Pikes Peak Road and Snow

[cyrrus]

How aggressively does the pikes peak road operator close the road? My finisher is pikes and I was planning to do it sunday for my 40th Bday. Weather looks like light snow saturday night maybe a bit sunday morning, light wind. Some people were going to drive to the top to celebrate and shuttle some champagne and give me a ride down.

[daway8]

Well now the purists on the site would tell you that the summit doesn't count unless you hike back down as well since it would be considered "cheating" to basically only do half the hike - but that's up to you if you care about such things...

As for the road - I doubt they would close it Sunday if the current forecast holds, though there are hints of a slightly larger storm on Monday that might be problematic if it showed up early...

Are you going up Barr trail or taking the much shorter route on the opposite side from the Crags Trailhead?

[marksilas]

The Pikes Peak Ascent is Sat. (9/19) and the Marathon is Sunday (9/20). Check the hwy. website for possible restrictions.

[cyrrus]

It appears the forecast has improved and there will be a window. I did look at the website and did not see anything that answers my question, just that the road will be closed for a lot of the day saturday for the ascent. I am doing the crags. heard regarding the purists... I don't really care about that. I emailed pikes peak and they just said that there will be "limited access" to the summit the whole weekend. I inquired what that meant and they did not respond.

[daway8]

Based on the AI response copied below, sounds like Sunday just mainly has the Barr Trail closed - you'll be fine on Crags and your team should be able to drive up but might face some delays and it's posible parking might be very limited - sounds like there is a reservation system you could try...

"Yes, you can still drive up Pikes Peak – America's Mountain this Sunday during the marathon, as the highway remains open to regular visitors and vehicles without major all-day closures.

What to Expect on Sunday
Highway Access: Pikes Peak – America's Mountain is open normally on Sunday (unlike Saturday's Ascent, which features morning summit restrictions).

Manitou Incline: The Manitou Incline trail is closed all day Sunday for the event.Traffic & Delays: Expect heavy congestion, lower speed limits, and potential localized delays near the base and gateway areas in Manitou Springs during early morning runner departures.

Reservations: Advance timed-entry reservations are recommended and can be secured through Drive Pikes Peak"

[Jim Davies]

Your people should get a timed entry reservation on the website. If they have that, there should be no problem.