antero - but like this:

https://minelistings.com/mines-for-sale ... ntero-usa/

Mountaineering doesn't really have rules, just styles. You can summit using an ATV, or summit from the Browns Creek TH. Cool.

[Eli Boardman]

Don't see any reason to slog up a dusty 4x4 road getting passed/dusted by motor vehicles every 5-10 minutes. Leave the purist mentality for the real 14ers. Antero, Evans, Pikes are all just caged animals accessible to the masses.

LOL try it in winter. I didn't see another person the whole time. I consider my winter ascent of Antero (on a very windy day, with my first solo overnight) a bigger accomplishment than leading the Grand Teton or climbing Gannett.

Is there an agreed upon distance requirement to claim a peak?

Yes there's somewhat of an agreed upon distance, but it's a vertical distance. The "Colorado Rule" used in FKT attempts for all the 14ers requires 3,000 vertical feet of elevation gain and loss to claim a summit, and IIRC traversing between summits is ok. As Justiner said, it's pretty arbitrary unless you're trying to claim a FKT for climbing all the 14ers. If I understand correctly, in winter the "rule" is that you must start from the winter trailhead (i.e. no snowmobiles).

Leave the purist mentality for the real 14ers.

Oh and here's a picture of this "not real" 14er...

20170225_105340.jpg

[Timothy]

I consider my winter ascent of Antero (on a very windy day, with my first solo overnight) a bigger accomplishment than leading the Grand Teton or climbing Gannett.

I can understand that. My 14 year old and I hiked it from just above the creek crossing about a month ago, add a few feet of snow and it would be a heck of a slog.

[Bakes5]

Yeah...winter antero is no joke...but winter ascents are a totally different beast that I would like to give a co at some point.

My rule is that any 14er that you can find a garbage truck on top of is low on my list or real 14ers. I doubt you will find a garbage truck on Antero in the winter.

Sometimes it's fun to just ATV up a road, hike a half mile and then zip on back to camp for lunch. After all the slogs, weather, etc. of previous climbs, it was nice to poach one. I have zero interest in going back and climbing it from the creek. It just wasn't that interesting enough for me to go back and hike it from the bottom for some reason. YMMV. Other mountains call my name and draw me (Holy Cross, Capitol, Huron). Antero, Pikes, Evans, Quandary in the summer, etc...not so much. I would ATV back to the top of Antero though.

[Rich H]

Yeah...winter antero is no joke...but winter ascents are a totally different beast that I would like to give a co at some point..

I did the east ridge of Antero in early spring. I thought it was one of the better snow hikes