Pyramid Peak

The Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak are all accessed from Maroon Lake Scenic Area outside of Aspen. The area is so popular that access is by shuttle bus unless you can get one of the limited parking passes. A member of 14ers.com posted a request for partners to climb Maroon Peak on Sunday using his one-day parking pass. Zhen and I both replied and planned to meet John at 4:00 am to make the climb when a 3-day parking pass became available on Friday starting that morning. John's schedule was fixed, but Zhen and I got the pass and made plans to meet Friday evening and hike up to Crater Lake to camp. We would then try to climb Pyramid Peak on Saturday before meeting up with John at the lake on Sunday to attempt Maroon Peak.

Zhen and I met up Friday after work and carpooled up to Maroon Lake. We started hiking up to Crater Lake about 10:45 pm. Other than a lot of stars, and later the moonrise, we didn't see much beyond the range of our headlamps. We located the turnoff for the trail to Pyramid Peak and moved off the trail to find a place to camp at midnight. We set alarms for 5:00 am but both were woken up multiple times during the night by hikers passing by — we had unknowingly set up camp close to the main trail as it looped around.

Both Zhen and I had managed to forget to pack our climbing helmets, and Pyramid Peak is a class 4 climb with a high risk of rockfall. The plan was to proceed, but try and stay clear of other climbers. We started on time and only had a little difficulty in the dark with criss-crossing trails before finding the nice trail switchbacking through the trees to the base of the amphitheater at treeline . We had been passed by a group of seven that we ended up hiking with for most of the climb. Coming out of the trees there is a great view of the peak – and the climb still to go. Goal #1: climb 800' up the rock gully into the amphitheater.

About halfway up I found a trail off to the side of the gully that made the climb a lot easier. Reaching the top of the gully we crossed over the flatish amphitheater bowl to the base of the northeast ridge. Goal #2: climb 1000' up through the cliffs and talus to the saddle.

I located what looked like a good line along the base of several cliff bands that avoided much of the talus. Extremely steep, it's only one third of a mile to the saddle – a 52% grade. As I neared the top it was interesting to note the mountain goats above watching everyone climb up . It seemed they were wondering what the difficulty was. As we rested in the saddle, the mountain goats kept circling us, often coming within just a few feet, looking for whatever they could find. Above the saddle, the climbing becomes more difficult. From here, there are lots of ledges, cliffs, and loose rock to climb. Goal #3: don't fall!

Finding the correct route is safer and can save a lot of effort. We watched the other group lead off and then navigate up a small cliff. When we came up to that cliff, we found a series of cairns leading around instead. As we continued around we reached the "leap of faith," a gap of about four feet, to find the other group down-climbing back to the trail we were on. Right after the leap is a cliff traverse on an eyebrow trail . Both fun little obstacles. Then came the green rib – a 100' climb on pretty solid rock that is covered with loose rubble . Goal #4: avoid rockfall.

I led off to be above any dislodged rocks, while Zhen decided to wait below until everyone else cleared the area. Despite best efforts, there were still lots of warning cries of "ROCK!" as well as a mountain goat that decided to get into the action and knock down some rocks too. I did have one grapefruit sized rock bounce off the rock beside me and ricochet into my stomach – eh, plenty of padding there.

Six hours after we started we finally stood on the summit . Adam from the other group played "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" on his ukulele that he carried . That only leaves Goal #5: descend safely.

I ended up leading the way down as I was able to locate and stay on the trail. That also meant that I had everyone above me on the loose rock. But we managed to get down and back to the saddle without any issues. I waited for Zhen to catch up while everyone else continued down. It took just over 12 hours, and we were the last ones off the mountain, but we made it back to camp safely. Four out of five goals accomplished.

Zhen was exhausted and didn't think he could meet with John in the morning, so I met him at 5:00 am at Crater Lake as planned. After stopping to refill water, we continued up the trail. Unfortunately we missed the turnoff to Maroon Peak in the dark. One we realized our mistake we took a gully above a snow bridge straight up until we found the trail.

At about 11,200' on the climb to the ridge I admitted that I wasn't going to make it either. I couldn't catch my breath and every step was a concentrated effort, not something that I should be experiencing so early in the climb. John decided to try and catch one of the groups ahead of us and see if he could join them. I descended back to camp, surprisingly meeting Zhen coming up the trail. A few extra hours of sleep and he was ready to give it a try. We coordinated plans and agreed to meetup back at the trailhead. I spent the afternoon wandering around Maroon Lake taking pictures and talking to tourists.

Zhen never was able to find John (probably because he was no longer alone) but he did manage to make the summit. Zhen reported that he kept losing the trail coming down and had to climb back up to his last known spot and try again. By the time he made it back to the campsite it was dark and he couldn't find the campsite either. Eventually he did, packed up, and then turned the wrong way on the trail back down. He finally made it back to the trailhead at 1:00 am.

Pictures

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