Manitou Incline
Incline Photos October 12, 2013
I went up the Incline on Saturday October 12, 2013 before the Incline work day to try getting some sunrise photos. The ties were frosty so I had to be extra careful.
At first it didn’t look promising for sunrise but then the sun popped up from behind the low clouds. Some great color for a few minutes as the sun rose through the lower and upper layers of clouds.
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Incline Work Day
The Manitou Incline is constantly being eroding with it’s steep grade. This summer’s rains have been hard on the Incline. A planned workday in September got canceled since city resources to support the work day were needed elsewhere because of the flooding.
The Incline work day has been rescheduled for October 12th, 2013. Volunteers will meet at 7:30 AM in the Barr Trail parking lot with work commencing at 8 AM. Trail work will end around 1 PM.
The work day will be for trail clean up and some trail restoration. LA’AU’S taco shop will be providing lunch for volunteers.
Details are still being worked out but there may be a shuttle for volunteers from the Tajine Alami restaurant. Registered volunteers will be given details closer to the work day if there will be a shuttle.
To register, please call 385-6532 or e-mail Tilah Larson at tlarson@springsgov.com as they’d like an accurate head count prior to the work day. If you’re able to go last minute and haven’t registered, you can just show up at the Barr parking lot. Really try to register though since it’ll help them plan work and lunch.
Check the Incline Friends site for the latest updates.
Iron Springs Chateau Incline Fundraiser
The Incline Friends are having a fundraiser for the Incline at the Iron Springs Chateau on Friday, October 4. For $30 you get dinner (4 entree choices, including gluten free pasta), coffee, tea and water AND a voucher for one free day of parking at the Iron Springs Chateau parking area (any day, as availability of spaces allow). Dinner is at 6 PM and the show begins at 8 PM.
We’ve shed blood, sweat and tears on the Incline, a mixture that creates some solid friendships. Instead of the usual stitch in your side from the Incline, you’ll be in stitches over the improvisational humor of Stick Horses in Pants as they wing some zingers at the totally insane and rockin’ workout that we all know and love.
Make your reservations now (719-685-5104) for a night of laughs and frivolity along with all of your fellow Incliners at the Iron Springs Chateau. The Chateau is generously donating half of the evening’s proceeds to the Incline Friends.
Avoid Incline Sunday August 18th, 2013
The Pikes Peak Ascent was this morning which made it difficult to get to the Manitou Incline until after 8:30 AM. Access tomorrow, Sunday August 18th, 2013, will be tough until late afternoon.
The Pikes Peak Marathon starts at 7 AM on Manitou Avenue and goes up Ruxton and on to Barr Trail. The leaders will be coming back down Barr Trail and Ruxton mid-morning. Slower runners will still be coming down well in to the afternoon.
There will be no parking on Ruxton throughout the day. Runners will be coming down Barr Trail so it’s best to stay off it. If you feel the need to hike the Incline tomorrow, please wait until late afternoon or evening to avoid disrupting the Pikes Peak Marathon.
Incline Champions Breakfast
The Incline Friends are having an Incline Champions Breakfast at 7 a.m. Wednesday, April 17th, at the Double Tree World Arena, 1775 E. Cheyenne Mountain Blvd.
The Incline is a cherished landmark in our community. This will be an “ask” event, as funding is required to make improvements on the Incline while maintaining its unique and rugged character.
Climber and trail runner, Chaz Lalonde, will share stories of summiting Mount Everest in 2012. Several Olympic athletes will also attend. Enjoy a breakfast of champions and help preserve and enrich the Incline experience.
Tickets ($35) can be purchased on the InclineFriends.com home page. Everyone who attends will receive the Incline Friends Tech T-shirt at the event. See you there!
Incline Bench Breaks Rules
If you’ve been up the Manitou Incline this week, you’ve seen something new at the summit. A GORUCK Challenge hauled a lovely bench up the Incline last Saturday.
The bench weighs over a 1000 pounds. It was carried up in pieces but the heaviest piece still was around 500 pounds. The bench is a memorial to David and Whitney Dunlap who were murdered during a burglary in January.
Now Colorado Springs and the Forest Service have decided it needs to be removed. GORUCK thought they had permission for the bench but didn’t get the required permit from the Forest Service.
Since it was announced that the bench must be removed, Congressman Lamborn and Senator Bennet have offered to help find a solution. As of Friday evening, 1,353 people have signed an online petition supporting the bench.
Eric Gove photographed the GORUCK Challenge and wrote more details about getting the bench to the top of the Incline. The story and photos are definitively worth checking out.
Incline Hike February 24, 2013
I hiked up the Incline late Sunday afternoon. There was a small amount of fresh snow from in the morning but it was no longer snowing.
On the lower part, I could see ice under the snow from where the sun had melted the snow on Saturday. The upper part was just snow packed. Even though there wasn’t much new snow, there was still the most snow I’ve seen on the Incline this winter as there is still snow from the last couple storms.
The social trail to Barr Trail and Barr Trail were pretty much like the Incline. Where the sun hit it on Saturday, there was ice under the fresh snow and where it had been shaded it was just snow packed.
It’s definitely not safe to be doing the Incline in these conditions without traction devices. If you don’t have any, check out Yaktrax, Kahtoola Microspikes or Stabilicers Lite.
Below are photos from the hike.
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Snowy Incline 2013
After a dry winter, the snows the last couple weeks have finally made the Incline snowy and icy. The rules for the Manitou Incline don’t address conditions on the Incline. They do however say the Incline is an extreme trail and you use it at your own risk.
The awesome photo above was taken this morning, February 22nd, 2013, by Incline regular Roger Austin. It shows just how snowy the Incline is now. It will only get icier and more slippery as the snow melts and refreezes. With the current forecast, it looks like parts of the Incline and Barr Trail will be icy for at least the next week and probably longer.
To be safe hiking in these conditions you’ll need traction devices such as Stabilicers Lite, Yaktrax or Kahtoola Microspikes. If you want something cheaper but more work, you can use Matt Carpenter’s instruction for creating screw shoes. Whatever you choose to give you traction, first try them out on a less extreme trail than the Incline.
You can see more of Roger’s photos from this morning on PikesPeakSports. You can also check out some snowy Incline photos from December 2011.
No Trespassing Sign Photo Op
The Incline Friends are giving you an opportunity this weekend to get your photo with the Manitou Incline No Trespassing sign. The sign was removed the end of January with the Incline becoming legal on February 1st.
This Saturday and Sunday, February 23rd and 24th, the Incline Friends will have the old Manitou Incline No Trespassing sign at the bottom of the Incline from 7 AM until 11 AM. For putting $5 into the donation tube, they’ll take your picture alongside the sign.
They’ll e-mail it to you or they can use your camera if you like. No limit to the number of people in the shot so bring your friends. This will be your last opportunity to get a photo with the sign and the Incline before it’s retired to the Pioneers Museum.
The snows the last couple weeks has finally made the Incline truly snowy and icy. If you plan on heading up the Incline after getting a photo, be very careful. Make sure you have traction devices such as Yaktrax, Kahtoola Microspikes or Stabilicers Lite.
Manitou Incline February 10, 2013
I made my first legal trek up the Manitou Incline late this afternoon. It snowed off and on as I hiked. Although it didn’t snow much Wednesday night, there was ice from that storm under the small amount of new snow on the upper section of the Incline.
Going down the social trail to Barr Trail there was a section where it looked like people had sat down and slid. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not. It definitely is good idea to have traction devices in these conditions. If you don’t have any, check out the Kahtoola Microspikes, Yaktrax and Stabilicers Lite.
Here are some photos from today.
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