Pyramid Peak Trip Report
Trail: Northeast ridge with some improvisation, Class 4&5, ~7 miles, ~ 4000 ft elevation gain
I had been trying to find a partner for one of the tougher Elk range mountains for some time now. I had been unsuccessful in my posts on 14erworld until about a month ago when a guy named Brian Espe replied that he would be happy to go. We made plans for the second weekend in July and agreed to meet at my house on Friday, July 9th. Brian arrived around 6:30 and we set out in my Tacoma for the Maroon Bells Parking lot. On the ride Brian told me he had recently finished both of the Maroon Bells, this made me feel like I was in pretty good company. We arrived around 10:30 and car camped in the overnight parking lot. I awoke at around 4:00 in the morning and we drove over to the day use parking lot to have better access to the bathrooms. I figured that the day would be tough enough that I could be lazy and save myself 100 yards of walking.
At 4:45 we were finished waking up (this means I'd had about an hour to drink a mug of coffee and groan allot) and set out. The beginning of the walk was easy but it was still dark. We headed up what we thought was the appropriate path towards the basin below Pyramid. This was steep, not your typical Sawatcher steep but STEEP. The path was unrelenting and continued to increase in angle. I think we didn't top out until 7:30 or so.
Boy were we wrong about the path. It turns out this was too far along the trail and we had gained about 400 extra feet. This path led us up between two large rock outcroppings far above the basin. All the while we had been eyeing the weather. It looked like simple rain clouds and not storm clouds but we agreed to keep making judgment calls before each new step of the trip. At this point we decided that the weather was still not threatening and we would reevaluate at the saddle. We descended from where we had climbed into the basin below Pyramid. The descent was nasty, loose, and over 45 degrees in angle. All in all the extra elevation gain and descent cost us a little under one hour of climbing time. Once in the basin we had our first view of the monster we had come to climb (it had been too dark to see on the trail below).
Brian and I spoke briefly with a few climbers who were also watching the weather and then we headed up towards the saddle on Pyramid. This was another steep climb. I realized that all of my uphill hiking experiences were trivial compared to this one. If you are thinking of trying out this mountain make sure your lungs are up to snuff because the ascents are arduous. We topped out at the saddle at about 9:00 and took a break.
Here is a view from where we were sitting, of what we climbed up. You can make out the two rock towers to the right of the long stretch of green. This is where we inadvertently gained the basin. As it turns out the true path up was much easier. You can also see how it looks like we are sitting on a ledge, this is a good indication of how steep the saddle approach was.
Look at the picture below, you can see Snowmass to the left and Capitol to the right (I hope to climb both this summer).
Here is a view of Pyramid's peak in front of us.
The weather had gotten progressively better and we both agreed it was safe to go. The path is hard to describe. At first you basically contour up, over, and around the saddle ridge. The climbing was, in my opinion, easy class 3.
There was always some level of exposure on the ridge but nothing I found very scary. There were also allot of cairns. I think people picked any path they liked and threw cairns down. It seemed like there were 10 different paths up there. In any event Brian and I wound our way through whatever seemed most appropriate. After awhile we turned to the left and did a bit of down climbing. We hopped over a 30 foot deep crack and found ourselves on the ledge section of Pyramid. The drop here was about 20 or 30 feet but the very real possibility of slipping made us realize that even a 2 or 3 story fall would be very bad.
From this point we contoured over to the crux of the route. During the entire climb a good bit of exposure lay to our back and sides. I wasn't really bothered but a fall from most places would have led to a tumble and death. I guess at this point I am confident enough to just take it slow and be real F'ing careful.
We arrived at the crux around 9:30. I didn't find climbing this particularly difficult. In fact Brian and I choose to remain to the right at the top of the crux when the path veered left. We did several solid 5th class climbs up the mountain all on routes more demanding but also more stable than the crux. I think we both preferred more difficult climbs on solid rock to the easier climbs on the crappy loose rock trail (yes this mountain has some crappy rock so be careful).
Here are pictures of the crux and us climbing.
My climbing advice is to be able to confidently freehand low 5th class and you should be ok. Try to forget about the falls and you'll be fine, just test your hold each time. After some time we decided to head back to the main trail and contoured up to the top. The final approach gets a bit loose and you have to be very careful with each hold. We finally arrived at the top at 10:00. Here are some views with the Bells in the background.
We only stayed up for a short while as the weather was starting to turn again. (As it turns out the weather just threatened and never did anything the whole day.)
The way down to the saddle took as long as the ascent. We were very careful at each step to check our holds. Part of the way down to the saddle we met up with two guys who had left their friend right above the crux, apparently she had been a little unnerved by the climbing. When we arrived at her location we offered to bring her down with us but she said she would wait for her friends. I suppose this is a good time to sermonize. I didn't think this was a scary or horrible mountain. I do think it is a physically challenging one that requires steady nerves and solid climbing skills along with good conditioning. If you don't have these then stay off until you do or this could be a very dangerous place.
(Update: I was contacted by one of the two guys about the above paragraph (name withheld). Apparently he seemed to think I was questioning his or his partners ability level. I was not. I was offering a public service statement to new 14er hikers as to whether or not to try this route. It had not dawned on me this would be taken personally. I'll publicly state that they were fine and the sermonizing was not a jab.. I will also publicly state that I think leaving a partner with climbing around them in potentially dubious weather is something I would not do (having learned my lesson personally) and that a persons speed is as important as skill. In any event I apologize for the tone of the above paragraph which in hindsight was a bit harsh and easily misconstrued.)Anyway we contoured back down the crux. This was allot harder than climbing up it but still not too bad as we were very cautious.
This is a picture of me crossing back over the ledge.
Here is a shot of the ridge back to the saddle. This is actually the easiest part of the descent after the saddle.
We arrived back at the saddle by 11:00, we still weren't sure what the weather would do so only stayed long enough to grab a granola bar and some water before heading down. The descent into the basin went quickly as we flew down the muddy slope. At the basin we were lucky to find a very long snow field which sloped down towards the exit (the point where the true climbers path reaches the basin). This was heaven, we boot skied our way across the snow and probably shaved 30 minutes of rock hopping off our descent.
Here is a parting shot of Pyramid.
From this point getting back to the car was just a matter of wending our way down the climbers trail (steep, very steep) and back to the tourist trail. We made good time and were greeted by a few minutes of wind and sprinkles. The tourists mostly ignored us and we didn't come across anyone rude. I snapped few shots of the Bells and then we were back at the car by about 1:30 or so.
This was a great climb. Brian and I hiked really well together, in fact he and I went right at the same speed and worked well together in making decisions. I hope we climb a lot more mountains this summer. We packed up, headed out and I called Jen to let her know I was safe. We stopped for a bite to eat in Aspen, I think I hate Aspen. Where else can you spend 30 dollars for a burger and meatloaf to be patronized by a waiter named Biff. There is something about the really rich which makes me feel they belong to another species. Plastic women and entitled children along with their golf clothes wearing husbands and 30 something trust fund sons dot the place. I think I'll try Glenwood Springs for a bite next time, Aspen felt like some Twilight Zone\Stepford Rich People episode to me.
Enough of my rambling, I had a great time and have a new favorite mountain. If all goes according to plan, next week I will summit Crestone Peak, Crestone Needle, and Humboldt Peak and then the following week Brian and I will team up to tackle Capitol Peak. Brian and I are also talking about hitting the Maroon Bells traverse in August.