Grays Peak Lost Rat Couloir Guide
Lost Rat Couloir is a 800ft northeast facing couloir on 14er Grays Peak. This classic snow climb is probably the most interesting way to ascend and descend this relatively boring mountain. Lost Rat typically is climbed from March – late May when snow conditions have stabilized. This couloir faces east on the bottom but takes a left towards the top changing the aspect to North facing. Due to this complex terrain, it is highly avalanche prone and warms at different rates even during the spring months. Once climbers finish Lost Rat, they have the option to either descend back down or continue another 700ft up towards the summit of 14er Grays Peak.
Lost Rat Couloir Quick Facts
Virtual Trail Guide: Lost Rat Couloir Grays Peak Hike Guide
Lost Rat Couloir Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)
Distance: 12 Miles RT (Lower TH), 6.5 Miles RT (Upper TH)
Elevation Start: 9,786ft (Lower TH), 11,253 ft (Upper TH)
Summit: 14,278ft
Total Elevation Gain: 4,500ft (Lower TH), 3,000ft (Upper TH)
Estimated Time to Complete: 6-10 Hours RT – depends on starting point
Difficulty: Difficult What does this mean?
Class: Class 2 – What does this mean?
Snow Climb Grade: Advanced: 40-45 degrees max
Season: January – June (end of May is best for continuous ski descent)
Avalanche Forecast: This route and area is avalanche prone, check conditions here.
Directions to Lost Rat Couloir
Trailhead: Bakerville on I70 OR Standard Grays & Torreys TH
Getting Here: From I-70, take the Bakerville exit and continue on to Stevens Gulch Road. If you are attempting this line earlier in the season, park here and walk the rest of the way. From here, it’s about 3 miles to the upper TH. If you can drive, keep going up the road staying left at all road intersections. This road is a complete wildcard. In some months/years, most passenger cars can make it to the upper TH. In others, you need a high clearance 4×4 car. It all depends on the road conditions. Clear Creek County does maintain this road, but your guess is as good as mine as to how frequently that happens. DO NOT block the road or park along any private property.
Parking: Your best bet for parking would be three spots: the upper TH, if you can get there, down at Bakerville or at the Grizzly Gulch road split. There is parking available along the road, but as of 2023, it’s not recommended to park here as the county tickets vehicles often. If you are able to get up to the upper TH – you should be starting very early to secure a parking spot but this shouldn’t be a problem since you are starting early anyway to get off the snow before it warms. DO NOT block the road by parking and preventing emergency vehicle access.
Summary
Dogs: I never recommend bringing a dog on any couloir -it’s irresponsible in my opinion.
Camping: There are a few camping spots at the upper TH. Once the hike starts, camping options are very poor and much of the road up to the hike is lined with private land. There are a few dispersed camping spots along the road which will be fairly obvious. Alternatively, if you drive down CR 319 there are a few camping spots in this area as well. This isn’t the best spot to camp since a lot of the land is on a slope, but if you are lucky, you can make it work.
Make it a Loop: After climbing Lost Rat Couloir, most people will just walk off the mountain using the standard Grays Peak trail. However, there are two options to descend: climbing/skiing/boarding down Lost Rat or taking the northeast slopes of Grays Peak via snowboard/skis back to the TH. If you do the second option, follow my GPX tracks to get the longest and most continuous snow back to the upper TH. In addition, you could also add on neighboring 14er Torreys Peak which has a number of different options to choose from as well.
Trail X Factors: Snow Level & Cornice
The snow level on any couloir is the x factor. It will determine how far you can drive/walk/skin on your approach, how avalanche conditions in the couloir are and how much rock fall will be a concern for you. Since this line is northeast facing, you have a little bit of time before the sun hits this line, but not a ton. The bottom part in particular will warm very quickly as this faces almost directly east. Like many couloirs, Lost Rat Couloir usually has a very large cornice sitting on top of it. Most of the time, you can easily avoid this when exiting your line – but it’s still a concern, ESPECIALLY when the snow has been warming for several hours or days.
Hike Tip(s): Anytime you are hiking a couloir, understanding avalanche conditions is key. Be sure to get off the snow early in the spring and make sure the snow is stable anytime you start the climb. Since this couloir is so long and very popular – I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone without prior snow climbing experience in addition to a knowledge of etiquette on how to handle other parties in a snow line.
Best Views: Lost Rat Couloir offers so many opportunities for cool photos and unique views. When climbing the couloir, take a second to look down and behind you towards the beautiful basin and surrounding mountains. From the summit, views in all directions are beautiful with snow capped peaks and a unique view to neighboring Grizzly Peak D and neighboring 14er, Torreys Peak.
Lost Rat Couloir Grays Peak Hike Route
Shows a direct snow climb up Lost Rat and a descent down the slopes of Grays Peak – crossing over to the drainage back to the TH.
Gear Needed
- Winter Backpack
- Hiking/SkiPoles
- Headlamp
- Climbing Helmet
- Mountain Axe – Petzl EVO
- Mountain Axe – Black Diamond Raven – Great for Beginners
- Crampons
- Crampon Bag
- Snowboard Boot Crampons
- La Sportiva Mountaineering Boots
- Snowboard Boots
- Snowpants
- Gloves
- Microspikes
- Gaiters
- Optional: Avalanche Gear: Beacon, Probe, Shovel
- Optional: Snowshoes
- Optional: Skis or Splitboard
- Optional: Goggles
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod, Selfie Stick, Drone
- *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.
Our Trip to Lost Rat Couloir on Grays Peak: May 2022
Checking off neighboring Torreys Peak via Dead Dog Couloir earlier in the week, I was now ready for Lost Rat. I talked my friend Rick into an Alpine Start of 3:30AM. Rick’s truck could have easily gotten us further up the rough road to the TH, but we wanted the mileage so parked at the bottom. It was Saturday and I was expecting lots more people on Grays and Torreys, even though it was still May. The forecast called for a breezy day but when we started the hike up the standard trail under the stars – the winds were whipping. The snowboard on my back treated my body like a sail and it was miserable for the first hour.
We continued hiking on the trail, me trying to outsmart all the others who had previously hiked it by taking “shortcuts” across the snow and always ending up in the same spot, right behind Rick. After a few hours, we were ready to venture off trail and over to Lost Rat but the winds were outright whipping. I couldn’t stand still without stumbling a few steps backward. It was not fun at all. We pressed on hoping the winds would die down at the base of the climb.
Getting to Lost Rat is a bit different than the standard hike up Grays and there are a number of choices to make before reaching the apron of this line. We took the most dry and direct way when we could until eventually arriving at the base of this climb. Rick had never done a snow climb before and my biggest concern was the massive cornice that usually guards the top of this line. From down below, it appeared there, but it was hard to tell the scale and appeared to not stretch all the way across. We decided it was safe for our taste and started the climb.
Lost Rat is only about 700-800 vertical feet of climbing, not the largest line in the world but certainly not easy. The grade started off fairly steep right away and the snow was pretty firm. Luckily, there was a faint booter we could follow and re-establish which made the climbing a bit easier. We slowly progressed upwards, me leading at first and then switching with Rick about 3/4 of the way up. Lost Rat Couloir winds a few times, both times to the left. Once we finished the first leg, we could see what awaited us ahead: a massive cornice and a large patch of dry ground.
Usually couloirs form in nasty parts of the mountain that can only be climbed with adequate snow coverage and exposed rock means game over. Luckily for us, we found a somewhat safe way to work through and around the exposed rock – avoiding the cornice and ended the climb of Lost Rat safely. We were relieved but knew we had another 700 vertical feet of climbing to go before summiting Grays Peak. The winds picked up immediately and it was miserable again to just walk.
Struggling on, we finally topped out on Grays Peak and enjoyed the beautiful views with LOADS of other people. We had been the only ones climbing Lost Rat that day, but the standard route was packed with other skiers, hikers and snowboarders. At this point, it was later in the morning so I didn’t waste much time in transitioning to my splitboard and starting the ride down back to the car. Unlike my trip down Torreys Peak on the snowboard, this ride back to the upper TH was A+. Almost entirely good snow coverage and 2+ miles of riding on beautiful soft snow.
Overall, I really enjoyed the day on Grays Peak climbing Lost Rat Couloir and snowboarding down the northeast slopes of the 14er. Especially with the poor coverage on top, I was happy that Rick and I choose this day to take down this climb because I was not sure how much longer in the year it would last.
