My wife and I moved from Minnesota to Colorado Springs in July of 2010, during the summer I tried to ascend the mountain once myself and once with my wife. This enter tells the story of both attempts while also sharing some facts and details about the mountain and what you should expect when visiting the Pikes Peak region and mountain.
Attempt Number One:
A trip to Pikes Peak is an absolute must for anyone visiting the Colorado Springs area and for this reason getting to the top of this 14er has been on my to do list since first visiting CO Springs to house hunt in June of 2010. I have attempted to summit this beast of a mountain once myself and once with my wife, both times driving the route. On my first attempt I was pressed for time as I had a flight leaving Denver International Airport later in the evening and my rental car was simply NOT up for the challenge, I turned back at about 11,500 feet as my cheap rental struggled to make it up the steep incline.
Even though I was unable to make it to the summit on my first attempt I enjoyed every minute of the adventure. Having no idea what to expect I was tickled to run into the various reservoirs including Crystal Reservoir, South Catamount and Eleven Mile Reservoir to name just a few.
At the base of Crystal Reservoir (mile six once inside the state park) the surrounding mountain views of Pikes Peak are breath taking and you will find a visitor center with picnic tables, gift shop and a fish cleaning station for those that would like to try their hand at fishing. From the base of the State Park entrance the drive to the summit is 19 miles, as mentioned Crystal Reservoir is only mile six so I pressed on with my adventure.
For the next five or six miles or so the drive is fairly tame, paved roads, expected switchbacks and some great views for sure, however at about the half way point the pavement gives way to gravel and the drive really and I mean really begins to steepen. It was here that I was running out of time (and my rental car was simply not up to the task of tackling a trip to the summit) so I turned back and enjoyed my trip back down the mountain.
Attempt Number Two :
My wife Amanda moved to CO Springs about a month prior to my move, I stayed back to sell our home in Minnesota, pack up and take care of any loose ends. Soon after my arrive however the Colorado adventures began and on the short list of must do and soon was a trip back up Pikes Peak, having already tried to get to the top once I was really excited to share the adventure with my wife and also crest the summit.
Sad but true, it would not happen on this second attempt for myself (Amanda’s first).
Our journey to the summit of Pikes Peak was off to a much better start as we were driving up in my wife’s new 2010 Audi Q5, a perfect vehicle for the trip. So off we went and all was good as we began our adventure, we stopped at Crystal Reservoir and we soaked up the clean mountain air and fantastic sights. After which was loaded up our dog Otis and began to make our way to the top, along the way my wife began to comment on the drive, the switch backs, once again I was awe struck by the beauty that is Pikes Peak .
We pressed on and made it past where I had turned back, this was still in the trees around 11,500 ft, however as we made our way near the summit the tree line began to fade and instantly we were both taken by the views. To be at 12,000 above the tree line in the summer time is something you have to experience to understand, the views went on mile after mile, it was a lot to take in and the clincher …
Well, the fact that the road was thin and both sides of the drive were steep 1,000 ft cliffs, one mistake and we were all toast. My wife mentioned at this point that some of her co-workers thought we were crazy to make the drive, bottom-line is that it was a bit scary way up their!
As we drove up we noticed that our Standard Poodle Otis was getting very quite, after all we were at 12,000 ft+, my wife and I at this point were doing all we could to remain calm and focused on not driving off the side of the mountain. Then my wife asked “is Otis ok”, by this point he was really quite and very much asleep, so I shook him and bit and tried to awaken the beast. He did awaken but he was very much out of it, so we began to worry about him as well, it was her that my wife ask me to pass the pain killers (kidding) and soon after I thought we should head back, after all we still had another 2,000 vertical feet to the summit (some five miles in distance).
We decided that taking the cog train to the summit of Pikes Peak was a much better idea, we had fun and enjoyed the trip much, it was just that last section above the treeline that did us in. I will keep you posted when I try for my third time to make it to the top.