Last Friday I took the day off and drove down to Manitou Springs to "run" the famously challenging
Incline and also enjoy some time on the beautiful, peaceful Barr Trail on Pikes Peak. The conditions were perfect and the snow on the Barr Trail up above 8,000 feet was powdery and light. I had a great time. Here are some photos from my adventure:
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| The Incline is a ~1.3-mile, ~2,000 foot climb up to 8,550 feet. It connects to the Barr Trail, creating many awesome options once you're at the top. |
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| I took this photo about midway up the Incline. There was snow in the shady spots. The top was mostly all snow. |
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| One of the great things about big climbs is looking back every so often to see how much vertical you've done. |
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| The Incline is technically on private property (as of now), making maintenance a dicey issue. Hopefully soon the Incline will be publicly-owned and -maintained. But I have to say that the rough areas add charm and challenge. |
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| Looking down from the top. I made it to the top in 30:04. I've been told that's a solid time, especially for my first Incline ascent. Actually, this was my first decent climb since the Boulder "Basic" last fall. |
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| Pikes Peak looking beautiful. I can't wait to summit Pikes this summer--my third time up there. This photo was taken from the Barr Trail at about 9,000 feet. |
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| The entrance to Barr Camp, which is at about 10,200 feet. Barr Camp is midway up Pikes Peak and is a frequent stopping point for runners and hikers going both ways. |
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| Looking down toward Manitou Springs on my descent. |
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| Pikes is right behind me. |
Yea! The Incline!
ReplyDeleteYou look like you enjoyed it too much. I was not smiling at the top during the Fat Ass 50K. I remember being at the base after running 12 miles with 3000' of gain looking up and then at the top, thinking I had another 18 miles with 3000'to go.
That is not entirely true, I smiled when JT cracked open a beer.
Anytime you want to carpool down to the incline, drop me an email. Four laps on the incline would do us some good and be worth the drive. It is kind of a glorified stair master, but a lot more fun.