Sheldon - Dec 5, 2007 3:06 am Date Climbed: Dec 3, 2007
to the top, from gold camp.
The trail from gold camp to the top of the waterfall was pretty dry. Shortly after that, we hit a couple inches of snow and saw no other tracks than that of an animal. We pushed on untill the fenced section separating frosty park from the trail. From here the snow got deeper and soon we ran into some truck tracks in the snow. We followed these tracks all the way to the face of Rosa where they still went up the mountain quite a bit. All the way up to where it just seemed too stupid to be with a vehicle. The trail vanished in the snow and we pretty much just headed straight in hopes of hitting the summit. Thoughout the entire day, the only people we saw were people down on gold camp. Finally we made it and it was well worth the hike and forging our path through the snow.
GoBigJ - Nov 10, 2007 8:21 pm Date Climbed: Oct 8, 2007
Not the old Rosa
From the strip mine on the east side of Mt Rosa I followed a road going up that ended at another mining site. From there a few small carnies marked the way up Mt Rosa. They ran out fast and were hard to see.
I was hoping to find Gen Pikes cave. No luck. By noon I was atop Mt Rosa. It was windy but not a cloud in the sky.
On the way down I met a motor biker near the top. Odd, I thought this was off limits to such travel. The trail on the shoulder is now easy to follow. It’s very worn. At the T- section of 672 the signs and fence that once were their are gone.
The trail down the west side is trashed. Three foot ruts are common at the steep parts the rest is eroding into a U shaped path. Only the level parts are decent.
A fence now blocks the south fork of 672 to Frostys Park. Even the posts spaced for walking through are weird shut. Frostys Park is void of under growth. The camp sites are dirt and more dirt. Not until you cross another fence does the ground resemble forest.
This is my forth summit in two years. Have I loved this mountain too much or not enough?
pittbrownie - Aug 7, 2007 10:23 pm Date Climbed: Aug 7, 2007
Frosty's Park
Nice, easy hike up from Frosty's Park. Outstanding views!
wlstone - Jul 29, 2007 10:02 pm Date Climbed: May 6, 2007
Route: 7 Bridges/St. Mary's Falls
16 mile circuit w/ CMC
Sarah Simon - Jul 1, 2007 8:01 pm Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2007
Frosty Park - Whole Lotta Rosa
It's a shame we have to wade through garbage, motor oil, 4x4 parts and torn-up meadow to get there, but once on the trail proper, this is a lovely and rewarding hike. Everytime I'm in Frosty Park I see a truck stuck up to the axels in snow or mud or a combination of the two. At that point I ponder the cognitive process leading one to get one's vehicle in that state. Anyhow...
What a lovely mountain providing just amazing views including my beloved Sangres.
Summit partners: Husband Tom and dogs Lady, Bing & Lela.
cftbq - Dec 9, 2006 11:42 pm Date Climbed: Dec 9, 2006
Another month
With the prospect of a hiking partner, and a very nice weather forecast, I prepared to hit the trail before sunrise. My partner had his work schedule changed, and couldn't come, but I decided to go with the beautiful, sunny day on my own. It took an appalling 4:30 to reach the top (and just under 3 hours down), due to postholing near the top, but this makes my first December ascent of Rosa, and my 18th overall. Jim Davies, I'm trying my best to catch up with you! Amazingly, didn't see a single other person all day until I got back to with one-half mile of the TH.
cftbq - Nov 12, 2006 3:38 am Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2006
Rosa, Rosita
Celebrated Armistice Day with my 17th climb of Rosa, and my first in November. Took St. Marys Falls route, 13 miles RT. Cold and clear, quite windy at the top. Dynamite views. On the way down, popped over to the lower northern summit (about 11,000), which I've decided to call "Rosita." 2:52 up,2:28 down.
This was my first April ascent of Mt. Rosa, the second this year, and number 16 overall. With a clear, sunny day forecast, at least for the morning, I did it the long way, as a 22-mile run from my home in Cheyenne Cañon. I set out at 4:30 am and, despite feeling slow and tired at first, summitted at 9:10. Just before 1:00, I got back with a total elapsed time of 8 hours, 28 minutes, which is fully 45 minutes less than my previous best. Since, as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong!), I’m the only person in the world who has ever done this route, that makes this the new world record!
cftbq - Mar 27, 2006 1:39 am Date Climbed: Mar 26, 2006
climb number 15
With the forecast for the next weekend looking worse than this one, I decided to take the last weekend in March and advance my goal of climbing Mt. Rosa in every calendar month. I didn’t want to devote the entire day to it (and, yeah, maybe I was sandbagging it just a _little_ bit…), so I drove up to the Gold Camp Road closure parking lot, for the middle distance climb: 13 miles, 4,000 ft.
I started at 7:26 am, the sun already well up. (See, that’s what I mean: I didn’t even get up until 6, when I should really have been underway if I wanted to make the 22-mile circuit from the house.) I knew that had to be at least some snow near the top, so I packed gaiters. It only took an hour and 21 minutes to reach the beginning of more-or-less constant snow cover, at about 9,400 feet. That’s where I stopped briefly and donned the gaiters; so far, so good.
The forecast for a mix of clouds and sun held up, with the first little periods of cloud cover—accompanied by a little actual snow fall—starting just about 10,000 ft, on the approach to the saddle. No big deal, and I was fine in three shirts and a windbreaker. Once on the ridge, the wind picked up noticeably, and that’s where I finally pulled up my hood and put the nylon shells over my mittens.
The last leg of the trail was invisible under snow, although at first it was only a few inches deep. It was made even less of a problem by some kind, intrepid soul who had previously blazed a clear track of prints all the way to the summit. It quickly became clear that this track path was significantly off the actual trail most of the time, and especially nearer the top, basically sticking close to the ridge crest instead of going back and forth, but, as it was both visible and nicely packed, I quickly decided to follow it. It was steep for a couple of short pitches, but really very useful. The result was that I only sank in above my ankles a couple of times in the whole climb, and I clambered onto the summit block from the north side, instead of following the spiral of the trail around to the south side, for the very first time.
It was windy on the top, which made the job of opening the register canister and signing (what’s left of) the register slow and clumsy, but I managed. It had taken me 3 hours and 21 minutes to reach the summit, compared with 2:45 on a good summer day. Still, I wasn’t worn out, and that worked out to an average of 1,200 ft. per hour, so I wasn’t too dissatisfied.
There was no one else on or near the summit and, in fact, I didn’t see anyone else until I got back to the top of St. Marys Falls, after noon. I may not have set any speed records, but this makes climb number 15 of Rosa, and month number seven.
davebobk47 - Mar 13, 2006 3:37 pm Date Climbed: Mar 11, 2006
Via Frosty Park
A bit chilly with lots of snow drifts. Visibility wasn't very good but there were still some great views.
BeginnerClimber - Mar 12, 2006 12:11 am Date Climbed: Mar 11, 2006
FINALLY!
A few friends and I have been trying Mt Rosa for several months, but whenever our schedules were open, the weather seemed to turn for the worse. Ironically, last weekend, when the weather was PERFECT and we planned a trip, I HAD TO WORK!! ARGH! Anyway, so we decided to push through the snow and go for the summit today since the weather would turn bad tomorrow. Gold Camp Road was closed, so we had to take the longer Old Stage Road, which made for good views of the mountains. Eventually, we made it to 379, but the vehicle's clearance didn't make it over the frozen creek. So, we hiked up to Frosty Park to what we thought was the trailhead (whatever signs WERE there were shot to bits). It was a good hike save for the snow, and the snow was light enough to plow through. Two of the five of us had tennis shoes on and made it OK. We lost the trail a couple of times in the snow, but from the Frosty Park printout, we knew we had to make the summit ridge, which we did without too many problems. From there, it was just bushwacking to the summit, which we noticed it was BITTERLY cold (about 15 degrees).
All in all, it wasn't the greatest day for climbing Mount Rosa, but we had fun. The helicopter from (we assumed) Fort Carson that circled the area practically all day kept us company, and we got some great pictures! A great hike for those that are wanting to get away from the traffic.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. The summit log is in very poor condition and needs replacing. So, in the gloveless bitter cold I signed it "03/11/06 Dan Smith & friends" as I couldn't muster the energy to sign everyone's names.
Route Climbed: Frosty Park Date Climbed: December 31, 2005
While most of the Front Range has no shortage of snow, this seems to be a very light year for Pikes and its surroundings. Erin and I hiked in from Gold Camp Road. We never needed our snowshoes (compare to last year's summit logs). Heck, we didn't even don our gaiters! Little to no wind to speak of and warm (50+ degrees) temps meant that I didn't need to add a jacket to my t-shirt until we reached the ridge. A delightful New Year's Eve hike!
Route Climbed: East slopes via St. Marys Falls Date Climbed: 22 October, 2005
Another "all the way'' run/hike/climb from Cheyenne Cañon. 22 miles, 5500 ft. 9 hours, 36 minutes round trip, minus at least 20 minutes (est.) I spend talking with two women who reached the summit right on my heels. One was actually named Rose (!) and the other was making her first climb of Rosa. They started from the Gold Camp Road parking lot. A gorgeous sunny day, and once again, no pictures--my camera's batteries had run down! The snowy Sanges seemed to float in the distance...
Hey, come on--doesn't anybody else do anything but the short route from Frosty Park??
Route Climbed: Frosty Park Standard Date Climbed: October 8 2005
Great hike and a beautiful day. Entries below very accurate, i.e. the 1.5 mile drive up 379 is serious 4WD only. The parking area has a couple of forest service markers knocked over and no trailhead marking, just look for the clearing at 1.4 miles on your odometer. If walking it's the first big parking area on the right after the road opens up to a meadow. Someone definitely needs to replace the summit log, sad to see it in such bad shape. Great hike!
Route Climbed: 379 to Frosty Park Date Climbed: 9/24/05
With 379 being too much for our 2WD Saturn, we parked in the big pulloff on gold camp. Hiking up 379 was not very interesting - it mostly made us mad seeing what ATV's, dirt bikes, alcohol, and guns can do to a perfectly decent road. The trail was also in sad shape, with tons of erosion and loose rocks. The entire route is in need of a clean-up. At the saddle, someone made a log gate marking the turn-off to the summit. There were very few cairns as mentioned in the description. We summited at 12:15pm and had it to ourselves. Great views in all directions. Aspens were close to peak color change, especially around the reservoir. There were many lady bugs at the summit.
I would recommend this route, but the trail surface can use a lot of work.
1hr 45min up (not going fast). 1 hour back to car.
Route Climbed: Gold Camp Road, St. Mary's Falls, east slopes Date Climbed: 28 July 2005
4 hrs., 24 min. round trip from the Gold Camp Road parking lot trailhead (approx. 13 miles). Got hailed on, starting just as I left the summit. I was dismayed to see that the CMC register, scarcely a month old, was in bad condition, with many pages torn and tattered. Lots of ladybugs, but no one else on the summit that day. I figure this is climb number 13 for me.
Route Climbed: Cheyenne Cañon, St. Marys Falls, east slopes Date Climbed: 14 July 2005
With 14ers still eluding me, I decided to celebrate Bastille Day with another run up Mt. Rosa. Temperature down in Colo. Spgs. hit 90, so it must have been at least 70 when I got to the summit just after noon (6:40 start). There is now an official CMC register on the summit, with the first entry dated 19 June. A gorgeous, clear day, but my camera malfunctioned, so there are no pictures to post.
Route Climbed: Cheyenne Cañon, St. Mary's Falls Date Climbed: 20 May, 2005
This was my 8th (at least) climb of Rosa, a run/hike/posthole trek starting from my home, about one-half mile below the confluence of North and South Cheyenne Creeks. I have previously started from the parking lot at the Gold Camp Road closure, and this longer route was a new thrill. One-way distance is around 11 miles, with something over 5300 feet elevation gain. (You give up a little elevation on the Columbine Trail in North Cheyenne Cañon Park.) Time up (with some rest periods): 5 hrs., 35 min.
There was still snow on Rosa's north slopes, and I lost and regained the trail more than once, but it was a glorious sunny day with no wind and temperature which I estimate at about 70 degrees at the top. Didn't see anyone else anywhere near the summit (so I had to take my own picture--darn!).
I ran all the way back, too! Total time: about 9 and one-half hours, just over 8 hours moving. 90 degrees at the bottom; what a glorious spring day!
Route Climbed: Frosty Park Date Climbed: 16 January 2005
This is a great winter hike! Bailey & I were breaking trail in snow that in places was knee-deep and higher. Bring snowshoes if you do this climb in the winter!
Sheldon - Dec 5, 2007 3:06 am Date Climbed: Dec 3, 2007
to the top, from gold camp.The trail from gold camp to the top of the waterfall was pretty dry. Shortly after that, we hit a couple inches of snow and saw no other tracks than that of an animal. We pushed on untill the fenced section separating frosty park from the trail. From here the snow got deeper and soon we ran into some truck tracks in the snow. We followed these tracks all the way to the face of Rosa where they still went up the mountain quite a bit. All the way up to where it just seemed too stupid to be with a vehicle. The trail vanished in the snow and we pretty much just headed straight in hopes of hitting the summit. Thoughout the entire day, the only people we saw were people down on gold camp. Finally we made it and it was well worth the hike and forging our path through the snow.
GoBigJ - Nov 10, 2007 8:21 pm Date Climbed: Oct 8, 2007
Not the old RosaFrom the strip mine on the east side of Mt Rosa I followed a road going up that ended at another mining site. From there a few small carnies marked the way up Mt Rosa. They ran out fast and were hard to see.
I was hoping to find Gen Pikes cave. No luck. By noon I was atop Mt Rosa. It was windy but not a cloud in the sky.
On the way down I met a motor biker near the top. Odd, I thought this was off limits to such travel. The trail on the shoulder is now easy to follow. It’s very worn. At the T- section of 672 the signs and fence that once were their are gone.
The trail down the west side is trashed. Three foot ruts are common at the steep parts the rest is eroding into a U shaped path. Only the level parts are decent.
A fence now blocks the south fork of 672 to Frostys Park. Even the posts spaced for walking through are weird shut. Frostys Park is void of under growth. The camp sites are dirt and more dirt. Not until you cross another fence does the ground resemble forest.
This is my forth summit in two years. Have I loved this mountain too much or not enough?
pittbrownie - Aug 7, 2007 10:23 pm Date Climbed: Aug 7, 2007
Frosty's ParkNice, easy hike up from Frosty's Park. Outstanding views!
wlstone - Jul 29, 2007 10:02 pm Date Climbed: May 6, 2007
Route: 7 Bridges/St. Mary's Falls16 mile circuit w/ CMC
Sarah Simon - Jul 1, 2007 8:01 pm Date Climbed: Jul 1, 2007
Frosty Park - Whole Lotta RosaIt's a shame we have to wade through garbage, motor oil, 4x4 parts and torn-up meadow to get there, but once on the trail proper, this is a lovely and rewarding hike. Everytime I'm in Frosty Park I see a truck stuck up to the axels in snow or mud or a combination of the two. At that point I ponder the cognitive process leading one to get one's vehicle in that state. Anyhow...
What a lovely mountain providing just amazing views including my beloved Sangres.
Summit partners: Husband Tom and dogs Lady, Bing & Lela.
cftbq - Dec 9, 2006 11:42 pm Date Climbed: Dec 9, 2006
Another monthWith the prospect of a hiking partner, and a very nice weather forecast, I prepared to hit the trail before sunrise. My partner had his work schedule changed, and couldn't come, but I decided to go with the beautiful, sunny day on my own. It took an appalling 4:30 to reach the top (and just under 3 hours down), due to postholing near the top, but this makes my first December ascent of Rosa, and my 18th overall. Jim Davies, I'm trying my best to catch up with you! Amazingly, didn't see a single other person all day until I got back to with one-half mile of the TH.
cftbq - Nov 12, 2006 3:38 am Date Climbed: Nov 11, 2006
Rosa, RositaCelebrated Armistice Day with my 17th climb of Rosa, and my first in November. Took St. Marys Falls route, 13 miles RT. Cold and clear, quite windy at the top. Dynamite views. On the way down, popped over to the lower northern summit (about 11,000), which I've decided to call "Rosita." 2:52 up,2:28 down.
cftbq - Apr 24, 2006 4:30 pm Date Climbed: Apr 23, 2006
record timeThis was my first April ascent of Mt. Rosa, the second this year, and number 16 overall. With a clear, sunny day forecast, at least for the morning, I did it the long way, as a 22-mile run from my home in Cheyenne Cañon. I set out at 4:30 am and, despite feeling slow and tired at first, summitted at 9:10. Just before 1:00, I got back with a total elapsed time of 8 hours, 28 minutes, which is fully 45 minutes less than my previous best. Since, as far as I know (correct me if I’m wrong!), I’m the only person in the world who has ever done this route, that makes this the new world record!
cftbq - Mar 27, 2006 1:39 am Date Climbed: Mar 26, 2006
climb number 15With the forecast for the next weekend looking worse than this one, I decided to take the last weekend in March and advance my goal of climbing Mt. Rosa in every calendar month. I didn’t want to devote the entire day to it (and, yeah, maybe I was sandbagging it just a _little_ bit…), so I drove up to the Gold Camp Road closure parking lot, for the middle distance climb: 13 miles, 4,000 ft.
I started at 7:26 am, the sun already well up. (See, that’s what I mean: I didn’t even get up until 6, when I should really have been underway if I wanted to make the 22-mile circuit from the house.) I knew that had to be at least some snow near the top, so I packed gaiters. It only took an hour and 21 minutes to reach the beginning of more-or-less constant snow cover, at about 9,400 feet. That’s where I stopped briefly and donned the gaiters; so far, so good.
The forecast for a mix of clouds and sun held up, with the first little periods of cloud cover—accompanied by a little actual snow fall—starting just about 10,000 ft, on the approach to the saddle. No big deal, and I was fine in three shirts and a windbreaker. Once on the ridge, the wind picked up noticeably, and that’s where I finally pulled up my hood and put the nylon shells over my mittens.
The last leg of the trail was invisible under snow, although at first it was only a few inches deep. It was made even less of a problem by some kind, intrepid soul who had previously blazed a clear track of prints all the way to the summit. It quickly became clear that this track path was significantly off the actual trail most of the time, and especially nearer the top, basically sticking close to the ridge crest instead of going back and forth, but, as it was both visible and nicely packed, I quickly decided to follow it. It was steep for a couple of short pitches, but really very useful. The result was that I only sank in above my ankles a couple of times in the whole climb, and I clambered onto the summit block from the north side, instead of following the spiral of the trail around to the south side, for the very first time.
It was windy on the top, which made the job of opening the register canister and signing (what’s left of) the register slow and clumsy, but I managed. It had taken me 3 hours and 21 minutes to reach the summit, compared with 2:45 on a good summer day. Still, I wasn’t worn out, and that worked out to an average of 1,200 ft. per hour, so I wasn’t too dissatisfied.
There was no one else on or near the summit and, in fact, I didn’t see anyone else until I got back to the top of St. Marys Falls, after noon. I may not have set any speed records, but this makes climb number 15 of Rosa, and month number seven.
davebobk47 - Mar 13, 2006 3:37 pm Date Climbed: Mar 11, 2006
Via Frosty ParkA bit chilly with lots of snow drifts. Visibility wasn't very good but there were still some great views.
BeginnerClimber - Mar 12, 2006 12:11 am Date Climbed: Mar 11, 2006
FINALLY!A few friends and I have been trying Mt Rosa for several months, but whenever our schedules were open, the weather seemed to turn for the worse. Ironically, last weekend, when the weather was PERFECT and we planned a trip, I HAD TO WORK!! ARGH! Anyway, so we decided to push through the snow and go for the summit today since the weather would turn bad tomorrow. Gold Camp Road was closed, so we had to take the longer Old Stage Road, which made for good views of the mountains. Eventually, we made it to 379, but the vehicle's clearance didn't make it over the frozen creek. So, we hiked up to Frosty Park to what we thought was the trailhead (whatever signs WERE there were shot to bits). It was a good hike save for the snow, and the snow was light enough to plow through. Two of the five of us had tennis shoes on and made it OK. We lost the trail a couple of times in the snow, but from the Frosty Park printout, we knew we had to make the summit ridge, which we did without too many problems. From there, it was just bushwacking to the summit, which we noticed it was BITTERLY cold (about 15 degrees).
All in all, it wasn't the greatest day for climbing Mount Rosa, but we had fun. The helicopter from (we assumed) Fort Carson that circled the area practically all day kept us company, and we got some great pictures! A great hike for those that are wanting to get away from the traffic.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. The summit log is in very poor condition and needs replacing. So, in the gloveless bitter cold I signed it "03/11/06 Dan Smith & friends" as I couldn't muster the energy to sign everyone's names.
RyanS - Jan 3, 2006 1:12 pm
Route Climbed: Frosty Park Date Climbed: December 31, 2005While most of the Front Range has no shortage of snow, this seems to be a very light year for Pikes and its surroundings. Erin and I hiked in from Gold Camp Road. We never needed our snowshoes (compare to last year's summit logs). Heck, we didn't even don our gaiters! Little to no wind to speak of and warm (50+ degrees) temps meant that I didn't need to add a jacket to my t-shirt until we reached the ridge. A delightful New Year's Eve hike!
cftbq - Oct 22, 2005 7:42 pm
Route Climbed: East slopes via St. Marys Falls Date Climbed: 22 October, 2005Another "all the way'' run/hike/climb from Cheyenne Cañon. 22 miles, 5500 ft. 9 hours, 36 minutes round trip, minus at least 20 minutes (est.) I spend talking with two women who reached the summit right on my heels. One was actually named Rose (!) and the other was making her first climb of Rosa. They started from the Gold Camp Road parking lot. A gorgeous sunny day, and once again, no pictures--my camera's batteries had run down! The snowy Sanges seemed to float in the distance...
Hey, come on--doesn't anybody else do anything but the short route from Frosty Park??
Boscof16 - Oct 8, 2005 11:11 pm
Route Climbed: Frosty Park Standard Date Climbed: October 8 2005Great hike and a beautiful day. Entries below very accurate, i.e. the 1.5 mile drive up 379 is serious 4WD only. The parking area has a couple of forest service markers knocked over and no trailhead marking, just look for the clearing at 1.4 miles on your odometer. If walking it's the first big parking area on the right after the road opens up to a meadow. Someone definitely needs to replace the summit log, sad to see it in such bad shape. Great hike!
roughinit2 - Sep 26, 2005 11:57 am
Route Climbed: 379 to Frosty Park Date Climbed: 9/24/05With 379 being too much for our 2WD Saturn, we parked in the big pulloff on gold camp. Hiking up 379 was not very interesting - it mostly made us mad seeing what ATV's, dirt bikes, alcohol, and guns can do to a perfectly decent road. The trail was also in sad shape, with tons of erosion and loose rocks. The entire route is in need of a clean-up. At the saddle, someone made a log gate marking the turn-off to the summit. There were very few cairns as mentioned in the description. We summited at 12:15pm and had it to ourselves. Great views in all directions. Aspens were close to peak color change, especially around the reservoir. There were many lady bugs at the summit.
I would recommend this route, but the trail surface can use a lot of work.
1hr 45min up (not going fast). 1 hour back to car.
skorpeo - Sep 12, 2005 12:41 am
Route Climbed: Frostys Park Date Climbed: August 28-2005Very nice hike. The peak is a cone, so you really fel like you are on top of a mountain.
cftbq - Aug 6, 2005 6:30 pm
Route Climbed: Gold Camp Road, St. Mary's Falls, east slopes Date Climbed: 28 July 20054 hrs., 24 min. round trip from the Gold Camp Road parking lot trailhead (approx. 13 miles). Got hailed on, starting just as I left the summit. I was dismayed to see that the CMC register, scarcely a month old, was in bad condition, with many pages torn and tattered. Lots of ladybugs, but no one else on the summit that day. I figure this is climb number 13 for me.
cftbq - Jul 14, 2005 8:23 pm
Route Climbed: Cheyenne Cañon, St. Marys Falls, east slopes Date Climbed: 14 July 2005With 14ers still eluding me, I decided to celebrate Bastille Day with another run up Mt. Rosa. Temperature down in Colo. Spgs. hit 90, so it must have been at least 70 when I got to the summit just after noon (6:40 start). There is now an official CMC register on the summit, with the first entry dated 19 June. A gorgeous, clear day, but my camera malfunctioned, so there are no pictures to post.
cftbq - May 25, 2005 7:07 pm
Route Climbed: Cheyenne Cañon, St. Mary's Falls Date Climbed: 20 May, 2005This was my 8th (at least) climb of Rosa, a run/hike/posthole trek starting from my home, about one-half mile below the confluence of North and South Cheyenne Creeks. I have previously started from the parking lot at the Gold Camp Road closure, and this longer route was a new thrill. One-way distance is around 11 miles, with something over 5300 feet elevation gain. (You give up a little elevation on the Columbine Trail in North Cheyenne Cañon Park.) Time up (with some rest periods): 5 hrs., 35 min.
There was still snow on Rosa's north slopes, and I lost and regained the trail more than once, but it was a glorious sunny day with no wind and temperature which I estimate at about 70 degrees at the top. Didn't see anyone else anywhere near the summit (so I had to take my own picture--darn!).
I ran all the way back, too! Total time: about 9 and one-half hours, just over 8 hours moving. 90 degrees at the bottom; what a glorious spring day!
mmoerk - Jan 16, 2005 11:50 pm
Route Climbed: Frosty Park Date Climbed: 16 January 2005This is a great winter hike! Bailey & I were breaking trail in snow that in places was knee-deep and higher. Bring snowshoes if you do this climb in the winter!