Blanca Peak

Ran this today in a tacoma with 33"s and a locked rear. No snow, only made it up to jaws 2.5 ish before myself and my buddy chickened out. This trail is is definitely one of the more difficult trails I have run. Even though we didn't make it all the way we had an absolute blast.

I’ve been up this road three times in my “pretty much” stock 2014 JKU Rubicon. My jeep easily makes it to Jaws 1 where I always park. There are at least two nice parking spots there. The two major obstacles before Jaws 1 are the “hill” at 10,000 ft (big switchback to the east) and the mud holes at 5 miles. If you’re not in a Rubicon (with lockers, lift, etc) park at 10k below the hill. The mud holes have giant hidden boulders so beware. Otherwise, it’s a fun road and a good test for your Rubi. Note: This road is more commonly known as the “Como Lake Road” but the sign at the bottom says “Blanca Peak Road.”

We managed to get to Lake Como in our mostly stock Rubicon 2dr JL on 33" tires. We didn't try to go to Blue Lake and after hiking that section, I doubt we could've done it. We have Metalcloak's skid plates and a winch. The skid plates were put to heavy use on this trail and I used the winch to get up Jaws 2.5 after sliding a bit and getting the lower rock between my bumper and muffler. I'd say our setup is about the absolute minimum you need to get up there. I wouldn't have even attempted it without the skid plates. There were a handful of places it would've been easy to cause some serious damage if things didn't go just right. On the way down, we took the bypass for the second half of Jaw 3 and found someone parked blocking most of the road where it forks off. Instead of trying to reverse, maybe turn around, and do the full Jaws 3, we managed to *just* squeeze by but got some damage to the driver door from tree branches. Please don't park here... The lakes and peaks up there are amazing and it's easy to see why this area attracts so many people.

Not sure about the conditions and not wanting to do this solo, I walked the road from the end of the main switchbacks 2.5miles to Como Lake. There is maybe 1 snowbank that could cause an issue right after the cabins, but otherwise this is open to Como. The snow any farther up is considerable, though.

This another great Colorado trail with a little bit of everything. Great scenery, scary cliffs, tough obstacles, lakes, streams, and cell signal most of the time... All the way up to Como lake you can still see the valley below, it's one big climb! There were A LOT of hikers (hundreds) on this trail, be courteous, most of them were very friendly and entertained by us driving up the trail. A great trail to spend a night on!

Started out early Saturday, camped at Lake Como overnight, and descended on Sunday. Jaws 1 & 2 looked pretty eroded in comparison to the photos from the official trail detail above. Some rock stacking was required to get several in our group over these obstacles, including myself. Tippy Spot and Jaws 2.5 were in good condition. Bypass to Jaws 3 is tight in spots, but not hard. Problem is it's wet, and you can't bypass the second half of Jaws 3, which left us with wet tires for that ascent. Slow and steady won the day... Word to the wise; If camping, be prepared for anything. Weather report for us was 10% chance of rain. That's it. Clear skies that you can see in the pics turned to light rain quickly, then to sleet, then hail, then downpour with heavy winds. This persisted for a couple hours. Several in our group did not have the gear to hold up to that and got soaked. They had to descend immediately, with very little daylight left, on wet terrain. It was that or potential hypothermia. A couple hikers were caught unprepared as well that our group helped. Be prepared! The trip down was pretty uneventful, until Jaws 1, which was quite different going down than up. The low side was giving way under the weight of our heavier-than-most Jeep with a Roof Top Tent. We had to back up and go the high side, which was more stable, but the only way to not roll was 6 men on 2 tow straps attached to our Gobi cage holding us up. If we do this again, I'd consider shedding all weight possible, and especially that which is up high. I will add that we're in a '14 JKU Rubicon, with a 3" lift and 35" tires. We also have lockers front and rear, but our rear locker gave out on the way up. A much lighter XJ with 2.5" lift and 35"s did just fine, too. Actually better than fine, he lead our group. I would not even consider this trip solo unless you really have 110% confidence in your ability and your rig, and are prepared to the teeth. Clear and present warning aside, this is a "Bucket List" trail, and I highly suggest it.

We climbed up the trail about halfway in a stock 4Runner, just before Jaws 1 before turning around. I brought the family to the sand dunes and had to scratch the off-roading itch a little. It's very interesting to me that this trail starts easy and gets progressively more challenging the further you go, that's a rare thing. It was a great drive, nice scenery.

Trail lives up to the hype. Climbed jaws 1 high right with no issue, 2 around the "bypass", off camber near the cliff. 2.5 with no issues. Jaws 3 climbed on the way up, took bypass on way down. Lake Como was GORGEOUS, but bring your bug spray. They are out in force. Attempted Jaws 4 but the creek crossing before climbing did not bode well. Jaws 2 felt worse to me on the way down with the off camber being cliff side and out of view. Able to get up without winching and lockers, but it will test your nerves!

Trail open to upper lakes. jaws 1,2,3 all dry and clear. Jaws 4 is very wet and had a very small amount of snow on it. Beyond jaws 4 there was snow on some parts of the trail. Till it dead ended into a snow drift at the upper lakes.

Trail is currently impassable due to snow.

clear all the way up to the lake.