Leadville 100 Course
Sawatch Range, CO
Elevation Profile
Current Conditions
Bottom Line
Fire Weather Watch through Friday 8 PM with 25-30 mph winds and single-digit humidity creating extreme fire risk. Trail conditions are winter-locked with 35+ inches of snow at Annie Springs — this is cross-country skiing terrain, not runnable trail.
40°/21°F · Sunny · 1 alert(s)
Moderate (2/5)
48" depth
Normal flows · 5 gauges
No active fires within 50 miles
11h 47m daylight · Sunrise 7:23 AM · Sunset 7:10 PM
Full Briefing
The Leadville 100 course is buried under winter snowpack right now. Annie Springs SNOTEL at 6,021 feet shows 35 inches of snow depth, meaning the trail system is completely snow-covered and impassable for trail running. Even if you could access lower sections, the combination of deep snow, icy morning conditions (lows around 20°F), and afternoon temps barely reaching 40°F means you're looking at winter conditions requiring snowshoes or skis, not running shoes. The Fire Weather Watch adds another layer of complexity — sustained winds of 25-30 mph with gusts higher, combined with critically low humidity, create extreme fire danger. Any spark could rapidly spread across the high alpine terrain you'd be traveling through. The timing is particularly problematic since the watch extends through Friday evening, covering most of your planned trip window. Saturday night brings a significant weather shift with snow showers likely (68% chance) and temperatures dropping to 15°F with 30-35 mph winds — conditions that would be dangerous for anyone caught above treeline. Even the daylight window is constrained at 11 hours 47 minutes, giving you limited time for longer objectives in challenging conditions. The stream flow data from California stations isn't relevant to Colorado high country conditions, but the consistent trend of below-normal flows suggests the broader regional drought that contributes to the fire weather concerns.
Waypoints
Leadville Start/Finish
Historic 6th Street in Leadville. Race begins at 4 AM.
10,151 ft
Twin Lakes
Major aid station at Twin Lakes. Pacer pickup point outbound.
9,199 ft
Hope Pass Summit
High point at 12,600 ft. The crux of the course, crossed twice.
12,598 ft
Winfield Turnaround
Ghost town of Winfield. Turnaround point for the out-and-back.
10,000 ft
Route Details
Distance
100.0 mi
Elevation Gain
15,748 ft
Elevation Loss
15,748 ft
Max Elevation
12,598 ft
Estimated Days
1.5
Trailhead
Leadville, 6th Street
Best Season
Race held in August. Course runnable July-September at altitude.
About This Route
The Leadville Trail 100 is America's most famous mountain ultramarathon, an out-and-back course through the Colorado Rockies at extreme altitude. The entire course stays above 9,200 feet, with the high point at Hope Pass (12,600 ft) crossed twice—once in each direction. Starting and finishing in historic Leadville (10,152 ft), the course traverses the Sawatch Range through a mix of mining roads, singletrack, and river valleys. The Twin Lakes section, the climb over Hope Pass, and the exposed ridgeline to Winfield turnaround are the signature sections. The altitude is the defining challenge. Even elite runners slow dramatically above 12,000 feet. The 30-hour cutoff is generous by some standards but the altitude makes it brutally selective. Night running through the Colorado mountains adds another dimension. The race has been held since 1983 and is one of the original American ultras.
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