I am curious, is the Mountaineer's Route climbed year-round? Of course not in dead-of-winter storms, but I would like to know if people hike it even when the Portal road is closed?
It is climbed year round. I love going up when it's covered in snow. They do put up road closed signs eventually which adds something like 3 miles each way. It is beautiful but obviously you should research more and talk to folks who have done it. Check out the winter access forum. It should have a good amount of info for you.