winter
United In Orange
With the Broncos headed to Super Bowl 50, Sam Chambers came up with a plan to turn the Manitou Incline orange to cheer the team on. He encouraged people to hike the Incline on Wednesday evening, February 3rd with orange lights. About 50 people accepted the challenge in spite of over a foot of new snow the beginning of the week.
It was quite impressive seeing the orange along with a few blue lights moving up the mountain. The inspiration for the lights on the Incline was a photo with red, white and blue lights that Sam helped Dan O’Sullivan Photography create after the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.
A time lapse video of the event is posted on Facebook. Click here to see it.
Note that the official rules for the Incline prohibit hiking the Incline from dusk until dawn.
Manitou Incline Photos
I’ve had some requests for some of the photos I’ve shared on the Manitou Incline Hike Facebook page recently. Manitou Incline photos are now available for purchase on my UltraRob photo site.
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Manitou Incline Photos February 7th, 2014
Here are photos from hiking the Manitou Incline on February 7th, 2014. It was a beautiful, sunny day with lots of snow from the last week and a half. The upper section had about as much snow as I’ve seen on it and it wasn’t any good footholds between some of the ties.
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Winter Morning on the Incline
I hiked up the Incline yesterday morning, December 22, 2013, early to catch sunrise from the top. About an inch of snow had fallen overnight and there were still clouds off to the east. It was a beautiful morning to be on the Incline! Below are photos from the hike.
I could tell there was ice under the fresh snow in the shaded area a little above the old no trespassing sign and also above the false summit. I had heard it was mostly melted off on Saturday but I always recommend taking traction devices this time of year. If you don’t have any, check out Yaktrax, Kahtoola Microspikes or DIY screw shoes.
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Cold, Snowy and Beautiful on the Incline
With the sub-zero temperatures the last few days, few people have been hiking the Incline. No weather though stops everyone. Guys like Roger Austin who made his 637th trip of the year up and Joe Monger who hit #500 for the year the day after Thanksgiving don’t let much stop them from being on the Incline.
The adverse winter conditions can create some of the most beautiful scenes of the year. Thanks to Reece Hein for permission to share the photo above. Thanks also to Roger Austin for the photos below including the tree at the top that is looking great with all the Christmas ornaments.
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, Stabilicers Lite or DIY screw shoes.
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.
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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December 2012 Photos
Here are some photos from a hike up the Manitou Incline on December 16, 2012. It has become a tradition for people to hang Christmas ornaments on one of the trees at the top of the Incline.
With the dry winter there was very little snow on the Incline itself or Barr Trail. With the cold and little snow of the last couple weeks, there’s a little more snow now but still not a lot. Still caution is required and a wrong step on ice or packed snow could send you falling.
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Incline Conditions Mid February 2012
The trail conditions on the Manitou Incline haven’t changed much in the last few weeks since there hasn’t been much new snow. There has been a bit more snow for a day or 2 after newsnow and then it melts.
There still is ice left from older snows just below the track split about half way and then above the false summit. There isn’t much ice on the lower section but above the false summit is quite icy in spots.
The photos on this page were taken in the afternoon on Sunday, February 12th. There wasn’t quite as much snow on the upper section on Thursday but it was still quite icy and required caution to keep from slipping without traction devices. Carrying Kahtoola MicroSpikes, YakTrax, or Stabilicers Lite would still be a good idea if you aren’t comfortable on ice.
The social short cut down to Barr Trail is mostly clear. Barr trail has a few short, icy sections but it is also mostly clear.
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