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Looking for some good peak suggestions within roughly 2h of the mentioned cities since they would probably be my "home base" for some peak bagging. Looking to go very soon (a week orso from now) when there is a break in the weather. I'd like to do a few higher peaks, preferably as day hikes. Doesn't have to be super hard; just fun with nice views. Snow is ok. Up to class 3ish since there's a chance I might be solo. Oh yeah, I might not have an offroad capable vehicle; something to keep in mind.

Thanks!!

Longs Peak would be good. I think it's about an hour to an hour and a half from Denver. The Keyhole would probably be about right but I don't know what the conditions are right now. If there is a lot of snow and ice might not be the best.

I think I may do a few peaks out of Loveland Pass as well. It's sort of on the way there. I once posted a question like this with many great suggestions but I think it was too old and the forum upgrade deleted it. I can't find it anymore through search.

If you want to start from Loveland Pass hike up the ridge to Grizzly Peak (2/3 class) and from there you can continue on to Torreys (2/3 class) and even further to Grays but that might be pushing it a little bit depending on conditions. You will have great views in all directions all the way. Don't know about the snow right now though; I was there in August. I really loved the area. Enjoy!

outofstep80 wrote:Longs Peak would be good. I think it's about an hour to an hour and a half from Denver. The Keyhole would probably be about right but I don't know what the conditions are right now. If there is a lot of snow and ice might not be the best.

I believe all routes are technical for probably the rest of the year

CSUMarmot wrote:

outofstep80 wrote:Longs Peak would be good. I think it's about an hour to an hour and a half from Denver. The Keyhole would probably be about right but I don't know what the conditions are right now. If there is a lot of snow and ice might not be the best.

I believe all routes are technical for probably the rest of the year

What do you mean by technical? Looks like the Keyhole route is only rated class 3? Still shouldn't be too big of a deal even with some snow, right?

Luciano136 wrote:What do you mean by technical? Looks like the Keyhole route is only rated class 3? Still shouldn't be too big of a deal even with some snow, right?

Without snow, you can walk up the final slabs with no hands. With snow and/or ice, things could be substantially trickier. I'm looking to head up to that area or Glacier Gorge either this weekend or after the next storm -- I'll let people know how things are.

Any idea if Longs Peak has any snow routes that are in shape yet? My guess would be "no" but I have no idea what the weather has been like in the Front Range.

I think I'll definitely do a few peaks from Loveland Pass and some in the Indian Peaks wilderness perhaps.

Luciano136 wrote:Any idea if Longs Peak has any snow routes that are in shape yet? My guess would be "no" but I have no idea what the weather has been like in the Front Range.

Your guess is indeed correct.

Luciano136 wrote:I think I'll definitely do a few peaks from Loveland Pass and some in the Indian Peaks wilderness perhaps.

The Brainard Lake road is still listed as open, but you should call the Boulder Ranger District to confirm before you go--unless you don't mind walking the from the gate to the trailhead. The number of the district is 303-541-2500.

Here's the west side of Long's from Taylor:

It's dry lower down, but the boulders above the Andrews Glacier still had 6" or so of snow on them, making for very slow going. It doesn't look like the next storm will add much. Still, I'd find something steep or lower down.

Mr Leghorn wrote:This may be an interesting one and it looks to be good year round.

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... point.html

Done from Horse thief basin, it is challenging and looks to be a nice scramble to finish. Plus, you can stroll the tundra over to the Devil's Playground (or plaything) and then hike to Pikes if you like. Some of the photos of the tundra up there look really nice, and the big horn on the Pikes Massif are usually very abundant.

I don't know what happened to my post. Operator error, no doubt!

From Horse Thief, Sentinel Point is class 1 except for the last 10 feet or so. You can make it Class 2 by climbing straight up the boulders from the trail once you get to the boulder field. There is currently a thin layer of snow over the boulders, which require a bit more care when boulder hopping. Figure 2-3 hours car to car for Sentinel.

BTW - It might be worth getting up there while you can before they bulldoze the entire area around Sentinel Point and the Crags to make a ski area (which I expect to fail miserably, due to lack of snow and crappy terrain).

Thanks for all the replies! On a side note, do most trailheads in the front range have bear boxes or is that no longer a concern this time of the year? Since I'll be road tripping, I will have a few smellables in the car...

Luciano136 wrote:Thanks for all the replies! On a side note, do most trailheads in the front range have bear boxes or is that no longer a concern this time of the year? Since I'll be road tripping, I will have a few smellables in the car...

Luciano: Bear boxes at THs in CO are nearly non-existent. Yes, they are there, but they are an oddity. The CO bears just aren't as crazy, I guess, as the Sierra Bears. I am "Bear Aware" almost to a nerdy fault...but I do not hesitate to leave smell-a-bles in a securte (note: no Wrangler soft tops) vehicle in CO.

You may, however, want to take precautions against marmots or porcupines (or even packrats) tearing into your lines, wires, belts & hoses.

Just to add a little bit to what Sarah said, bears are definitely still out. Saw one a couple nights ago at around 9,000'. I've never had one try to get into our cars which almost always have food wrappers of some sort in them. (I live near the crags trail head for Pikes.) Mice nesting in the car heaters and air filter are bigger problems.

Although they are almost never a problem, a teenage girl was attacked by a cougar about 2 miles from my house a couple of nights ago. Not really sure why it attacked her, nor why it ran away when she kicked it in the head. I expect that it was very unhealthy and was getting desperate for food since there are no lack of deer around here for it to eat. Anyway, I wouldn't worry too much about them, but do stay alert to keep one from sneaking up on you.

Thanks! Sounds like the car itself shouldn't be too huge of an issue then. On another note, the weather doesn't look all that great next week