Snowy winter brings limited access to Pikes Peak summit

Visitors to Pikes Peak have been unable to reach the summit for nearly a month because of recent snow.

The summit hasn’t been open since Feb. 27, and on Wednesday, the highway was still closed at the 16-mile mark as heavy equipment continued snow removal.

“We haven’t had much snow on the summit because of high winds,” said park ranger Chuck Struck. “But we’ve had up to 20 feet of snow on the highway below the summit.”

A member of the plowing crew said an additional half-mile of the highway was cleared Wednesday afternoon, and the crew also “punched a hole” to the summit.

“The snow’s still deep up there,” the crew member said. “But we’re hoping to open the summit to traffic sometime on Thursday.”

Still, Struck said with March and April being Colorado’s snowiest months, there likely will be more days that visitors won’t reach the summit.

“We have enough snow on the Devil’s Playground skiing area to keep people skiing until July,” he said. “And we’re still under an avalanche warning.”

The summit was open 21 days last March, compared to none so far this March.

Last month, the summit was open only seven days, compared to 16 last February.

Yet many visitors said they don’t mind not seeing the summit because their views from the 16-mile mark still make their trip worthwhile.

“And we’d heard they use big equipment to plow snow up here,” said a family from London, England. “We’re just as excited to see that. It’s amazing.”