The first thing you should know about the Manitou Incline is that you canât just walk up and start climbing it. In its outlaw days, before the former utility-railroad-turned-tourist-attraction was legal to climb, devotees could do that. They arrived by the thousands from near and far.
But those freewheeling times led to trouble: The old railroad ties were deteriorating, the soil was eroding and people were getting injured, even dying.
The base is at 6,500 feet and the summit is at 8,590 feet, a gain of more than 2,000 feet in less than a mile. That takes a tremendous toll on bodies â even ones accustomed to strenuous activity at high altitude â and it can take hours for El Paso County Search and Rescue to reach hikers in distress.