Pikes Peak Hero to Y Couloir

May 15, 2022
Pikes Peak 14,115'

Hero Traverse to Y Couloir

Pikes Peak Highway gates open late until the end of May which is a bummer because it usually means soft snow by the time you're on it if you choose to drive up the road. It's the day after Laura and I climbed James Peak and since she was spending time with her dad who is in town for a few days, I figured I would stack another day to get some altitude and Denali training in. Gates open at 9 am so I was there at 8. I was the 5th car in line to head up the highway. It was a gorgeous morning so I rolled down the window and pushed the car seat back and relaxed until the gates opened. I paid the toll and headed up the road, making it to mile marker 18 and the sheep sign right at 9:30. I quickly got my boots on and hiked directly across the road where you descend toward the Hero Traverse. The Hero Traverse was a mix of rock and soft snow, making for the worst conditions of the day. It had me a bit worried until I reached a nice boot pack from the day before that make the traverse go much smoother and faster. I reached the Y couloir at 10:25 am and decided to go across a ways further to check out the railroad couloir to see if it was in climbable condition. It was far to melted out to climb and so I decided to descend to where the snow ended in the Y couloir at 12,800 ft and climb from there. I loaded an extra 20 pounds of rocks in my pack and started climbing at 10:40 am. The snow was surprisingly hard even this late in the day. There were several short sections that were sloppy and soft but overall I was happy with the quality of the snow. After almost 1,400 feet of climbing, I topped out at 12:10 pm. Since this was an acclimatization day for me, I toured around the summit area and went into the the building and read the tourist displays for a few hours before heading down the northeast slopes and back to my car at 2 pm. I had a great day on the local mountain and am happy that I had the chance to get out and climb two days in a row. I'm feeling fit for Denali and can't wait to get there.