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By Terry, July 31, 2010 11:11 pm

Pyramid Peak (14,018 feet) in the Elk Mountains of Colorado near Aspen

GPS and elevation profile of our route up Pyramid Peak

Google Earth profile

I have a quest this summer: I want to finish the 14ers of the Elk Mountains. I would also like to finish all of the official and unofficial 14ers in the state of Colorado. With my successful summit of Pyramid Peak (14,018 feet), I have seven left. I could easily knock out four of them, but that would involve taking three to four days to backpack into Chicago Basin in the San Juans. I simply do not know if I have that kind of time to take off of work right now, unfortunately. I’m in no hurry, though. The mountains are going to be there a lot longer than I will!

I made plans to climb Pyramid Peak with my buddy Brian at first, but Jerry also wanted to climb as well. Both have proved themselves to be solid partners and I enjoy their company. I figured that if they can put up with me, they would certainly get along with each other! I left work on Friday and immediately headed to Aspen, CO. Jerry, Dzuy, and I were here only two weeks prior when we traversed the Maroon Bells. That was quite an adventure! Pyramid Peak is considered by many to be an easier climb than Maroon Peak. The route is shorter, the rock more solid, and the climbing more enjoyable. Back in June when I was initially considering summiting Maroon Peak as a single summit, I received a number of messages from people on 14ers.com stating that I should consider doing North Maroon or Pyramid, first. Both North Maroon and Pyramid have Class 4 sections and are technically a class above anything that I’ve climbed this year (with the exception of Little Bear Peak and portions of the Bells traverse). I can honestly say that after having traversed the Bells, I have a greater appreciation for the level of difficulty that I experienced on Pyramid. When I rolled through Aspen, I received a text message from Jerry saying that Dzuy decided to join us as well. It was going to be a great trip!

The night was uneventful, but we were more than a little concerned about the weather. The forecast was calling for a 50% chance of thunderstorms, but mainly after noon. I woke up around 2:15, ate breakfast, and roused Jerry and Dzuy. Brian was staying at his sister’s house in Carbondale and would join us at the trailhead around 3:00. It wasn’t until about 3:05 that he pulled-up as he had stopped to make a donation at the gate for the Maroon Bells. We were on the trail right about 3:20 or so.

Having hiked this trail only a couple weeks ago, I was determined to not take a wrong turn. We found the turn-off for Crater Lake very quickly and proceeded in that direction. A number of people had mentioned that the turn-off for the trail up to Pyramid Peak was difficult to spot — especially in the dark. I set my GPS to alert me when we were within twenty feet or so of it. About a half-mile before reaching Crater Lake, the proximity alarm went off. We spotted the large cairn and the trail from there. The new trail headed in a southern direction from the main trail to the left and almost immediately started switchbacking up the mountainside. About half-way up, something interesting happened to me: I started having difficulty breathing. I have asthma, but it hasn’t affected me in years — not even throughout last winter. I still carry my rescue inhaler with me on all trips, though. I took a puff of it and the wheezing subsided after a minute or two of rest. Odd, but I’m glad I do carry the inhaler.

It was still dark by the time we reached treeline. Beneath the moon, we could make out the shape of Pyramid Peak. Some high clouds were still present in the area, but they looked like they might burn-off with the morning sun. We walked across a pretty long patch of snow (which could have been avoided completely to our right) as we made our way up into the Amphitheater below Pyramid. We had some fun yelling choice words to listen to the echoing all around us. After a short rest in the amphitheater, we started searching for the gully that would take us up to the northeast ridge. It was then that we got our first glimpse of daylight on Pyramid Peak. I stopped to take a photo before continuing on.

After locating the gully, we immediately began to make the ascent up to the northeast ridge. The gully was full of loose rocks and soil that was slightly muddy from the recent rains; we chose to climb the more-solid rock to the right of the gully because of it. Once we reached a certain point, though, there was no avoiding it. The higher we got, the lighter the sky became. Pyramid Peak was soon bathed in morning sunlight, but we were stuck in the shade of an adjacent mountain. The temperature didn’t matter much, though; the morning had been extremely warm and all of us were basically down to our base layers. It was nice not having to stop a couple of times to peel off layers and pack them up.

Pyramid Peak seen from near the top of the gully up to its northeast ridge

The Maroon Bells, Snowmass Mountain, and Capitol Peak to the north of Pyramid Peak

Our trek up the gully continued, but we were nearing the top quickly. At one point, I pulled on a rock and it fell away below me. I could already tell that getting down was going to be treacherous. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be anyone underneath us on the way down, but it was too early to tell how many climbers there were going to be on the mountain that day. I figured that the weather forecast would chase-off a lot of people. After all — who climbs when there is a 50% chance of thunderstorms? There were only thin, wispy high clouds up until then, fortunately. Had the clouds thickened and the ceiling dropped, I think the top of of the gully would have been the turnaround point. We didn’t feel threatened all by the weather, though. When we reached the top of the gully, we found ourselves emerging into sunlight. We took a few minutes to rest and take some photos.

Panorama looking north from Pyramid Peak’s northeast ridge. Pyramid Peak is on the left

From the saddle, the trail continued over to the right (north) of the ridge. This was the first of our day’s scrambling. We weren’t on that side of the ridge for very long before it crossed back over the ridge again and began to climb on the south side of the ridge. Ahead of us, we saw the “green wall” — a portion of the route which contains the most technical climbing pitches — named because the greenish tinge of the rock. Before we get to it, there were a couple of other obstacles. While climbing across some ledges, we came to a small gap in the trail. It wasn’t a very large gap and was avoidable by keeping close to the wall to our right, we thought it would be a lot more fun to jump across it. Across the gap, we saw the narrow ledge that others have described as being pretty sketchy because of the exposure beneath it. We all needed to get across the gap, first. I jumped first, then Dzuy, Jerry, and Brian. I wanted to be on the other side so I could catch each of them jumping across. We were still early in the climb and we were already having a great deal of fun! After the gap jump, we all shimmied across the narrow ledge and continued on.

Brian on the ledges after the gap jump

The trail continued along a ledge close to the wall. It eventually curved around into a depression, then rounded and turned back to the right. The entire route was magnificently cairned. After rounding a small buttress, the green wall came into view again as well as the summit. Our next goal was to scramble across more ledges (Pyramid is really ledge-y!) to the green wall and then climb up it or adjacent to it on the right. When we reached the green wall, cairns drew my attention up and to the right. Some fun climbing was to be had! Brian followed me up my route while Dzuy chose the more-direct route up the wall. Jerry followed Dzuy up the wall and we all eventually came together before continuing our journey to the summit.

The higher we scrambled, the more dramatic the exposure below seemed to become. While the scrambling was challenging, it continued to be a lot of fun. At no point during the climb did I ever feel nervous about falling or frightened of the exposure. I just concentrated on where I placed my hands and feet and didn’t let myself be distracted too much by the potential for danger. I think that dwelling on such things was what prevented me from doing this climb for so long. The aspect of “psyching” one’s self out can either be a strong motivator or a strong de-motivator. A few years ago, Class 4 seemed untouchable to me; now, however, I find myself looking forward to climbs like this. It helps that I have surrounded myself with friends who share my passion for the mountains as well.

I began to have so much fun on the climb that I lost track of time. When Jerry asked for a time check, I looked at my watch and realized that it was just after 7:00 AM. Our early start and terrific weather truly allowed us to enjoy our time together on the mountain. We laughed and joked while poking fun at each other. The summer of 2010 has been filled with these kinds of memories for me. We were nearing the summit and the half-way point of our climb (we still had to get back down safely!).

After a lot of scrambling, the summit was finally within our grasp. Our climbing led us to a point just to the east of the summit. Once on the homestretch, it was a simple walk-over. Brian, Dzuy, and I started on the homestretch together. Feeling energized, I ran over to the summit and was joined by the other two shortly afterward. Jerry hung back for a little bit so he could get a picture of us together. Pyramid was special for him as it signified the last 14er of the Elk Mountains for him. Congrats, man!

Jerry’s run toward and arrival on the summit of Pyramid Peak

It was 7:30 and the weather was holding. We had a lot of time to sit around and goof off as we had the summit completely to ourselves. The Maroon Bells looked incredible to the north.

The Maroon Bells from the summit of Pyramid Peak

I’m not sure exactly where Jerry took these photos, but I believe it was somewhere near the summit

Brian and Dzuy having some fun on the summit

Dzuy and his yoga stuff!

Jerry’s self-photo

Group shot on the summit

Panoramic shot from the summit of Pyramid Peak

Another panoramic shot

Brian, Jerry, Dzuy, and I spent an entire hour on the summit. The weather was perfect; not even a breeze was blowing. The wind started picking up as the air temperature rose, but it wasn’t unbearable. Right before 8:30, I spotted a few climbers making their way toward us. We felt that it was time for us to vacate the premises and let them have a turn at the summit alone. We packed-up our gear and began the descent.

I have to admit that I am often times more nervous about a descent that I am about an ascent. Most accidents happen on the way down. I know I’ve had my fair share of wipe-outs over the years on my way back down. I tend to sweat just as much going down as I do going up, but more because of nerves rather than physical stress. A slip and fall off of Pyramid in some places would result in grave injuries — possibly fatal. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, though, and we greeted at least eight people in separate groups on their way to the summit. We wished them safe travels before parting ways.

Jerry descending Pyramid’s northeast ridge

The northeast ridge of Pyramid proved to be an exciting way for us to spend a great Saturday, but the fun wasn’t over yet. We crossed over the narrow ledge and jumped back over the gap on our way down to the saddle at the top of the gully. It was important that we descend the gully safely as we did not know if there were any more climbers heading up from below. A lot of the trail below the saddle was unfamiliar to us due to the fact that we started up in the dark. We ended up following social trails on the right side of the gully going down. I recognized some of the rocks that we scrambled over across the other side of the gully from us to avoid the loose soil and scree. We eventually made it safely down into the amphitheater before stopping for a rest. While we did, we heard a large rock fall to the west of us and watched it roll down a long slope of talus. I didn’t think that anyone would attempt to summit that way, but it was possible that the rockfall was human-caused.

We walked across the amphitheater and encountered a couple hiking with a Shih-tzu or some kind of small dog. They asked for directions to the summit and we tried to provide them some guidance. I mentioned to them that they were probably going to have to carry the dog up quite a few pitches. The woman replied that they were considering leaving it in the amphitheater and summiting. Surprised, I informed them, “There are cougars around here, you know.” I don’t know how far they ended up going, but I hope that they had sense-enough to not attempt a summit with a dog like that. Once we moved past them, we descended below the amphitheater and walked down some low-angle snow. It got to be a little too slick for Dzuy and me, so we ended up abandoning it and descended the talus adjacent to it while Jerry and Brian (the skier and snowboarder) enjoyed several standing glissades. I ended up wiping-out on the rocks a couple of times, but fortunately I did not injure myself too badly.

Once off of the talus, we located the trail near treeline and made short work of the descent back to the Crater Lake trail. On the way down, we encountered another couple on their way up. They asked for directions on how to summit and we once again started to provide some insight. I asked Jerry to dig the route description that I had printed off of 14ers.com and give it to them. We were nearly done with our trip, so I figured I could part ways with it. We wished them good luck and hiked down to the Crater Lake trail intersection. The trail was extremely busy and we encountered several dozen people. We made it back to the trailhead right after 12:00 PM. With that, my quest to complete the Elk Mountain 14ers was one step closer to fruition. Capitol Peak — here I come!

Dzuy needed to head back to Denver, but Jerry, Brian, and I returned to Aspen. At the end of July, I stay one night at the Annabelle Inn to commemorate what I call my annual “Stuck in Aspen” trip. Back in 2005 (before I started hiking and getting in-shape), I had to abandon my truck near Taylor Pass when I took a wrong turn. I ended up staying in Aspen for two nights at the Annabelle. Charley, the innkeeper, was extremely accommodating and friendly, so I return there every year as a reminder of who I used to be before hiking changed my life. Brian stayed long enough to have dinner and a few drinks with us; Jerry was going to be staying in town with me. It ended up being a great night of laughter and libations as we spent several hour walking all over town (not to mention having the Elevation Bar & Grille’s famous wasabi caesar salad!). I’m definitely looking forward to next year’s trip!

GPS statistics taken from our summit of Pyramid Peak

Google Earth .KML file of my route (right-click and “save target as” to save the file). NOTE: For some reason, if you’re using Internet Explorer, when you “save target as”, it changes the file extension to .XML. This is incorrect. To be able to view this in Google Earth, change the file extension to .KML before saving the file. It downloads correctly in Firefox.

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By Terry, July 17, 2010 12:57 am

The Maroon Bells near Aspen, CO

Route profile based on data taken from my GPS

Google Earth profile of our route

Almost anyone who has lived in Colorado for any period of time knows of the Maroon Bells. The twin mountains — Maroon Peak (14,156 ft.) and North Maroon Peak (14,014 ft.) — are named as such because of the red-colored rock that is abundant in this area of the Elk Mountains and their distinctive bell shapes. I’ve visited the Bells several times throughout the years, but due to their reputation (they are often referred to as the “Deadly Bells”) I have avoided climbing them because up until now, I didn’t believe that I possessed the knowledge, skills, or the physical stamina to climb them. Like many, I have gradually improved upon myself over the years. This year, I became determined to cross some of the more-difficult 14ers (basically, the ones I have left) off of my peak list. The Maroon Bells were among these.

Like I have many times already this Spring/Summer, I made plans with my climbing buddy, Jerry. The traverse between the Bells is known in the climbing community as one of the “Four Great Colorado 14er Traverses” — something that I was virtually unaware of a couple of years ago. Along with the Mt. Wilson/El Diente traverse (I didn’t get to do this one due to weather), the Crestone Peak/Needle traverse, and the Little Bear/Blanca traverse, the Bells traverse offers climbers long, challenging, and physically-demanding routes between two 14,000-foot peaks. I have come to trust him and he has proved himself to be solid as far as showing up for our climbs. He and another friend of his, Dzuy (pronounced “zooey”), were going to meet me at the Maroon Lake Trailhead. I planned to leave directly after work, have dinner in Aspen, and sleep in the back of my truck.

With traffic, the drive from Colorado Springs ended up being about four hours. After eating my favorite menu item at Elevation Bar and Grille (their wasabi caesar salad is great!) and driving to the trailhead, I stretched out my sleeping bag and hit the sack around 9:30. My last communication with Jerry stated that they expected to be there after 11:00. It was going to be a short night of sleep. I set my phone’s alarm for 2:00 AM.

I heard Jerry and Dzuy pull up next to me in the parking lot sometime during the night, but didn’t bother to check the time. All I knew was that I needed to get in a few hours of sleep. When the alarm went off, it felt like I hadn’t gotten any, though. I got dressed, made some breakfast, and readied my gear. Around 2:30, I gently tried to rouse Jerry and Dzuy. They eventually woke up and readied their gear. After a short conversation and introduction, we were on the trail at 3:00 AM.

I hiked up to Crater Lake and a little bit further back in the Fall of 2008. I figured it would be simple enough to get the three of us up there, but I ended up taking a wrong turn and led us along the upper scenic loop of the trail around Maroon Lake. Once I realized that we weren’t on the correct trail, we quickly backtracked to a sign near a bridge over the creek. We eventually found the correct trail for Crater Lake. I cursed myself for making a stupid mistake. About half-way to the lake, I was getting pretty warm. I stopped to take off my fleece. The weather was supposed to be superb that day; the night had already been really warm. It’s very unusual to have consecutive rain-free days in the Elk Mountains, but I hoped it would hold out for us. We reached Crater Lake in the dark and continued on the trail — eventually coming to a tree with a bent trunk. According to the route description, the turn-off for the trail for Maroon Peak was about fifty yard west of the tree. We located the turn-off pretty quickly and began the long, steep slog up Maroon Peak’s south ridge.

Immediately after leaving the West Maroon Trail, we angled north and encountered a bit of rock to scramble up. The trail was faint in spots and difficult to locate in the dark. I had downloaded a .gpx file for the route and was able to guide us back to it, though. We hit treeline pretty quickly and as the eastern horizon began to lighten ever-so-slightly, shadows of mountains became apparent all around us. Above us to the north, we saw Maroon Peak’s south ridge. To the south was the silhouette of Pyramid Peak — another 14er that I want to climb this summer. Brian and I are going to be attempting it on 7/31 and I believe that Jerry is also interested as well. It should be a good time.

Dzuy (left) and Jerry (right) on the trail up to Maroon Peak’s South Ridge. Jerry was interested in finding out what the angle of the slope was and was trying out an inclinometer.

While we were stopped, I noticed Dzuy’s footwear — Vibram FiveFingers. I had looked at these many times at REI, but had never seen them being used. I asked him how he liked them and he said that they were great. He told me a story about how he went for a 6-mile run after purchasing them and paid the price as it was a couple of days later before he was able to walk again. Apparently, the manufacturer recommends easing into the shoes gradually. Below us on the trail, we noticed a group of three and another group of two making their way up to the south ridge as well. It wasn’t long before sunlight hit Maroon Peak. After hiking for another hour or so, we neared the ridge and began to encounter loose soil and scree. We stopped to put on our helmets and some sunblock before continuing on. From there, we found some more-solid rock to scramble up rather than continue on in the loose soil and scree. It increased the difficulty a little bit, but it was a lot more enjoyable than taking a half-step backward for every step forward that we were experiencing. Trying to hike on loose stuff is tiring and frustrating! Before long, we found ourselves on a small saddle along Maroon Peak’s South Ridge and we treated to the splendor of the view to the north — Snowmass Mountain and Capitol Peak.

Maroon Peak seen from the saddle along its south ridge

Snowmass Mountain, Capitol Peak, and Maroon Peak

Panorama looking northwest from the saddle along Maroon Peak’s South Ridge. Maroon Peak is on the right in the foreground while Snowmass and Capitol are just to the left of it off in the distance.

While we rested and took-in the view, one of the two groups that were behind us caught up. We exchanged a few brief greetings before continuing on. According to the route description one of our first obstacles was going to be a chimney to scramble up. When Jerry, Dzuy, and I located it, we noticed an interesting-looking dihedral to the left of it. I actually wanted to scramble up the chimney because it was going to be my first, but was pursuaded to attempt the dihedral. It looked to me like it was going to be a bit of a technical pitch which made me a little nervous and excited at the same time. While I have plenty of Class 3 scrambling under my belt, I have very little Class 4 and virtually no Class 5. I knew that portions of the traverse were going to require some Class 5 climbing, but I had to make it to the summit of Maroon Peak, first.

Dzuy went first, then Jerry, then me. Below are some of the photos that Jerry and I took of us.

I had a lot of fun! The rock was a lot more solid than I thought it would be. Jerry and Dzuy decided that the climb up the dihedral was low Class 5 — probably 5.1 or 5.2. If so, the climb was my first Class 5 pitch. I wasn’t expecting to be doing that so early on the route, but it was a welcome addition to what was going to be a challenging route.

From the top of the dihedral, we met-up with the other group (now five) and began traversing in a northerly direction. We went around a bump in the ridge and encountered a gully. The other group decided to climb the gully, but we traversed on and discovered a second one that we wanted to climb. We stayed to the right side of it as the rock was more solid there. When we reached the top of the gully, we found that the other group had pulled ahead of us. It didn’t matter; we weren’t in a race or anything and really wanted to enjoy our time there. We were already having a lot of fun with the scrambling/climbing that we encountered and wanted to prolong the experience as much as possible. There was still another traverse across some ledgy terrain and another gully ascent before reaching the summit AND the big traverse over to North Maroon, so we couldn’t afford to expend too much energy.

Dzuy and me scrambling up a Class 3 section

Once we reached the top of the gully, we were exposed to the sunlight once again. After climbing on cold rocks, the sun felt great on my fingers. We were about to go back into the shadow of the mountain, though, as another tricky traverse across ledgy terrain was in our sights. We continued in a northerly direction, making our way to another gully. We didn’t encounter the other group at all from where we diverged up the separate gullies a little earlier. It seemed that maybe one or two of them were a little more certain about the route than we were. It was cairned pretty well, but finding the cairns was a little more involved than we expected.

Once we were on top of the second gully (I believe that the photo of me on the left is near the top of the second gully), there was still more traversing we needed to do before reaching the final pitch toward the summit ridge. The terrain on Maroon Peak provided some great, albeit sometimes sketchy, ledges to walk across. Seeing this peak from afar so many times in the past made it seem like it was nearly impossible for me to climb. Now that I was so close to the summit, I realized that beyond the long slog up to the ridge, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jerry and Dzuy seemed to be enjoying the climb as well.

Finally, after a lot of climbing and scrambling, we found ourselves walking atop the summit of Maroon Peak. If one counts the named 14ers that don’t quite qualify as “official” due to the 300-foot topographic prominence rule, it was my 49th. If not, Maroon Peak was my 47th. Either Way, it was a great experience! Maroon Peak ranked up there with Little Bear Peak among those that I never really thought I would be able to summit. Prior to last summer, I never felt that I was physically capable of doing it. The change in my diet, exercising throughout the week, and just a change in attitude has allowed me to push myself further than I ever would have thought when I first started hiking 14ers. I certainly am thankful that I am able to do what I do.

Snowmass and Capitol from the summit of Maroon Peak

Pyramid Peak (14,018 ft.) from the summit of Maroon Peak

Crater and Maroon Lakes from the summit

Jerry’s summit shot

My summit shot

Dzuy in his yoga-esque pose on the summit

Panorama looking to the southwest from the summit of Maroon Peak. Pyramid Peak is on the left.

Panorama looking to the north from the summit. Snowmass and Capitol can be seen off in the distance. North Maroon Peak is on the right.

With the first leg of our journey complete, I looked north to the second and greatest challenge of our climb — the traverse to North Maroon Peak. I have to admit that I was a bit anxious about it; after all, my short climbing resume had not included anything that some felt like they need to be roped up until that point. Jerry had reinforced to me that he felt that I was ready to do some technical pitches based on our previous climbs, but to be honest — I didn’t know if he just told me because he actually believed it or because he wanted to give me a little extra boost of confidence. Either way, I had to take his critique at face-value. Unlike a lot of others that I have met in my life, I tend to under-sell my abilities. I think I’m less capable than I actually am. This has kept me out of trouble a lot of times, but it has also held me back in a few circumstances. I needed to be confident and trust that my partners would look out for me as much as I was willing to look out for them. There was no turning back!

Panorama looking toward North Maroon from the descent off of Maroon Peak

Jerry took the lead in descending off of Maroon Peak. Our first goal was to down climb into the top of the Bell Cord Couloir. Jerry and I had discussed climbing the Bell Cord about a month ago, but there was still significant snow left on Maroon Peak’s standard route and many 14ers.com members were recommending that those who were not familiar with the route not attempt it. I heeded that warning and put it off for a few weeks. After finding myself atop Maroon Peak, I never thought I’d be moving toward the other Bell. It was exciting and frightening to me simultaneously. As I was down climbing, a large rock dislodged and broke away underneath my legs as I was scooting downward. I was able to stop it, but it was heavy and there was nowhere to prop it. Jerry and Dzuy were underneath me, so I quickly called their attention and told them that the rock was going to drop. I had hoped that it was going to just plop down and stop, but I had no such luck. Once the rock fell, it slid past Dzuy and Jerry and fell into the Bell Cord. What happened next was about sixty seconds of a rock slide that made me cringe. I hoped upon all hopes that no one was climbing up the Bell Cord. It was already past 9:00; most couloir climbers would have already summited by then, but I had a nagging feeling. I’m VERY conscientious about being careful not to kick down loose rocks, so this huge mishap had the potentially to be emotionally and psychologically devastating. We hollered, “ROCK!” several times hoping that if someone was below, he would hear us in time to move out of the way. When the rocks stopped sliding, we listened. Nothing. I was very fortunate that no one was below. I breathed a profound sigh of relief.

After the rock debacle, we continued down into the top of the Bell Cord. Jerry was first to drop into the couloir, navigating down a series of ledges. When he was at the bottom, he guided Dzuy down, but told me to look further to my left to see if there was an easier way. I walked back up a little further to avoid kicking rocks down on them. I didn’t get too far before the rocks became more and more sketchy. Below me, I spotted s small dihedral about 30 feet long. The rock on the sides of it was smooth and appeared to have a couple of footholds that might be negotiable. They were spread pretty far apart, though; I didn’t know if I would be able to negotiate something like that. I waited there and contemplated — even going as far as placing a foot down into it. After a couple of minutes, I heard Jerry call over to me. I plucked myself out of the dihedral and walked back over to where Jerry and Dzuy descended. I could barely see what was underneath me and had to rely on them to guide my foot placements. I slowly began to descend and realized that this was the first time during the climb that I was outside of my comfort zone. I felt like I was being overly cautious and tested every single foot placement and handhold. It took me a few minutes, but I started to make progress. Jerry told me to work my way over to the right where there was more solid rock, so I followed his instructions despite not seeing a clear path in that direction. Eventually, I was able to make it down safely. It was only the first obstacle in our traverse, though.

According to the route guide that I had printed out for us, there were three major obstacles between us and the summit of North Maroon. The first, an enormous spire, would require us to traverse from the Bell Cord to the west side of the ridge and climb up a dihedral to a ledge about twenty feet above us. Upon locating the dihedral, I spotted a couple of mountain goats above us. We were not going to attempt to climb up with them potentially kicking rocks down on us, so we waited a few minutes until they moved on. Seeing what was ahead of us, I began to think to myself, “What the hell am I doing here?” Jerry and Dzuy seemed to be confident enough, but a lot of lingering doubt still remained within me. I had to put that doubt out of my mind to continue on.

Once the goats flitted away, Jerry led the charge up the first obstacle. We needed to climb about twenty feet up the dihedral to a narrow ledge, then route-find our way up and across to the north to the top of the first spire. Dzuy went up after him, then me. Once I was on the ledge, I started feeling a bit more confident in my climbing ability. I think it was about that point when I realized that I could actually do this. I thought to myself, “I am a capable climber.” I knew it was one thing to be confident, but that there was a fine line between confidence and arrogance. The moment I become arrogant is the moment when I put not only my life in much more danger, but the lives of anyone who might be with me. I never want to be in a situation where something tragic happens only because I believed that I was incapable of making a mistake.

Once the three of us were on the narrow ledge, Jerry decided to change our climbing order. Since I was obviously the least-experienced climber of the group, he wanted me to be in between him and Dzuy so they could watch me from above and below on the more technical pitches and offer guidance, if needed. I was thankful and appreciative of their watchful eyes. Any opportunity that I can get to learn from others, I most certainly welcome. We were only half-way through the first obstacle, though, and needed to work our way up and over the first spire.

Jerry, Dzuy, and I began to realize that the route was cairned pretty well even though we referred to the route guide several times. We located another dihedral heading another twenty feet or so up to near the top of the first spire. One at a time, we climbed, being careful of the rock that was becoming more and more unstable. Often times what appeared to be a secure handhold proved to be a loose rock upon further testing. The rocks of these mountains are volcanic in nature; they are rotten, crumbly, and fracture/splinter easily. There was more than one occasion where I had to look for more secure handholds for fear of pulling a rock loose on a Class 4 or 5 move. With the amount of exposure beneath us, it would spell certain disaster. It didn’t seem to take long at all before we found ourselves rounding a corner and topping the ridge. We completed the first obstacle. I looked back toward Maroon Peak past the first spire and marveled at our accomplishments thus far.

Looking back at Maroon Peak and the first spire from along the Maroon/North Maroon Traverse

We followed the ridge down until we were met with what seemed to be an impassable cliff. According to the guide, we needed to traverse on the east side of the ridge and locate a dihedral to climb up. The problem was it didn’t seem like there WAS a safe way to traverse on the east side of the ridge. We must’ve searched for a good twenty minutes and did not see a way (not without ropes, at least). Behind us, we noticed a couple more climbers making their way across the first spire. They called out and tried to help us locate a route up. We were told that they thought the path went on the west side of the ridge, but the trail guide said otherwise. Jerry decided to scope out the west side. Sure enough, he found cairns. The cairned route deviated from the guide, but at least it was offering us a continuance on our path to North Maroon. We thought we’d give the cairns a try.

It seemed like we traversed across the route below and west of the ridge for a long time. There were a couple of spots where snow still lingered, but nothing that prevented us from going on. There was a lot of exposure beneath us. I seem to be becoming a bit desensitized to it, though, as it didn’t bother me as much as I expected it to. The more I’m “exposed” to it, the less attention I give it. I find that because most of my concentration is focused on where I’m placing my hands and feet, I don’t have a lot of time to worry about being afraid of it. I’ve always considered myself to be a bit clumsy; one of my signature moves in the past involved me completely wiping out on talus or slipping on loose soil or scree. I’ve discovered that I’m displaying a lot more balance and dexterity as of recent, however.

Jerry, Dzuy, and I discovered a gully heading up toward the top of the ridge that appeared to be climbable, but I saw another cairn below us. Jerry scouted ahead and discovered a second gully that also seemed to be climbable. Because of the placement of the cairn, we decided to climb the second gully. It was a good choice because as Dzuy soon pointed out, the first gully ended up in a narrow crack that would have required us to perform an airy Class 5 ledge move to pull ourselves up. Near the top of the gully, I noticed some movement beneath us — a single climber. I didn’t pay much attention to him because I thought he was one of the two that we had seen back on the first spire, but made note to be careful about kicking rocks loose. When we reached the top of the gully, I looked ahead and realized that we were much closer to North Maroon than I thought we were going to be. Furthermore, once I referred back to the route description, it appeared to me that we had completely bypassed the second obstacle. I recognized another spire ahead of us from the route description. I also spotted a couple of climbers on the summit of North Maroon.

Dzuy led us across to the east side of the ridge. A rock jutted out against what appeared to be a semblance of a trail beneath us. Once investigated, we discovered that it did actually allow us passage pretty easily and we continued on. Dzuy tried to stay low on the ridge, but the rock was slabby and smooth. Jerry took a high climb of it and suggest that I do the same. We met-up with Dzuy a little further along the ridge. It was an easy walk to the final spire and we had a full-view of the final ascent up to North Maroon Peak. All we needed to do to reach that final summit pitch was perform an easy downclimb below the spire and route-find our way up. By the time we finished the short downclimb, another climber had caught up with us. He was not a part of the two-man group that assisted us earlier and was, surprisingly, alone. He seemed a bit nervous and seemed to go with our group, which we didn’t mind.

We worked out way across a narrow portion of the ridge above the low point on the final summit pitch and angled up to the left. We aimed for a dihedral which appeared to top out east of the summit. We were all tired and hungry by then; our energy was nearly expended. I couldn’t wait until we got to the summit so I could dig through my backpack for food and my Nalgene filled with Propel Fitness Water. I definitely needed some B vitamins to help revitalize me. The dihedral was more solid and a lot easier to climb than it looked, which pleased me to no end. I was quickly running out of steam. Upon reaching the top of the dihedral, we turned right and the destination was within our sight. A short distance later, we reached the summit of North Maroon Peak. More importantly, we completed one of the Four Great Colorado 14er Traverses! We enjoyed some much-needed and much-welcomed rest, but still had over four miles to go before the journey was truly complete.

The hikers we had seen from the ridge were still on the summit. The left a few minutes later, but before that, we greeted the other two climbers we had seen on the ridge to the summit.

Maroon Peak viewed from North Maroon

Pyramid Peak viewed from North Maroon’s summit

Looking north to Snowmass and Capitol

A summit shot of us together. Pyramid Peak is behind us.

Panorama from the summit of North Maroon Peak. Maroon Peak is to the right of center.

After spending nearly 25 minutes on the summit and enjoying pleasant conversation, the entire group of people decided to descend together. Before that, though, I took off my mid-weight baselayer and zipped-off my pant legs. As we descended, the temperature was going to rise and I didn’t want that extra insulation. Since none of us had been up North Maroon before, the more eyes we had to route-find, the better we felt. Dzuy led the charge down some ugly-looking rock and loose soil. The route was decently cairned, but not being familiar with the route, we all chose to err on the side of caution. The was one tricky section with a 4th Class drop-off. One of the two climbers we met was able to drop himself into the section, but Dzuy found a way around it. We all helped each other find a hidden step which wasn’t viewable from above and continued on down the ridge.

Jerry and I eventually fell to the back of the group as our feet started to really hurt. When we caught up to the rest of them, we discovered that the two hikers who were on the summit before us were positioned on a buttress-like section of the ridge. All appeared to be at a loss about where to go. When we reached the rest of the group, I looked at the trail on my GPS. It was pointing me down and across a grassy gully to the southwest. Once the direction was known, others spotted a trail on the other side of the gully. Before we continued on, though, I introduced myself to the lone climber who joined us on the tail-end of the traverse. His name was Mike and seemed to be a really cool guy. Some might call him courageous, but some might call him otherwise. North Maroon was his twelfth 14er and he soloed the traverse. That’s quite an accomplishment!

Our lone climber-friend, Mike, on the descent of North Maroon

Once down the gully, the trail became pretty straight-forward and we broke off into our original factions. Mike stayed with us for a little while longer, but eventually moved on ahead. The descent of North Maroon led us northward; I told Jerry and Dzuy that I believed that it intersected with the trail going up Buckskin Pass just east of Crater Lake, but wasn’t 100% sure. The longer we were on the trail, the more and more frustrated we became. It was getting hot and we were tired. When we reached a section of the trail that involved a lot of talus-hopping, I had enough. I was SO over talus. After Little Bear, Ellingwood Ridge, and El Diente, I felt that I had enough of the damn things. Past the talus section, we entered a thicket of brush and crossed over a small stream. We had our sights set on a much larger creek, though. Upon reaching the creek, Jerry and Dzuy enjoyed some quick splashes of water to the face while I took off my baselayer and soaked it in the water before putting it back on. I also enjoyed a much-needed sit and some orange slices candy while they filtered out some creek water for reservoirs and Nalgenes. Sadly, we were only about half-way back to the trailhead.

The next couple of miles seemed like a self-imposed hell. The air temperature continued to rise the lower we got in elevation. We reached the intersection with the Crater Lake Trail and made a beeline back to the parking lot at Maroon Lake. It was 4:30 PM. Jerry and I seem to be making these 10+ hour hikes a habit.

Not too long after we arrived, Mike appeared. He had been camping near Crater Lake, but upon parting ways with us, he went back to his camp, packed up, and returned to the trailhead, too. I invited him to have dinner with us at the Double Dog Pub and he accepted. We all drove to Aspen and planned to meet there. Jerry, Dzuy, and I discovered that it was closed for renovation before Mike walked up. Fortunately, Mike was a bit more familiar with the town since he had done some electrical work there and we located another place to eat. After dinner and a few drinks, we bade each other farewell and parted ways again. I was proud of my accomplishments that day. One traverse down, three more to go!

GPS stats from our traverse of the Maroon Bells

Google Earth .KML file of my route (right-click and “save target as” to save the file). NOTE: For some reason, if you’re using Internet Explorer, when you “save target as”, it changes the file extension to .XML. This is incorrect. To be able to view this in Google Earth, change the file extension to .KML before saving the file. It downloads correctly in Firefox.

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