Pyramid Peak Trip Report 06/24/2014

Peak(s):	Pyramid Peak - 14,029 feet
Date Posted:	06/24/2014
Modified:	05/09/2022
Date Climbed:	05/18/2014
Author:	moneymike

Mum Must Never Find Out About This
Hi everyone, it's me again...your friendly neighborhood moneymike. I figured that since my favorite 14er skier, writer, and photographer is now in crutches, that I should probably try to take up some of the slack in report writing. I'm not going to include a lot of pointless banter, superfluous information, or my usual sophomoric humor. After all, this is the Landry Line, so let's just get straight to the point. Late morning, May 17 2014, I arrived at the East Maroon Creek trail head, and began the hike towards the base of the east face. Me at the trailhead Pyramid, seen from near the trailhead Some other nearby mountains The trail alternated from deep snow to dirt throughout its entirety, so the hike in was slow. I think it took me three hours to cover the four miles to base camp at around 9,600' elevation. Looking up at pyramid from camp The mutha fuckin Landry Line! Around 4 p.m., my bottle of vodka that I had left in a snow bank, had cooled to the point where I felt I could choke it back. I usually like to chase my horrid Skol vodka with OJ, but to save weight (and to be a true mountain man) I decided river water would be acceptable. Fortunately, the water in the pond I was camping next to had a really bad sewage taste to it, which was very effective at distracting me from the vodka taste (I suppose this might be considered superfluous information, but we all know that this just wouldn't be a moneymike trip report without some talk of alcohol). With a belly full of vodka, I quickly fell asleep on the grassy hillside in the warm sunshine. Around midnight, I woke up in my tent (not quite sure how I got there), got some food in me, had my Earl Gray, geared up and headed out for the >4,000' ascent. I left at 1 a.m., but crossing the creek and getting through the vegetation cost me a half hour right off the bat. The sun began to rise just as I was getting through the "exit couloir." I wasn't moving as fast as I thought I would be and thought that my anticipated 8 a.m. summit would turn into a 9 a.m. summit. When 9 a.m. rolled around and I still had a little less than 500' to the summit, I judged the warming rate to be a little bit risky but just barely acceptable to push on. Approaching the summit I made the summit just after 10 a.m., quickly took some photos, geared up and dropped in at 10:30 a.m. (2 and a half hours past my anticipated time, and 1 and a half hours past the time that I told myself would be the latest I'd drop in). Looking towards Castle The Bells Snowmass Capitol (or "Cap" as the cool kids say) Looking down the line The south east face beneath the summit held really nice snow, and so I decided to make a few turns directly down the face, instead of taking the more conservative approach of skiing the ridge. The face was consistently steep (60 degrees), and I made about three or four turns down the face. Each turn was carefully initiated, and I paused after each turn to make sure I had a firm grip on the snow before committing to another. After each turn I would look up and notice that my tracks from where I started my turn were probably a good 15' higher than where I ended my turn Beneath the summit, looking up The turns down the face below the summit were the highlight of the entire line. I've skied 55 and even 60 degrees before, but it's usually just one jump turn before the slope mellows considerably. The face beneath the summit was just unrelentingly steep! After about four turns down from the summit, I made my way around to the east face. Due to my late descent time, I had to do a lot of "avalanche mitigation." It didn't take much to get the top several inches to slide. A simple ski cut or jump turn would get everything to slide! I was skiing the Landry Line, straight up, Mr. Waffles style! Was that joke too esoteric? Anyway, I made sure to get all of the east facing snow to slide before I descended, since I didn't want any of it to come down on me later while I was making my way through the narrow exit couloir. Once the top layers slid, the skiing on the smooth 50 degree (estimated) base was absolutely phenomenal. Linking parallel jump turns down a 50 degree slope, I was able to descend a hundred feet in a matter of seconds. The exit couloir was not in great skiing condition. There were two bare rock sections, as well as some nearly vertical snow beneath the rocks. As I was side stepping one of the rock sections, I knocked loose a good sized rock, which landed on my downhill ski and released the binding. I was able to catch my ski with the basket of my ski pole and I then carefully tried to retrieve it. I was in a very precarious position, with my uphill ski nearly in my face, and so I had a lot of trouble trying to hold my ski with my pole, while trying not to loose my grip on the mountain and fall. Unfortunately, I lost my ski and watched it slide down the chute and out of view (on the other hand, it did make for a dramatic ending to my go pro video). Exit couloir Can I save my ski? Ah Daaaaaamn In one of the worst positions I could imagine myself in, I had to make a transition to crampons. As quickly as possible, I down climbed/rappelled about sixty vertical feet to my ski, which had lodged itself in the massive runnel. Putting my skis back on, I slowly made my way through runnels and avalanche debris down the main apron and down to the creek. Check out the pov video: Edit: I tried to make this trip report light hearted, as I usually do, but I want to stress the point that in spite of the jokes I make, this line is absolutely no joke! I was not drunk or hung over when I climbed and skied this line, and I was not making any jokes along the way. I took this line very seriously. I am still questioning the wisdom in pushing on when I knew I was running late. Furthermore, although I felt confident with the "avy mitigation" on the east face, I did run into very dangerous wet and rotten snow as I was working around the upper rock bands. The snow was rotten to the base and was on a 60 degree slope above a certain death cliff. If the snow slid here, which it could have, I would have been dead. My point is, if you decide you want to ski this line, please take it very seriously. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Mum Must Never Find Out About This

Hi everyone, it's me again...your friendly neighborhood moneymike. I figured that since my favorite 14er skier, writer, and photographer is now in crutches, that I should probably try to take up some of the slack in report writing. I'm not going to include a lot of pointless banter, superfluous information, or my usual sophomoric humor. After all, this is the Landry Line, so let's just get straight to the point.

Late morning, May 17 2014, I arrived at the East Maroon Creek trail head, and began the hike towards the base of the east face.

The trail alternated from deep snow to dirt throughout its entirety, so the hike in was slow. I think it took me three hours to cover the four miles to base camp at around 9,600' elevation.

Around 4 p.m., my bottle of vodka that I had left in a snow bank, had cooled to the point where I felt I could choke it back. I usually like to chase my horrid Skol vodka with OJ, but to save weight (and to be a true mountain man) I decided river water would be acceptable. Fortunately, the water in the pond I was camping next to had a really bad sewage taste to it, which was very effective at distracting me from the vodka taste (I suppose this might be considered superfluous information, but we all know that this just wouldn't be a moneymike trip report without some talk of alcohol).

With a belly full of vodka, I quickly fell asleep on the grassy hillside in the warm sunshine. Around midnight, I woke up in my tent (not quite sure how I got there), got some food in me, had my Earl Gray, geared up and headed out for the >4,000' ascent. I left at 1 a.m., but crossing the creek and getting through the vegetation cost me a half hour right off the bat.

The sun began to rise just as I was getting through the "exit couloir." I wasn't moving as fast as I thought I would be and thought that my anticipated 8 a.m. summit would turn into a 9 a.m. summit. When 9 a.m. rolled around and I still had a little less than 500' to the summit, I judged the warming rate to be a little bit risky but just barely acceptable to push on.

I made the summit just after 10 a.m., quickly took some photos, geared up and dropped in at 10:30 a.m. (2 and a half hours past my anticipated time, and 1 and a half hours past the time that I told myself would be the latest I'd drop in).

The south east face beneath the summit held really nice snow, and so I decided to make a few turns directly down the face, instead of taking the more conservative approach of skiing the ridge. The face was consistently steep (60 degrees), and I made about three or four turns down the face. Each turn was carefully initiated, and I paused after each turn to make sure I had a firm grip on the snow before committing to another. After each turn I would look up and notice that my tracks from where I started my turn were probably a good 15' higher than where I ended my turn

The turns down the face below the summit were the highlight of the entire line. I've skied 55 and even 60 degrees before, but it's usually just one jump turn before the slope mellows considerably. The face beneath the summit was just unrelentingly steep!

After about four turns down from the summit, I made my way around to the east face. Due to my late descent time, I had to do a lot of "avalanche mitigation." It didn't take much to get the top several inches to slide. A simple ski cut or jump turn would get everything to slide! I was skiing the Landry Line, straight up, Mr. Waffles style! Was that joke too esoteric? Anyway, I made sure to get all of the east facing snow to slide before I descended, since I didn't want any of it to come down on me later while I was making my way through the narrow exit couloir.

Once the top layers slid, the skiing on the smooth 50 degree (estimated) base was absolutely phenomenal. Linking parallel jump turns down a 50 degree slope, I was able to descend a hundred feet in a matter of seconds.

The exit couloir was not in great skiing condition. There were two bare rock sections, as well as some nearly vertical snow beneath the rocks. As I was side stepping one of the rock sections, I knocked loose a good sized rock, which landed on my downhill ski and released the binding. I was able to catch my ski with the basket of my ski pole and I then carefully tried to retrieve it. I was in a very precarious position, with my uphill ski nearly in my face, and so I had a lot of trouble trying to hold my ski with my pole, while trying not to loose my grip on the mountain and fall. Unfortunately, I lost my ski and watched it slide down the chute and out of view (on the other hand, it did make for a dramatic ending to my go pro video).

In one of the worst positions I could imagine myself in, I had to make a transition to crampons. As quickly as possible, I down climbed/rappelled about sixty vertical feet to my ski, which had lodged itself in the massive runnel. Putting my skis back on, I slowly made my way through runnels and avalanche debris down the main apron and down to the creek.

Check out the pov video:

Edit: I tried to make this trip report light hearted, as I usually do, but I want to stress the point that in spite of the jokes I make, this line is absolutely no joke! I was not drunk or hung over when I climbed and skied this line, and I was not making any jokes along the way. I took this line very seriously. I am still questioning the wisdom in pushing on when I knew I was running late.

Furthermore, although I felt confident with the "avy mitigation" on the east face, I did run into very dangerous wet and rotten snow as I was working around the upper rock bands. The snow was rotten to the base and was on a 60 degree slope above a certain death cliff. If the snow slid here, which it could have, I would have been dead. My point is, if you decide you want to ski this line, please take it very seriously.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

lodgling	Video 6/25/2014 3:40am That video is pretty intense from about 5:00 to the end. Well choreographed for sure. Strong work this season!
swbackcountry	Danggit 6/25/2014 3:51am Delving deep into the adventure zone. Thats a crazy one. The epitome of ohshit moments. Thanks for entertainment, and congrats (for having two skis at the end).
TakeMeToYourSummit	Glad... 6/25/2014 5:56am ...you survived all the sabotage... The sluff moving at 2:50 looks sketchy too! A friend & I rode Sopris the next day - great weekend to be playing in the Elks! Thanks for the killer TR & video!
taylorzs	Sick 6/25/2014 1:25pm That is a steep line, looks like fun besides the ski ejection.
Dave B	Wow! 6/25/2014 1:53pm This is an absolutely amazing ski. Well done, I need to go change me underwear after watching the POV. Good bourbon doesn't require a chaser.
goingup	What a great 6/25/2014 3:19pm TR!!!
Money Mari	Hey! 6/25/2014 4:38pm Hey Mikeee Bear! Why are you so cute? haha!Your pictures are absolutely gorgeous! I love reading about your experiences. Next time take me with you, but we MAY have to start at a little bit more basic level
bergsteigen	Thanks for the ski porn! 6/25/2014 5:08pm Been fighting withdrawal symptoms, so I had to watch Steep last week. Now I can make it another week or so, before my next ski fix. Pretty soon I may have to find some snow and one ski it! Leashes... I love my ski leashes
Matt	Ballsy 6/25/2014 6:12pm Not to mention impressive! You really don't remember anything from vodka o'clock until midnight?
CORed	Crampons? 6/25/2014 7:47pm A real man would have continued on one ski after losing the first. Just kidding. I was once a decent black diamond skier in ski areas, but at my best I could never have tackled a line like that without getting killed.
CORed	re: Leashes 6/25/2014 11:12pm As somebody who started skiing before anybody ever dreamed of ski brakes, I kind of have to agree. The brakes have their advantages in ski areas, in that they keep you from getting whacked by a ski after a binding releases, but on a slope that steep, it doesn't look like the brake helped a lot; well, maybe it kept the ski from running clear to the valley floor, but a leash might have enabled an easier recovery.
PaliKona	Holy crap 6/26/2014 3:13am great TR and vid. What a line and to go solo?! Balls
XC Snowboarder	You skied 6/26/2014 3:29am the mutha fukin Landry Line! Nice work, $Mike! Your TRS have me me rolling. Keep after it.
goreskier	Leashes!! WTF 6/26/2014 4:10pm First off, good job going after this line. I remember back in the day (late 90s) getting turned back from this line due to avy conditions in March and April. Would get to the last rock band or the final saddle and just not have the gut feeling. I think it was 1997, March 5th, when this line almmost took my life. Started climbing the summit cone when a loud booooom ripped across the valley. Sounded like a thunder storm overhead, but on a bluebird day. The whole slope below me and across fractured about 18” or more to a smooth bed surface. Biggest avalanche I had ever seen that close. I counted my blessings, kissed the ground and turned back with my tail between legs. Get damn ski leashes and get some more formal training though!! WTF. You are going to cost someones life or yours someday with this blatant disregard for safety of yourself. This is a rookie mistake. Turn down your confidence level a bit man.
BillMiddlebrook	Haha 6/26/2014 11:00pm ^^That's from a troll. Don't listen to that bullshit story, Mike. He's never gone near that line and doesn't want to post under his existing account, which has his real name. Rock on.
moneymike	Thanks everyone... 6/27/2014 2:38am so much, for your comments and kind words. nkan02: I don't know, Natalie, I'm still questioning my judgement on dropping in so late on that line. I don't usually do that Money Mari: I've been reading a self-help book lately called ”Being Cute For Dummies.” You think it's helping? Thanks for the cute comment, and if you come out to Colorado this winter, I'll take you on some green runs at Copper Mountain (we'll have to work up to Pyramid). Bergsteigen: As much as I'd like to see another one of your trip reports, I can't say I'm too keen on the one ski skiing idea. You and I are going to ski some 14ers together next season, so heal up! Also, I'm still not 100% sure about the leashes...I think I can find an alternative solution. goreskier: Ha ha ha! Dude, you just got bitch slapped by Bill F'ing Middlebrook!!! BillMiddlebrook: Hilarious! Absolutely hilarious! Thanks, again, everyone for your comments. I hope to see trs from all of you soon. I made one quick edit to my trip report at the bottom. Goreskier's comment is not totally without merit.
USAKeller	wow! 6/27/2014 10:30pm Very nice, Mike! I'm jealous. Well done.
ulvetano	Epic 6/30/2014 3:41am Wow - glad I read this one. Wish I had the chops to pull consistent 60 turns in no fall zones. Very nice.
jmc5040	You have balls! 7/7/2014 2:01am Once again another amazing trip put together. You had an insane season and it's even more insane that you've skied these peaks solo. It takes another level of commitment to get the job done when it's just you pushing it and making all the decisions so congrats on that. I've definitely enjoyed your TRs and the humor is priceless. ”Some other nearby mountains.” - love it!
SnowAlien	Incredible and Major Congratulations 4/2/2015 7:45pm on getting this done (and the rest of your ski season). ”I made the summit just after 10 a.m., quickly took some photos, geared up and dropped in at 10:30 a.m. (2 and a half hours past my anticipated time, and 1 and a half hours past the time that I told myself would be the latest I‘d drop in).” Happens all the time. That day I skied Lackawanna and it looks like it was much sunnier day in the Elks. Thanks for the report, MM!

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