Mount Elbert Winter Hiking Guide: Tackling the Classic Colorado 14er

Mount Elbert East Ridge Quick Stats

Distance: 13.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 5,000 ft
Direction: East to West
Average Time to Summit: 8 hours
Season: Primarily hiked in warmer weather, but as long as you’re prepared, it is sublime in winter.

“Be loyal to the winter, all the way through—all the way, and with sincerity—or you’ll find yourself high and dry, longing for a spring that’s a long way off, and winter will have abandoned you.” - author and environmental activist Rick Bass

Since first reading these words in Bass' 1991 book Winter: Notes from Montana, I’ve tried to keep them as a winter mantra. The often-challenging world of cold, wind and snow is indeed what you make it. I’ve turned to a few new activities over the past few years to make winter more enjoyable, including alpine fat biking and ski touring. Each of these provides me with an outlet to bolster my fitness, get out in the mountains and stay in touch with altitude acclimation for summer goals.

It was with this in mind that my partner and I made a solstice-season ascent of Mount Elbert, Colorado’s highest peak. While skiing and fat biking have their own charms, winter hiking in the mountains most closely resembles how I like to spend summer in the alpine. Our first trip up Elbert was a full-value day and a good reminder that, with the right gear and mindset, you can find a way to stand on an impressive summit any time of year.

Mount Elbert Overview and Routes

At 14,438 feet, Mt. Elbert is the highest point along the far-reaching spine of the Rocky Mountains in North America and the second-highest point in the continental U.S. (behind California’s Mount Whitney). Despite its prominence, Elbert is non-technical: the popular routes that travel any of the soft-shouldered ridgelines never stray above Class 2 terrain (i.e., steep walking on uneven footing).

There are three hiking trail routes up Mt. Elbert: the Northeast Ridge, the Southeast Ridge, and the East Ridge. Although all three cover terrain with minimal avalanche risk, the East Ridge is the most accessible in winter.

The Northeast Ridge starts at the North Mt. Elbert Trailhead off of Halfmoon Road, an 11-mile drive from the town of Leadville. Halfmoon is a dirt road and often snow-covered in the colder months. In December of 2023, when my partner and I hiked Mt. Elbert via the Northeast Ridge, we nearly got our van stuck in mashed-potato snow on Halfmoon before finally abandoning the notion of parking at the standard summer trailhead, instead opting to add a couple miles of the road onto our day. This is often the case with 14ers in winter: snowy roads mean that your hike might have to start a mile or more from the summer trailhead.

The trail for Mt. Elbert’s Southeast Ridge starts at the Black Cloud trailhead off of CO HWY 82 past the hamlet of Twin Lakes, about 26 miles from Leadville, or 30 miles from the town of Buena Vista further down the Arkansas River Valley.

By contrast, with little-to-no avalanche risk and accessible winter parking, Elbert’s East Ridge makes for an ideal introductory winter route. The route up Mt. Elbert’s East Ridge starts at the Mt. Elbert South trailhead. 14ers.com lists Elbert’s East Ridge as a 10.5-mile outing, but this is only true if starting from the upper Mt. Elbert South trailhead. To reach the upper TH, you have to drive ~ 1.8 miles on a fairly rough 4WD road that all cars might not be able to handle even when the road is clear in summer. In winter, you can almost certainly plan to park at the base of the 4WD road at the paved lower trailhead. The (lower) Mt. Elbert South Trailhead is an easy 15-mile drive from Leadville, or a 25-mile drive from Buena Vista.

Everything You Need to Know Before Hiking Mount Elbert

The Stats: Hiking a 14er in winter is not an advisable “off the couch” idea. Even in summer, tackling any of Colorado’s 14ers rarely requires less than 10 miles of round-trip foot travel, and most will mandate between 4,500 to 5,500 feet of elevation gain. Of course, reaching the summit is only half the battle; it’s important to save some mental stamina for the descent.
As a baseline fitness check, you should feel comfortable with these figures before adding altitude into the equation. From the winter parking area, Mt. Elbert’s East Ridge is a 13.5-mile round-trip outing with approximately 5,000 feet of elevation gain.

Altitude Adjustments: Adding altitude always raises the bar. Before approaching a 14er in winter, tag a few in summer. It is reasonable to assume that a winter ascent may take twice as long as a summer ascent of the same peak. Also, be mindful of how long it’s been since you last traveled above 10,000 feet. I often find that I feel increasingly worse as I get above varying elevation thresholds: 10,000, 12,000, and 14,000 feet. If you’re keen to summit a 14er in winter, make sure to log some time above 10,000 feet in preparation, either through backcountry ski touring or snowshoeing.

Pack Your “PMA”: Perhaps the most important thing to bring with you when taking on something as challenging as a 14er in winter is a Positive Mental Attitude. You don’t have to go full Rick Bass, but if you have elected to attempt a winter ascent, you better at least be accepting of winter. Getting frustrated by tough conditions is a waste of precious energy; try to keep the perspective that you wanted to do this. However, it’s important to balance commitment to an outing with risk assessment: if either you or your partner seem unprepared partway through the ascent, or the conditions turn too challenging, bailing does not mean failing.

Check the Weather: In winter, a few factors combine to determine how favorable conditions will be: recent snowfall totals, sun exposure, average temperature, and wind speed. The golden trifecta is to find a day with full sun, a high in the double-digits, and minimal wind, but these days are rare.

To help gauge conditions in the mountains, I always have at least one Mountain Forecast tab open on my phone. It’s a reliable resource for tracking the weather on high peaks across the globe. Mountain Forecast also calculates wind chill, which is important to take into consideration. For instance, a day that’s forecasted to have a high of 16 F, with 10 mph winds translates to a wind chill of about 4 F. Stronger winds can also lead to poor visibility as spindrift clouds the air.

Understanding snow conditions is trickier business. Knowing total snowfall for the current season and recent snow accumulation will give you some idea, but above treeline, high winds can often wipe some aspects clean of snow while deeply drifting others. Windy is a useful app for watching close-range weather systems and OpenSnow (not free) provides a bigger-picture breakdown of snow conditions. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) Instagram account also routinely posts conditions updates, avalanche reports, and other educational information. Fortunately, Mt. Elbert’s East Ridge is regarded as very low-risk winter terrain and post-holing through deep snow will likely be the most dangerous, and annoying, conditions you find on the mountain.

Trip Report: Winter Hiking Mount Elbert’s East Ridge

On this Decemeber day the trail was pretty well packed down as we left the lower parking area, hiked the 4WD road to join the trail, traversed through aspen groves and ascended switchbacks. Just shy of 12,000 feet, we hit treeline and the thinning canopy opened up to reveal the hard piercing blue of the day’s clear sky.

By this point, we could tell that we were trailing another party of two and we were grateful to follow their steps in deeper sections of drifted punchy snow. Higher up, as the bow-shaped ridge settled on a more honest east-facing angle, the surface under foot turned wind-hammered and the snow became textured with sastrugi—a sign of things to come.

Pretty soon, we were getting blasted with frigid gusts; although the day was relatively warm, the wind was making sure that we wouldn’t get off too easily. We layered up in wind shells, pulled buffs over our noses, leaned heavily on our poles and toiled on.

It’s always at this point on a 14er, when about 1,000 vertical feet remain, that I find it’s most important to not wish too desperately for the summit: the last 25% feels like the hardest part. As if sent to distract, four bighorn sheep danced across the skyline in the distance, headlong into the wind we were fighting.

Miraculously, the wind let off a bit on the summit, gracing us with enough time to appreciate the surrounding snow-clad peaks of the Sawatch. Still, we didn’t linger too long as we still had the remaining descent separating us from the car. It was only after we’d trundled back down to the cover of the trees and escaped the wind, that we were able to chat about the day. I hope it sets the tone for more to come this winter.

How to Fuel Your Hike Up Mount Elbert

First, bring 1.5 to 2 liters of water. I prefer to carry mine in soft flasks for winter outings, since you can carry them close to the body to keep them from freezing. Hoses of water bladders are more prone to freezing. Carrying a couple different soft flasks also allows you to put a higher calorie drink mix, or electrolyte mix, in one. Rather than starting with more than 2L of water, I will stuff snow in an empty flask and thaw it close to my body (say, in my waistband) if I am concerned with running out of water. Carrying a lightweight stove and melting snow to make water is also an option.

For food, I try to consume 200-300 calories per hour, starting in the second hour. Altitude can depress both hunger and thirst, so I keep my snacks on a schedule, rather than relying on perception. Eating gummies and gels works better for me while going up when aerobic demands are higher. I like to bring a real food snack for the summit (bean and cheese burrito, cookie, or Bobo PBJ bar). I find it’s easier for me to eat bars and solid food when going back down the mountain.

What to Pack for a Winter Hike Up Mt. Elbert

Dialing in your gear for winter 14ers will take some trial and error (another reason to try some shorter “test run” skiing/snowshoeing/hiking outings.) What you are comfortable bringing, or more importantly leaving behind, will also be a product of fitness and experience.

I tend to skew towards a lighter approach for a few reasons. To date, I have chosen winter objectives where I feel confident that my experience will allow me to complete the outing at an efficient, consistent pace without much stopping (i.e., chances for body temperature to drop); I would err on carrying more for peaks that pose more technical challenge, or where objective risk is higher. Carrying less also helps me move faster, which means that, aerobically, I won’t have to work as hard, thereby reducing how much I will sweat.

Managing body temperature is crucial in winter conditions. The simplest rule to remember is: try not to sweat. You never want to get too hot or too cold because the chill from evaporative cooling can make sweating quickly become a critical mistake. Wearing a lighter pack also reduces the inevitability of sweating underneath the pack.

Pants: I like a lightweight, hybrid softshell pant like the La Sportiva Zupo 2.0; reinforced panels on the front of the pant provide extra wind protection while thinner back panels provide breathability. For very cold days, full softshell (or ski pants) also work.

Baselayer: Go for a lightweight (hooded) merino longsleeve sun shirt like the Black Diamond Solution 150 Merino Quarter Zip Hoody merino blends are warm yet wicking. Having a quarter-zip is helpful for venting while a hood helps retain body heat in cody and/or windy conditions.

Midlayer: I live in midlayers on long winter outings. My go-tos include either a lightweight vest (warm primaloft front insulation, thin breathable back panel) or a an ultralight fleece, like the Senchi Designs A90 Crewneck made with Alpha Direct.

Outer Layer(s): Bring a compressible insulated, hooded jacket like the and lightweight windshell. Synthetic insulation still provides warmth when wet, unlike down. Storing this layer inside a slim nylon bag, or light dry bag, will further ensure that it does not get wet inside your pack. I usually go with La Sportiva's Mythic Primaloft Jacket and Pocket Shell.

Headwear: This is conditions dependent. I usually bring a brimmed hat to block the sun and a running headband from Skida to cover my ears.

Gloves: Gloves don’t take up much pack real estate and carrying a couple options is a good hedge against numb hands. I always bring 2-3 pairs of gloves and mittens of varying weights, but I rarely leave the Rab Xenon Mitt at home.

Footwear: Temperature and recent snow accumulation should guide your choices here. On (relatively) warmer days where I don't expect to do a lot of post-holing (i.e., punching above the ankle through deep fresh, drifted and/or crusty snow), I prefer to wear a Gore-tex running shoe with integrated ankle gaiter for more nimble movement and ankle articulation like the La Sportiva Cyklon Cross GTX. On colder days (when I expect single-digit highs) or if traveling through fresh, unconsolidated snow, Gore-tex hiking boots like the La Sportiva Aequilibrium Top GTX or bona fide Mountain boots will offer better protection.

Traditional knee-high gaiters can also be helpful in deep snow, but they tend to trap a lot of heat around the lower leg and feet. I find a three-layer system is more comfortable to help manage truly frigid conditions. Start with a very thin silk sock liner (the basic version from REI is affordable and effective, followed by a vapor barrier (read: plastic bag), and top it off with a merino wool sock. The vapor barrier might trap sweat inside, but it also helps you retain body heat and prevent external moisture from getting in, and thus chilling, your feet.

Backpack: Pack capacity will vary based on personal gear choices, but I find 18L to be plenty. The pack I personally use has been discontinued (RIP), but the Black Diamond Pursuit 15 is pretty similar. For other options, check out the many cottage industry brands making ultralight backpacking gear applicable to a range of activities.

Traction: Kahtoola Microspikes )or snowshoes) will be helpful for traveling across fresh powder below the treeline.

Trekking poles: A welcome addition on steep terrain, poles are also helpful for moving through snow. I use the Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z poles in conjunction with the company's Large Distance Baskets when I'm dealing with particularly deep snow.

Some extras to consider: Buff/neckwarmer, Phone, gps watch, GPS tracker (such as a Garmin InReach so loved ones can keep an eye on your progress) sunglasses (consider a pair that have sideshields for peripheral vision protection when traveling over blinding snowfields; ski goggles are also commonly used), hand warmers.