Pikes Peak

Pikes Peak Today

Today there are three ways to ascend Pikes Peak. There is a cog railroad which goes from Manitou Springs to the summit of Pikes Peak from April until December. You can also take the Pikes Peak Highway, a 19 mile road which starts a few miles up Ute Pass in Cascade and is unpaved after the halfway point. This road is a toll road made famous worldwide by a short film featuring Ari Vatanen driving his Peugeot up the steep, twisty slopes as part of the annual Pikes' Peak hillclimb race. The road has a series of treacherous switchbacks called "the w's"- which look like two sideways w's on the side of the mountain. This road is maintained by city of Colorado Springs. The third route is the Barr Trail, which is suitable if you wish to walk, hike, ride a bike, or pursue one of the oddball feats many have accomplished (such as dribble a soccer ball to the top, walk backwards, or push a peanut with your nose up to the top.) The trailhead is just past the cog railway depot in Manitou Springs. Regardless of how one gets to the top, conditions are not very hospitable. The thin air gives one only 50% of the oxygen available at sea level. Snow is a possibility any time of day or night 12 months a year, and in the summer, thunderstorms are common, bringing "small-pumpkin" sized hail and occasionally 100+ mph wind gusts. Lightning is especially dangerous above treeline.

Related Topics:
Cog railroad - Manitou Springs - Ari Vatanen - Peugeot - Hillclimb - Colorado Springs - Barr Trail - Dribble - Soccer ball - Peanut

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pikes Peak was once the home of a ski resort, but ironically, it closed due to a lack of snow. Pikes Peak doesn't receive the massive snowdrops that other mountains do and expensive snowmaking was required to make this resort feasible, Unfortunately, the high winds on Pikes Peak would often blow this artificial snow away. ("To Kansas" as one of the former owners of the resort put it).

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~