Construction atop Pikes Peak could cut off hiking access to the summit, keeping Barr Trail travelers off the final approach near 14,000 feet until mid-July or later. That's unless an alternative route is established.
Jack Glavan, manager of Pikes Peak-America's Mountain, the enterprise overseeing GE Johnson's job on the new Summit House, said Tuesday that U.S. Forest Service officials were due on the scene Wednesday to assess a possible alternative for hikers.
"I'm hoping we can make a decision by the end of the week," Glavan said.
Barr Trail devotees took to social media Tuesday to remark over the sight of what appeared to be a long fence blocking the mountaintop in a photo captured by the summit's weather camera. Glavan said the "proposed" closure would be in front of the also under-construction Pikes Peak Cog Railway tracks — near where annual Pikes Peak Marathon runners turn around after the race's first 13-mile leg.
For one-way, bottom-to-top Ascent runners and any regulars expecting a ride down the Pikes Peak Highway from the summit parking lot, the closure could complicate things.
Ron Ilgen, director of the races still set for Aug. 22 and 23 despite the coronavirus pandemic, laughed at mention of the construction.
"I'm sure runners will really appreciate that and hikers," he said. "It's basically the concern of people training. They'll run and have somebody meet them at the top for a ride down. Does this mean they can't go all the way and get someone to pick them up? Or do they have to rock scramble to get around there?"
With heavy machinery and equipment expected for drilling the Summit House's foundational beams, Glavan said safety and liability was the concern. The task is slated to last 45 days, he said.
"I would hate to think people would try to scramble on rocks in some of those areas where they really could get hurt," he said. "If we could come up with a solution that's safe, I think that'd be great. I'm just not sure what it is right now."
For people accustomed to a lift down after the 13-mile trek, Steve Bremner's advice was simple: "Don't go up," said the ultrarunner and president of nonprofit advocate Friends of the Peak.
The possible closure caught him off-guard like many Tuesday, but he sounded understanding.
"Progress is gonna happen, it's gotta be done," he said.
So it's been on America's Mountain, with a history of commercialism and development that sets it apart from other 14,000-foot peaks. Among all 54 in Colorado, only it and Mount Evans have a paved road to the summit.
But in comparison, a 26-mile round trip on foot is significant — especially with Barr Trail's famous overnight stop, Barr Camp, temporarily closed due to COVID-19.
"I don't know if people would want to treat it like a normal fourteener and prepare to hike up and down, but maybe they would this year," Glavan said.
He said summit access would still be available on the mountain's backside, via the lesser-trafficked Devil's Playground route from Teller County.
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