Heading Up PikesPeak

Have a time slot starting at noon. Driving my 07 CTD. It should be interesting in that we come from sea level.

Have fun! They were just finishing up their new visitor center when we were there last summer.

It was cooler back when it wasn't paved all the way to the top, though...

Not sure how the cummins trucks are but when you hit high altitude you might want to unhook your battery for a bit and then drive around for a while before hand and let it learn.

Worked up there back when it was unpaved (summer 2000). They made us catch a ride in a mid-90s Ram Van in Manitou Springs with some college kid driving up and down the mountain. "Puckering" is the best word for those trips. I need to go see the new center, saw photos of the old one mid-demolition. Good times.

Great drive. Did it a few years ago in my Jeep Wrangler with no top on. Want to do it again.

Time slot?

They restrict the number of vehicles on the summit during a two hour time frame. Our time frame was noon to 2pm. As it turned out it was a slow day with not many taking the road up.

Well, made it up and back. The truck ran good. I was a little worried about the tranny.the temp hit around 235 however I made several stops on the way up to let it cool. As far as our physical well being the altitude did have some effects. Shortness of breath and fatigue and muscle soreness. Kinda feels like I had a stress test. Had a bucket list first. The visitor center at the summit is nice. They have a small snack bar. I did have a bucket list first. Ate a $6.00 donut at over 14,000 feet. One interesting tidbit. There’s been recorded weather in the winter of 120 mph winds with temps at -60 below zero. I’ll post some pics later.

Here’s a couple of pictures I took.

One picture is FtCarson and the other is the south part of Colorado Springs

I rode up to the summit back in the '90's on dirt bikes as part of a 500 mile charity motorcycle ride called the Colorado 500. Mostly Indy car drivers and crew members, motorcycle industry people and a variety of car and motorcycle people from around the country. Most were already used to the altitude as the ride started several days before in the Aspen, Basalt area with 11k, 12k, 13k, altitudes on the way over to Colorado Springs. At the time it was still mostly dirt so it was a lot of fun sliding around most of the turns on dirt bikes, and smelling the brakes of the vehicles headed down while we were headed up. On that day what I found to be most interesting was GM had brake test cars headed down and some you could actually see the discs glowing and brake smoke pouring out of these wheels that had what looked like additional outboard of the wheels but attached to them another set of brakes independent of the vehicles actual braking system. Safety first because the vehicle's brake system was sure to fail. I also remember the sign at the summit read 14,110 feet but lately I've seen a different altitude sign at the summit that read (I think) 14,115 or 14,120, did it grow???

Great that you got to scratch off Pike's Peak from your bucket list. Others here should do it if they ever get a chance well worth the trip up and down and the time at the top. Speaking of beer is it me or does beer/alcohol give you a buzz much quicker and more of a buzz at altitude

This was over by Ouray/Silverton, Colorado at California Pass 12,930 ft and picking up a 280 lbs dirt bike at those altitudes will get you spinning even if you're in good shape DAMHIK

Found this about my elevation question:

1963: The newest (at the time) Summit House is built and the height of the mountain is officially designated as 14,110 feet. That number would endure for a good 40 years and even now, you can find that number on souvenirs.
2002: Due to actions by Congress with regard to mountain height recalculation, Pikes Peak is designated as 14,115 feet in elevation, the number that is still stated today. The National Forest Service, likely annoyed with having to update maps and signs all the time, says no way to the change and leaves it as 14,110 feet. Several souvenirs also stick with the number of old. Thus, confusion endures.
Today: Pikes Peak is still officially known as being 14,115 feet above sea level. While the math for measuring mountains hasn’t changed in 200 years, the results get a lot of support from information gleaned from satellite imaging and increased data points, coordinates and knowledge of the earth’s size.
That’s a hefty history of confusion surrounding the true elevation of America’s Mountain, but we think it adds to the charm. For now, Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region is proud to declare the current 14,115-foot elevation, no matter what a few sassy keychains and old signs might say. Chances are, the discussion won’t be ending anytime soon anyway. After all, even mountains can grow and shrink as time goes on. A little erosion here, a little wind there, and Pikes Peak might just annoy a whole new generation of rangers, tour guides and mapmakers with a whole new elevation. We’re cool with that — as long as Snowmass Mountain doesn’t beat us.

I drove up Pikes Peak in 1977 when it was all still gravel. I was having fun kicking the tail out on my 73 Challenger, until I got pulled over by a Park Ranger in an unmarked 4wd Suburban. He gave me a stern talking-to but let me go with a verbal warning. On the way down I kicked the tail out a little but it scared the daylights out of me and I quit doing it. That's when I realized that gravity was my friend on the way up, and my enemy on the way down...

My wife and I made the Pikes Peak drive to the top shortly after our wedding in a 72 Plymouth Satellite Sebring Plus. The trip up was kind of scary for this flatlander. The time on the top was pretty short, I got light headed, my wife started feeling sick in the short 10 minutes time we walked around. We were both pretty happy to head back down.

We have been to CO a couple times since, but the elevation doesn't seem to bother us like it did at Pikes Peak. My brother in law lives in a house at 11,400 feet, we didn't have any problems being there for a week, a couple years ago. Maybe it was the higher elevation at Pikes Peak that got us.

So they kick Pluto off the planet list, now they change the height of Pike s peak, what next?

I drove up to the Summit back in '84 in my '83 Dodge Rampage 2.2/5 speed. Zipped right up without a second thought.

Not clear here. Are they only allowing trips to the summit between noon and 2 or is that just the "rush hour" when they restrict access? We last did the drive in 2015 and I don't recall any time restrictions. Do they still have a cop stationed to check your brake temperature on the way down?

They just started doing it recently. I think it's only during peak summer season.

They have limited parking up top, so they are trying to spread the load evenly throughout the day.

Since the covid stuff started, a lot of "outdoor" destinations such as national parks and state parks and such have seen a big increase in visitors. A lot have gone to some sort of reservation system to try to tame the crowds and traffic.

They limit the number of cars during a given two hour time frame. The parking lot at the summit can only handle so many cars at a given time. This is something the do during high demand times (May-Sept). The time slots are 0800-1000, 1000-1200, 1200-1400, 1400-1600. You can pick your time slot on their web site or at the gate.

Here’s what we did today

Did a drive by to Devils Tower. The tower was covered by low clouds so we entertained ourselves by visiting the prairie dog community. Clouds cleared later.