Maider, Maroon Peak South Ridge. Colorado, 2015. Looking up the route to the pyramidal summit crown. Snowmass and Capitol are visible on the left, and Maroon Lake on the right.
“Wilderness itself is the basis of all our civilization. I wonder if we have enough reverence for life to concede to wilderness the right to live on?”
– Margaret Murie, the “Grandmother of the Conservation Movement”
Back to the Elks! This time with the hope of summiting Maroon Peak, the highest of the two famous peaks you see from Maroon Lake (although set farther back and to the left, it actually appears lower than its northern sister).
This time we came as a small group–my wife and her good friend from Basque Country, Spain, Maider L., and me.
The plan: a leisurely drive to Aspen from Boulder on Saturday, then my wife would hang out in Aspen on Sunday while Maider and I would hopefully climb the peak.
For Maider, it would be her first “difficult” route and her fourth or fifth Colorado 14er. With her long-distance running and gym climbing background, I was pretty certain she should have no issues with the Class 3 choss that we would have to negotiate, despite her slight nervousness about the whole affair.
The biggest doubt was the weather. All week long, the weather forecast kept getting worse. At one point it was up to 70% chance of thunderstorms and rain. Normally, that’s when you decide to pick another day or another destination, but our plans were fixed. We figured we would start early and make a final go/no-go decision once we gained the south ridge of Maroon Peak.
I figured we had a 50/50 chance of getting to the top…it would depend a lot on the vagaries of Tlaloc and Thor.
What happened?
Well, a full report and a pile of pretty pictures follow…
Trip Report: [South] Maroon Peak (14,156′)
Route:
The Class 3 South Ridge starting from the Maroon Lake Trailhead which is at 9,600′, just above Aspen. This route is 10 to 11+ miles round trip, depending on which source you believe, and involves 4600′ to 4800′ of total vertical gain. Kind of like the Grand Canyon in reverse.
Timeline:
The three of us left Boulder the Saturday morning prior, motoring through Leadville and over Independence Pass, and into Aspen. The drive is gorgeous and worth a number of stops along the way–just choose your favorite view and halt the automobile. (And go slow through Twin Lakes so Lt. Manny Quinn of the Lake County police force doesn’t pull you over for speeding!) I highly recommend and hour or so exploring the Grotto area on the west side of Independence Pass and above Aspen. A bizarre and beautiful side trip.
We had time to check in to the Tyrolean Lodge (see Comments section below for more on this place to stay) in Aspen, wander the streets a bit, sniff the very expensive air, then head up to Maroon Lake for a partial-perimeter hike before heading back down for dinner and bed.
The alarm, like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer, came down upon our heads at 2:30a.m., and Maider and I were on the trail with our headlamps at 3:33a.m. We probably could have hiked the first couple of miles just by the light of the silvery Moon (clear skies and no sign of evil clouds), but we used artificial light anyway to make the walk easier.
We were well up the “2,800 feet of suck” slope at first light, and then for the sunrise. Here, on the east slope of Maroon Peak, we finally found the source of the firefly light we had been seeing flickering its way up the mountain ahead of us–Jenny and Glenn, from the Denver area. We ended up spending most of the day climbing along with them–four heads made for better route analysis than just two, so it was a nice luxury to have the company.
By 7:10a.m. we had made the south ridge of Maroon–it sort of comes upon you suddenly after an eternity climbing that steep east slope.
It took us 2+30 to make the summit from there, and I think our pace was about average for folks being careful. The 14ers.com route description says “speedy climbers” could do this section in an hour and a half. If it is your first time on the peak, don’t count on such a fast pace. At 9:40a.m., and on the summit, the first decent-sized cumulus were starting to form and, given the pessimistic forecast, we didn’t dawdle, Amaryllis (The Music Man reference, for those under the age of 40).
We spent 30 minutes or so on the summit–entertained by the dramatic views and by Jenny’s wonderful summit rituals involving lipstick and a Which Wich bag (ask her!)–then we started down around 10:10a.m., arriving back at the east slope descent point on the south ridge at 11:55a.m.
By 3:05p.m. we were back at the trailhead.
Total time: 11+35, which includes the usual many and various photo-op stops along the way. En route time up was 6+10, and just under five hours down. Maider and I seemed to hike at a good pace together, but I suspect she could have been quite a bit faster–especially given all my halts to take pictures.
Weather Conditions:
As I mentioned, the forecast when I initially started monitoring it at the beginning of the week, stank like a wilderness latrine after Labor Day. Then, throughout the week, it got worse. Had it not been a fixed plan with other people involved, I would have been tempted to change to a different peak with a better forecast.
But, in the mountains, the forecasts are often wrong, and you don’t really know the weather until you go and see for yourself. Which we did.
It turned out to be a classic Colorado day–some high cirrus in an azure sky, then cumulus popcorn. Even a lot of the forest fire smoke from the other western states had blown out of the area temporarily. The temps were agreeable (40s to 60s), and the winds mostly calm or light but with some westerly breezes and gusts to 15-20mph during the descent.
The cumulus that started forming around 8a.m. to 9a.m. never really grew much vertically and never became truly evil. It was only after 5p.m. or so, when we were safely on the road back to Boulder, that we started to see heavy rain and thunderstorms over the high mountains. Indeed, there was even a light dusting of snow visible on the east flank of Mt. Massive, just north of the high points!
Trail Conditions:
As I have mentioned in previous reports about this area in summer, the paved road to the trailhead from Aspen can be a bit problematic. From 8a.m. to 5p.m., during the summer months, you will have to take a shuttle bus–unless you fall in to one of the “exception” categories. Best to review the Visit Maroon Bells website for specifics, then call to confirm if you have unusual camping plans. Twice I have been able to sleep in the back of my truck in the Overnight or Overflow Lots–although I’m not sure how this would work on a busy weekend. (Jenny and Glenn had no issues on this Saturday night in the Overflow Lot.)
Update: On this trip, even though we stayed in Aspen the night before, I did make a point of checking the Overflow Lot where Jenny and Glenn had bivvied to see what might be permitted. There were no temporary white “No sleeping in your vehicle” signs in evidence (as there were in the other two lots), but there was a “No Camping” advisory on the permanent sign. Use your judgement, I’d say.
Crater Lake camping areas were closed due to bear activity and it looks like the closure will be in effect the rest of the season.
Be sure to display or hang your Federal lands pass in your vehicle before you start your hike. (Hanging it is best–it will curl in the sun if left on your dash!)
The entire foot trail trail up and back was in full up summer conditions.
I would divide the Maroon Peak South Ridge Route like this:
—A Freeway-like Trail – This takes you past Maroon Lake (on the southwest end of the lake itself take the right fork, NOT the lake perimeter trail ) and then up to a junction just short of Crater Lake at the 1.75 mile point. Stay left at this junction (right goes to North Maroon Peak and Buckskin Pass) and continue past Crater Lake. This is all easy to follow, even at night by headlamp.
The junction or split to South Maroon Trail, 1.8 miles farther on from the previous trail junction, is harder to see by headlamp and is not signed. We watched our hiking time and started paying close attention as we neared the area of the split. You’ll find it in the middle of a talus field and before you cross to the east side of the main creek. It is marked with a cairn and one or two more big cairns 50 yards or so up the path. If you cross the noisy, heavily-flowing, and obvious West Maroon Creek (ignore the minor seeps and flows just before), you have gone too far.
—The Climb to the Ridge – Some also refer to this as “2,800 vertical feet of suck” as it seems to go on forever and ever, Amen. It is indeed steep and has some ball-bearing type scree and minor scrambling sections here and there, but the trail is reasonably well-defined and could probably be followed by headlamp by the experienced. Roach calls it Class 3, but I thought it was more like Class 2 to 2+ unless you happen to get off route along the way. Poles for the descent of this slope really helped me for balance and to save the knees–spoken as a sorta old guy. You could leave your poles at the ridge for your return, because from here you start up the…
—Interminable Class 3 Section – Lots of loose rock and short little scrambling sections here. I had seen videos of the “Chimney” area and thought we were home free after that, but the entire route from the ridge to the top requires constant attention to route finding and to foot placement. If you just watch carefully what you grab and what you step on it is quite possible to climb this area without pushing any rocks down. That should be your goal. Roach says North Maroon requires “cat feet”. Well, so does this peak.
We looked for cairns, small segments of trail, and boot-worn rock and were able to find a reasonable route up. It helped that there were four of us as we could exchange opinions about the various options and come up with the best. We elected to take the second (left-hand) gully and had no real problems–you could stay on the edge of it and use the good rock to the side for the hands. The right gully did look like better rock, but was steeper.
I though it was actually easier to find a good route on the way down. You could get mountain goat views from the occasional outcrop to scout the path downward.
The exposure is constant–lots of air!–but not terrible. It’s not like you would plummet a thousand feet to your most untimely demise if you slipped anywhere along the route–but a fall or slide of 5, 10, 20 feet is certainly possible in places, and this could easily result in injury. Climb slowly and methodically and you’ll be fine.
To repeat: It took us 2+30 to go from the ridge to the summit, 1+45 coming down (average pace, I suspect). So, you will be up high and exposed to weather for a long time. When you gain the south ridge on the way up think about this–this is a perfect go-no go decision point. To maximize the chances of a “go” decision, starting out very early, and planning to be here by sunrise would be a wunderbar idea.
Photography Issues:
–Again, I left the 24-70 f/2.8 at home (2 pounds) and just carried the D800 with the 14-24 f/2.8 and the 70-200 f/4. And again, I didn’t seem to miss the in-between range terribly and it lightened my load a bit.
–Having said the previous, I did miss the lack of distortion of the 24-70 as opposed to the 14-24–especially with people in the scene. I tried using a little puppet warp in post to fix things as best I could, but you’ll see that my fellow hikers suffered a fair amount of circus mirror abuse in some of my images.
–Again, instead of my big tripod, I carried a very small plastic Manfrotto PIXI. (It replaced the very similar 1970s vintage metal “Handipod” I used last week on North Maroon.) I ended up not using it at all, though, instead relying on trying to take stable handheld shots at high ISO when the light was low. On the summit, there were other people to take our “hero shot” for us, so there was no need to use the tripod there either.
–I had hoped for more Moon images, especially as it was setting just after sunrise, but given where the Moon was descending to the western horizon, the massive massif of South Maroon blocked the Moon from us almost the entire time. We lost the Moon behind the peaks very early, somewhere along the trail past Crater Lake. Plus, we gained the south ridge, with its expansive western views, later after sunrise than I expected.
Unusual Events/Comments:
–We exchanged glances with a porcupine in the dark on the trail near Crater Lake. At first he/she looked like a small bear…a bit of an adrenaline rush there.
–We saw lights on the rock glacier–folks headed up North Maroon. Having done that trail, I would say they got there a bit early. For a first timer, it would be best to have the first light of dawn to aid navigation across that section. Jenny saw what were probably these same people headed down off of North Maroon’s summit just as we gained the South Maroon summit.
–There were goats aplenty along the route…checking us out from their perches and waiting for us to pee on a big flat rock. They need their RDI of sodium, too, dontcha know.
–Above Crater Lake, we saw (in the dark) what looked like a huge, group-sized tent down the slope–perhaps the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative trail maintenance group I saw headed up ten days ago?
–We saw no more than a dozen people on the route today, and that includes Jenny, Glenn and ourselves. That seemed unusual given that we were up there on a Sunday. Perhaps the bad forecast chased some away to other destinations.
–The Tyrolean Lodge is probably your best budget hotel option in Aspen. The room we had for Saturday night was $180 with taxes and would sleep five–that’s less than $40 a person. For Aspen that’s a steal. It’s clean, cute, the ski history motif is pretty cool, and it is only a few blocks from downtown. Prices at the Tyrolean range from $265 a night for a big room during high season to $90 a night for a small room in the off season. The cheapest time to stay would be between Sept 21 – Nov 26 and Apr 3 – May 26 when no room is over $100 for a night–THAT is a serious Aspen bargain!
—Call to check on the current status of camping at Crater Lake if that’s your plan. Currently it is closed for camping there due to bear activity and bear canisters are required for overnight backpacking in the whole area.
—Colorado 14er Senior Challenge summit count: 37 of the basic list of 58 (p. xxiii in Gerry Roach’s 14er “Bible”, Colorado Fourteeners, 3rd Ed.); 43 of the long list of 73 (pp. 347-348, with South Wilson added, also in Roach’s “Bible”.
Selected Images:
The view on the evening prior, from the southwest end of Maroon Lake…
Maroon Bells View, Evening. Maroon Lake, Colorado, 2015
And turning around, this was the view. Who takes pictures of Maroon Lake from here? Anyone? Buehler?…
Maroon Lake, Evening. Colorado, 2015
The next day…Crater Lake by moonlight at around 4:30a.m., handheld at ISO 3200. If I had had my big tripod I most certainly would have spent more time shooting at a low ISO and working on various compositions…
Moon at Crater Lake. Maroon Bells, Colorado, 2015
Sleeping Sexton on the left and Pyramid Peak just right of center…
First Light, East Slope of Maroon Peak. Colorado, 2015
Multiple horizons appear as we climb higher on the slope and the eastern colors turn to fire…
Approaching Sunrise, Sleeping Sexton. Maroon Bells, Colorado, 2015
The actual Maroon Peak summit is up behind where the first of the suns rays have touched the rock. This may be Point 13,753′, or something close by…
First Light, South Maroon Peak. Colorado, 2015
Front row, 50-yard-line seats for dawn. There are other, better places on Earth–not too many…
Maider, Awaiting Sunrise. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
This one, in B&W, could be a candidate for my High Flight portfolio. The planes always seems so much closer up here–10,000 to 14,000 feet closer, as a matter of fact…
Backlit Contrail, Pyramid Peak. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
A close-up of an oft-ignored 13er that looks like it could be a spectacular–and scary–climb…
Sleeping Sexton. From Maroon Peak Trail, Colorado, 2015
The view to the southwest as the sun also rises. We are hoping those little clouds don’t blow up too quickly…
Sunrise Red and Green. Maroon Peak Trail, Colorado, 2015
The 2,800′ east slope is about as steep as you can build a mountain without it being a cliff…
Maider, on the Steep Slope. Maroon Peak Trail, Colorado, 2015
We meet up with two more headed the same way–Jenny and Glenn…
Jenny and Glenn on the Steep Slope. Maroon Peak Trail, Colorado, 2015
Perhaps a half hour after official sunrise, we get our personal sunrise from behind the Pyramid Peak ridge…
Our Sunrise. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
The end of the “2,800 feet of suck” came abruptly and we popped on to the south ridge, with the rest of the route finally in view. The summit is still a loooong way off…
On the South Ridge. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
With Jenny and Glenn, we sometimes climbed together, or leapfrogged one another, all the way to the summit. It helped the route finding to have a number of opinions and eyeballs…
Four Shadows. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Maroon Lake seemed an eternity and a galaxy far, far away…
Maroon Lake View. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
A bit farther up the ridge, we get another view of the route ahead, as well as a view of two more famous Elk Range summits. I won’t attempt to draw any white lines to delineate the Maroon Peak route as I’ll likely be off a bit and the route is illustrated quite well on 14ers.com anyway. From this spot, though, we went up and right and continued along the ridge…
A Long Way Away. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Now, THIS is Colorado!…
Maider and Glenn, On the Ridge. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
And a rare photo of the photographer! Photo by Maider–thanks!…
Dan, Maroon Peak South Ridge. Colorado, 2015
There were two parts to the so-called “chimney, this being the easier second part. This signals the beginning of the difficulties…
Exiting the Chimney. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Harsh sun and deep shadow on the valley floor…
Maroon Peak Shadow. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Interminable…never-ending…we keep moving up and across, up and across…
Jenny and Glenn, South Maroon Peak. Colorado, 2015
Silhouette and cloud…
Rest Stop, Maroon Peak. Colorado, 2015
They certainly must have an appreciation of the view and where they live, no?…
Observed. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Most of the time, the cairns were helpful–like in this case (cairn is just behind Glenn)…
Glenn and Jenny, South Maroon Peak. Colorado, 2015
There were often several possible options to move up to the next level. Maider studies one of them, with Snowmass Mountain as a backdrop…
Contemplating the Route. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Jenny, with her Which Wich bag, was the first human bean to tread the summit on this particular day, followed by the rest of us…
Jenny and Glenn, Maroon Peak Summit. Colorado, 2015
Success!…Although the still-to-come descent is still very much on our mind right now. And just how fast are those clouds building??? The climb isn’t over until you are back at the trailhead, you know. You can see a big portion of the famous Maroon Bells backpacking loop in this image, as well as Snowmass and Capitol. Photo by Glenn–thanks!…
Summit Hero Shot. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Looking east. The dark, lower summit on the left is North Maroon. Aspen is farther down the obvious valley in the center. Pyramid Peak is the hump touching the horizon right of center…
Summit View, #1. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Looking northwest. Verdant valleys and two big and remote peaks. Note the recent rock slide on the red ridge near the center of the photo…
Summit View, #2. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Looking northeast. If you peruse with care, you can see the last few switchbacks leading to Buckskin Pass…
Buckskin Pass View. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
More late summer, classic Colorado…
Snowmass Creek View. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Looking southeast. If I have my bearings, that should be Mt. Elbert on the left and in the distance, at 14,433′ the highest point in Colorado. The peak on the right is Castle with ridge-like Conundrum across the connecting saddle to the left. The Castle-Conundrum combination is a good choice for a polite introduction to the character of the Elk Range…
Elbert to Castle View. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
If Gert is working the South-North Maroon Traverse he is a bit off-route–or headed to the start of a 5.9 variation…
North Maroon View. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Time to get going. No need to dawdle as the clouds build. What an impressive ridge!…
Maider, Beginning the Descent. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
A glance back at the “crowd” on top. We saw a grand total of maybe 10-12 people on the route today, including ourselves…
Posing on the Summit. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Our destination, far below and maybe five hours away…
Maroon Lake View. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Typical movement across loose rock ledges, with plenty of air below…
Maider, On the Descent. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
A look back up at where Maider was in the previous image. A party of three is crossing the same ledge…
Maroon’s Rock Bands. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Lower on the route and approaching easier terrain…
Glenn and Jenny, Approaching the South Ridge. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Someone from the group behind us. This is probably NOT where you want to go unless you have done the route before and want to explore new terrain…
Off Route. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
One last view of the two most remote 14ers of the Elks Range, just before we head down the endless east slope…
Snowmass and Capitol Under a Cumulus Blanket. From Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Note the baby lying down behind mama up there on that ledge…
Maider, Being Watched From Above. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
She is just playing around–no worries!…
Maider, Soaring Over the Maroon Bells. Maroon Peak, Colorado, 2015
Finally back on relatively flat terra, with sore feet, happy souls, and a couple more miles to go…
Maider and Crater Lake. Maroon Bells, Colorado, 2015
A last look at the main protagonist of the day’s adventure–South Maroon Peak. Well done, Maider!…
One Last Picture. Maroon Bells, Colorado, 2015
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Comment
Great narrative and love the photos–color is rich with wonderful clarity. Little too exposed for my taste.