Late April, Early May?

[hillrunner_tx]

Hello! First time posting on the board and thank you for the chance to ask questions about the "14ers".

Background:
- +30 year runner
- Back in the day, per se, best runs mile through 10k. Injuries built up from over training, racing too much (had to keep my small sponsorship). Experience in mountain hiking, trail running in California, Colorado and New England (nothing serious) and started returning to more and more distance and trails around three years ago.
- Flatlander from Texas, Colorado resident in the past. Was told in Boulder at the Lighthouse Bookstore that I have the aura of a native Colorado. (Flattered!)

Questions:
1. I am thinking of running Mt. Elbert in either late April or early May to avoid the summer crowds. Any possible concerns over weather related issues?
2. Since my current elevation is around 700', I plan to find close locations with elevation to start prepping. eg There's a trail southeast of Taos, the Devisadero Loop (9,000') for example.
3. I'd come out about a week and a half ahead of the target date for Mt Elbert and find a reasonable VRBO to acclimate and start prepping. Walk the mountain slowly a few times to adapt, start adding short runs.
4. Diet -- besides lots of fluids, have read focus on a near vegan/vegetarian diet low in fat has been found to be optimal and have really started focusing more on this approach. Thoughts? How about dropping coffee since it is a diuretic...have seen that suggested.
5. Shoes. Are trail shoes really needed? Years ago, I didn't wear them and recently, just haven't found the need except for the occasional rock or root that is sticking up here or there.

Things like strength training, mobility -- no issues with that. Weights, calisthenics, follow Dr. Stuart McGill's mobility/core work.

Thanks for your help and insights!

[peter303]

Snow lasts above treeline until June: June 30 in a snowy year, June 1 in a dry year.

[Gandalf69]

I have running experience, and think you should be ok on that. It also sounds like you have given yourself plenty of time to ajust to the attitude as well, thats a big thing. As far as not having coffee as much.....my hat goes off to you. To me its a scary thought.

[k_fergie]

Late April/earl May is prime high alpine skiing in Colorado. The snow line will probably be about 10000 feet, so you'll likely have 50%-90% of your hike on snow. That could be well packed needing only microspikes, deep posthole "fun", 2+ feet of fresh snow as our snowiest months are March and April, or more likely a mix of all of those. Boots of some variety will make this much more enjoyable than running shoes.

Mt Elbert SE route is more likely than many other mountains to be well tracked given the popularity as a winter hike (still 90+% less crowds than avg summer day), so a run in microspikes may be possible, if not even downright fun. But its a gamble, I'd say be prepared to slog in snowshoes if we've been getting lots of snow in the weeks leading up. The good part about this time of year is that thunderstorms are pretty infrequent, so you shouldn't have to worry about that

[Istoodupthere]

Hello! First time posting on the board and thank you for the chance to ask questions about the "14ers".

Background:
- +30 year runner
- Back in the day, per se, best runs mile through 10k. Injuries built up from over training, racing too much (had to keep my small sponsorship). Experience in mountain hiking, trail running in California, Colorado and New England (nothing serious) and started returning to more and more distance and trails around three years ago.
- Flatlander from Texas, Colorado resident in the past. Was told in Boulder at the Lighthouse Bookstore that I have the aura of a native Colorado. (Flattered!)

Questions:
1. I am thinking of running Mt. Elbert in either late April or early May to avoid the summer crowds. Any possible concerns over weather related issues?
2. Since my current elevation is around 700', I plan to find close locations with elevation to start prepping. eg There's a trail southeast of Taos, the Devisadero Loop (9,000') for example.
3. I'd come out about a week and a half ahead of the target date for Mt Elbert and find a reasonable VRBO to acclimate and start prepping. Walk the mountain slowly a few times to adapt, start adding short runs.
4. Diet -- besides lots of fluids, have read focus on a near vegan/vegetarian diet low in fat has been found to be optimal and have really started focusing more on this approach. Thoughts? How about dropping coffee since it is a diuretic...have seen that suggested.
5. Shoes. Are trail shoes really needed? Years ago, I didn't wear them and recently, just haven't found the need except for the occasional rock or root that is sticking up here or there.

Things like strength training, mobility -- no issues with that. Weights, calisthenics, follow Dr. Stuart McGill's mobility/core work.

Thanks for your help and insights!

As someone who is usually around the Sawatch in mid- May, I’d say you have almost zero chance of running the trail at that time unless you’re running in boots and plan on doing lots of postholing.

[Jorts]

Can you learn to ski? That would be more rewarding that time of year.

Or come in July.

[hillrunner_tx]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Quick follow up: how about early June or after Labor Day?

[nyker]

Early June very likely still a lot of snow around higher up. After Labor Day in early September would have a better chance of being snow free than early June and generally less T-storm risk than summer and any early season snow that fell may melt quickly but not guaranteed. It also could be a year where the Monsoon lasts a few weeks longer and afternoon electrical storms still linger.

When trying to predict weather and conditions that far out you can predict broad generalities and trends based on past years but the given week or day or two you decide to climb may be bad so it's somewhat of a crapshoot. Build in some backup days to ensure a better probability of good weather and you should be in a better position to improve your odds of success.

[dwoodward13]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Quick follow up: how about early June or after Labor Day?

Out of your 3 options (April/May, June, post-Labor Day) after Labor Day is far and away the best choice for your goals. IMO September is the best month to hike the high peaks. Downside being wildflowers are on their way out and the mountains lose some lushness and contrast with the formerly green tundra turning into its fall hues. It can snow, but usually will melt off in a day or two. Getting closer to October, any snow can start to stick around, especially shaded areas.

Note that while school is back in session for most, the leaf peepers come out in droves. Peak leaf season for the Twin Lakes/Leadville area is around the last week of September +/- 1ish weeks depending on the year. Just don't expect zero crowds this time of year.

[k_fergie]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Quick follow up: how about early June or after Labor Day?

I'm personally hoping for a heavy snow year like 18/19, it was a record breaker. That year I climbed Sneffels and Wilson 4th of July weekend in full snow above 11.5k feet. The Yankee Boy Basin road was snowed in at the mid trailhead by the bathrooms that weekend. Crampons (or at minimum microspikes) were required on Sneffels through mid August that year. But last year, the San Juans were 90+% melted out by mid/late May. So early June could be either full on summer conditions, or full on winter conditions depending on the year. As others have said, September is more consistently good for trail running, but not a guarantee by any means

[two lunches]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Quick follow up: how about early June or after Labor Day?

I'm personally hoping for a heavy snow year like 18/19, it was a record breaker. That year I climbed Sneffels and Wilson 4th of July weekend in full snow above 11.5k feet. The Yankee Boy Basin road was snowed in at the mid trailhead by the bathrooms that weekend. Crampons (or at minimum microspikes) were required on Sneffels through mid August that year.

::pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease::

[cottonmountaineering]

Thanks for the suggestions.

Quick follow up: how about early June or after Labor Day?

I'm personally hoping for a heavy snow year like 18/19, it was a record breaker. That year I climbed Sneffels and Wilson 4th of July weekend in full snow above 11.5k feet. The Yankee Boy Basin road was snowed in at the mid trailhead by the bathrooms that weekend. Crampons (or at minimum microspikes) were required on Sneffels through mid August that year. But last year, the San Juans were 90+% melted out by mid/late May. So early June could be either full on summer conditions, or full on winter conditions depending on the year. As others have said, September is more consistently good for trail running, but not a guarantee by any means

heres hoping, we have a good start so far