The Manitou Springs Incline, also known as the Manitou Incline or simply the Incline, is a popular
hiking
Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...
trail
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. Th ...
rising above
Manitou Springs, Colorado
Manitou Springs is a home rule municipality located at the foot of Pikes Peak in western El Paso County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded for its natural mineral springs. The downtown area continues to be of interest to travelers, ...
, near
Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
. The Incline ascends on the east slope of Rocky Mountain which is itself on the eastern flank of Pikes Peak. The trail is the remains of a former
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
railway whose
tracks washed out during a rock slide in 1990. The Incline is famous for its sweeping views and steep grade, with an average grade of 45% (24°) and as steep as 68% (34°) in places,
making it a fitness challenge for locals of the Colorado Springs area. The incline gains of
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § Vert ...
in horizontal. Currently the Incline has approximately 2,744 steps from the bottom to the summit, although the top step is numbered "2768". The number of steps changes occasionally with trail maintenance and deterioration.
Reservations are still currently required to hike the Manitou Incline which can be made at th
Manitou Incline pageon the City of Colorado Springs website.
History
The Incline was constructed under the ownership of Dr. Newton N. Brumback as a
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
in 1907, for the purpose of providing access to water tanks at the top of the mountain that would provide gravity-fed water pressure to the cities of Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. Originally, the railroad was constructed to access a hydroelectric plant and service the water pipes. Shortly after its construction, the
Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway
The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway (also known as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway) is a cog railway that climbs one of the most iconic mountains in the United States, Pikes Peak in Colorado. The base station is in Manitou Springs, near ...
was opened as a tourist attraction.
The Incline's original summit house was a rudimentary building constructed from left-over materials from the Incline's construction. It burned down in 1914. The summit house was quickly rebuilt into a more elaborate, comfortable, and safer structure, offering shelter from storms and the elements. The 1914 structure remained until 1958 when it was replaced by an updated summit house, which remained until it was dismantled after the Incline's closure. The Incline operated under the
Pikes Peak Cog Railway
The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway (also known as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway) is a cog railway that climbs one of the most iconic mountains in the United States, Pikes Peak in Colorado. The base station is in Manitou Springs, nea ...
until a
rock slide
A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses ''en masse'' and not in individual blocks. Note that a rockslide is similar to an avalanc ...
in 1990 washed out the rail bed and the Cog Railway decided to not repair the tracks.
During the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the Manitou Springs City Council, under emergency declaration, voted to close the Incline on March 17th, 2020. The closure was a result of health concerns over a lack of social distancing and other health measures, as well as a way to mitigate the number of incidents on the Incline that the fire department would have to address. Manitou Springs stated in a press release on March 18th, 2020, "the first responders who address emergencies on the Incline are put into a high risk situation." The Mayor of Manitou Springs, John Graham, stated: "While we were reluctant to close the Incline, we had far more grave reservations regarding public health." On August 4, 2020, the Manitou Springs City Council approved a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs to reopen the Incline. Within this MOU was protocol for a free online reservation system that managed the number of users, with al
reservationsbeing handled by the City of Colorado Springs.
Legal battles
Though the Incline is a popular hike and fitness destination for locals, its existence since its public closing in 1990 has been controversial. Many locals and some
National Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
officials wanted to keep it closed to allow it to
revegetate, either by reseeding or allowing nature to reclaim the scar.
Another controversy centered on parking rights at the base of the trail head, which is co-located with the
Barr Trail
Barr Trail is a trail in the Pike National Forest that begins in Manitou Springs, Colorado and ends at the Pikes Peak summit. The high elevation trail with a long sustained grade is rated more difficult by the U.S. Forest Service. With a elev ...
trailhead and the
Pikes Peak Cog Railway
The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway (also known as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway) is a cog railway that climbs one of the most iconic mountains in the United States, Pikes Peak in Colorado. The base station is in Manitou Springs, nea ...
. All three sit in the narrow Ruxton Canyon, and the popularity of the Incline has caused major parking conflicts with these entities.
The land through which the Incline passes on its ascent is owned by three entities: the bottom portion is owned by the City of Colorado Springs, the middle section is owned by the Pikes Peak Cog Railway, and the top portion is owned by the US Forest Service. The controversial land swap known as "Strawberry Fields" between Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor traded 14 sections of land totalling 371 acres for 189.5 acres of Colorado Springs land. The part of the Incline of owned by the Cog Railway was included in this land swap making all of the Incline now publicly owned land. The Strawberry Fields land swap was approved but was challenged in court by a citizens group.
The legal battles over the conversion of the Incline to a public hiking trail were finally resolved in January 2013, after the issue was settled by the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
.
Hiking trail and fitness challenge
Since its closure as a railway in 1990, the trail has steadily grown in popularity as a hiking trail and fitness challenge.
The base of the Incline sits at and the trail climbs in about . Hiking the trail should not be undertaken by the physically unfit, as there is no vehicle access to the trail and anyone injured or suffering a medical emergency will have to walk or be carried down by other hikers. At the top of the Incline, there is a tie-in to the Barr Trail that allows for hikers to descend without going back down the Incline. (This descent is approximately , with a much gentler slope.) Due to the close proximity to the large and active population center of Colorado Springs, the large military population of nearby
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...
bases, and the
US Olympic Training Center, the Incline has become a popular fitness destination for those seeking an intense workout.
![Manitou Incline Barr Trail Bailout](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Manitou_Incline_Barr_Trail_Bailout.jpg)
About of the way up, a Barr Trail switchback passes just a few yards from the Incline, and there is a pathway that allows those who wish to exit the Incline the opportunity to take the Barr Trail back down as a 'bailout'. In 2020 two new bailouts were added that exit to the right (north) and lead to the Ute Pass trail. The first, the Lower Ute connector, is at step #395 and the second, the Upper Ute connector, is at step #1300 which is about 500 steps below the Barr trail bailout. These two new bailouts give hikers the option to exit a very difficult trail and also serve the purpose of alleviating some of the heavy traffic on the lower Barr Trail. The Incline is at its steepest grade just after the Barr Trail bailout for about another , when it reaches the 'false summit', a semi-crest in the trail that obscures the true summit to hikers due to its extreme grade. Those who reach the false summit are about of the way to the top, but still have several hundred feet to climb.
Records
The verifiable satellite-tracked record was set September 25, 2015, of 17:45 by US mountain running team member
Joseph Gray. Also notable is the time of twelve-time champion of the
Pikes Peak Marathon
The Pikes Peak Ascent and Marathon is a trail running competition that begins at the base of Pikes Peak, in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and climbs over 7,815 feet (2382 m) to the top of the 14,115 foot (4302 m) peak. Since 1956, the event takes p ...
Matt Carpenter (18:31). The female Incline record is attributed to Allie McLaughlin of Colorado Springs (20:07).
In 2012, local resident Ed Baxter, 58, became the first person to complete the "Inclinathon", 13 consecutive trips up and down the Incline in one day. Baxter completed the effort in just over 13 hours. In 2012, Brandon Stapanowich broke the speed record for an Inclinathon at 11 hours 46 minutes. In 2014, Stapanowich also completed the first ever Ultra-Inclinathon, completing 22 laps of the Incline in 24 hours, the most ever completed in a day. He gained of altitude in this endeavor. On May 16, 2015, Wade Gardner broke the speed record for the Inclinathon with a time of 10 hours, 34 mins.
In 2011, Greg Cummings (a local resident with Type-I Diabetes) became the first person to hike the Incline more than 500 times in one year. Cummings hiked the Incline 601 times and ascended Pikes Peak 34 times, setting the World Record for elevation climbed in one year at just under .
In 2013, Roger Austin ascended the Incline 719 times and reset the World Record to roughly hiked/climbed in one year. In 2014, Greg Cummings ascended the Incline 1,400 times in 330 consecutive days, before the Incline closed for repairs. Along with other ascents, Cummings reset the World Record to climbed in a year. In 2015, Roger Austin ascended the Incline 1,719 times and again reset the World Record to . Along the way, Austin set the record for most Inclinathons in one year at 26. On January 11, 2020, at the age of 62, Greg Cummings retook the one year Incline ascent record by completing 1,825 ascents in the previous 365 days and reset the World Record to 3.6 million vertical feet (1,100,000 metres) climbed in one year.
Images
Image:Photo of a Manitou Incline Railway box car, 1908.jpg, Incline boxcar 1908
Image:View of the Manitou Incline from Red Mountain.jpg, View of the Incline from the Red Mountain Trail
Image:The_Manitou_Incline_rising_above_Manitou_Springs,_CO_May_2013.jpg, The Incline rising above Manitou Springs
Image:Base of the Manitou Incline May 2013.jpg, View of the Manitou Incline from the base, May 2013
Image:Manitou Incline.JPG, The Incline viewed from about 1/4 up from the trail head
Image:Manitou Springs Colorado Incline Night Panorama.jpg, Nighttime panorama
A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...
of Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
as viewed from the Incline.
References
External links
Manitou Incline Website with trail description and historyFacebook page"Inclined", documentary by Dean Leslie, 2019
{{Coord, 38.856845, N, 104.931956, W, region:US-CO_scale:10000_type:landmark, display=title, format=dms
Rail trails in Colorado
Manitou Springs, Colorado
3 ft gauge railways in the United States