As hiking crowds continue to surge at Colorado’s busiest 14,000-foot mountain, officials are wondering about the possibility of permits and shuttles.

Online survey-takers are being asked “how likely” they would be to make reservations and board a ride to the Quandary Peak trailhead, off Colorado 9 about a 20-minute drive from Breckenridge. The survey includes scales to rate the concept of mandatory or voluntary shuttles during the busy season, along with ideas such as expanding Quandary’s parking lot, paid parking and “consistent enforcement” of rules.

Trailhead parking is quick to fill in the summer, leading cars to line either side of the highway and create more hazards on private property and adjacent roads, blocking emergency vehicles from getting in and out. That’s the picture painted by a study that preceded the recent survey.

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The study, led by University of Colorado at Boulder in collaboration with local land managers and authorities, predicted “problems” would continue to rise with the number of visitors — “such as ecosystem damage, poor hiking etiquette, off-leash pets and safety.”

The report proposed a three-phased solution, starting with an enlarged parking lot. A previous expansion rendered “little long-term improvements,” authors recognized, but the job “will help to make later steps in this management plan run more smoothly.”

The proposed second phase was increasing awareness to “help generate a familiarity with regulatory changes and an eventual shuttle service.” Researchers identified a potential shuttle from a ski area parking lot in Breckenridge. The study compared an accompanying permit system with the one for Hanging Lake in the shared White River National Forest.

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In surveying officials, advocacy groups and residents, the report indicated little to no interest in instituting a fee to hike.

Last year, nonprofit Colorado Fourteeners Initiative ranked Quandary Peak as the state’s most trafficked fourteener. More than 35,000 people ascended the mountain between May 29 and Oct. 7 of 2019, according to CFI estimates using in-ground foot counters. On the busiest day, 1,090 hikers were tallied.

To take the survey, go to: quandarysurvey.org.