Download Agreement, Release, and Acknowledgement of Risk:
You (the person requesting this file download) fully understand mountain climbing ("Activity") involves risks and dangers of serious bodily injury, including permanent disability, paralysis, and death ("Risks") and you fully accept and assume all such risks and all responsibility for losses, costs, and damages you incur as a result of your participation in this Activity.
You acknowledge that information in the file you have chosen to download may not be accurate and may contain errors. You agree to assume all risks when using this information and agree to release and discharge 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and the author(s) of such information (collectively, the "Released Parties").
You hereby discharge the Released Parties from all damages, actions, claims and liabilities of any nature, specifically including, but not limited to, damages, actions, claims and liabilities arising from or related to the negligence of the Released Parties. You further agree to indemnify, hold harmless and defend 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. and each of the other Released Parties from and against any loss, damage, liability and expense, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by 14ers.com, 14ers Inc. or any of the other Released Parties as a result of you using information provided on the 14ers.com or 14ers Inc. websites.
You have read this agreement, fully understand its terms and intend it to be a complete and unconditional release of all liability to the greatest extent allowed by law and agree that if any portion of this agreement is held to be invalid the balance, notwithstanding, shall continue in full force and effect.
By clicking "OK" you agree to these terms. If you DO NOT agree, click "Cancel"...
On Mt. Evans road, the parking spot is pretty obvious becuase it is the first very sharp turn after coming from around the east side of Mt. Evans. 11.4 miles from Echo Lake is accurate. The lot holds 3 cars comfortably and there are pullouts about 1/4 mile up and down from it.
The first thing you have to do is pick which gully to go down. The low point in the saddle is recommended, but without really spending time to figure out where that was, we took the one with a post in front of it (see the circle).
Not sure if the post is meant to encourage or discourage, but this gully worked out OK. Just don't kick rocks on your partner. You will loose about 1000 vertical here.
You will pick up a trail (route 14V) in the valley. Although it will take you to the right side of Abyss Lake, don't go all the way to the waters edge because you will need to backtrack in order to go around it on the left side. Do go up the hill to where the lake is though. There were a few ptarmigans running around near the lake shore.
There is not any hint of a route at this point. It is basically a 1500 ft scramble straight up over rough terrain to get to a saddle near the top of Mt. Bierstadt. This will probably be more effort than you are expecting it to be. As my dad put it, "This is bull@#*$". Aim for for a saddle that has red dirt/rocks below it. It is pretty visible from far below so you should not miss it. Once you reach the saddle, you are very close to the summit.
Here is a look at the Sawtooth from the summit.
The light blue route is probably the "safest" way around the gendarme. We saw someone take the red route, but I am not sure how the heck he made it to the Mt. Evans ridge. Maybe someone else can comment on that.
Here is another look at the gendarme and the route we took.
This was my first class 3 experience and I can honestly say that I was not mentally prepared for it. Towards the end, I felt like I was surviving and not climbing.
Many others have this same following picture, but in mine, circled is a person so that you can get some perspective about how large the intimidating trail is once you cross over the ridge.
Even when you are there it looks like it is 2 feet wide the whole way. The following picture is from the very top right before you go over to the Mt. Evans ridge side.
The main point of this shot is to show that, even though a misstep is certain death, the trail is quite level until the last pitch and then there are plently of good rocks and footing.
This part was a huge mental game, but climbing the gendarme was much, much worse for me.
Once you get over to the Mt. Evans ridge, don't stray to far to the left (east since you are now heading south) towards Mt. Spalding because the cairned trail takes you to the west side of Mt. Evans. After Evans, you just cut across the road a few times and you are back to the car while most everyone else who did these two peaks is battling the willows.
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
I commend you on your taste in routes. Very ambitious for you first 3rd class hike. Nice work! If I ever go back and do Bierstadt I will certainly take the same route. Congratulations!
No I took the dark blue. I am just guessing that the ”safer” route is the light blue one. You might not have to go down that far to get around, but you would have to make some kind of similar arc. You would definately avoid some of the scarier climbing though.
I appreciate that you circled a person in that pic. It's always hard to get a feel for size (is the ledge 2 feet or 12??) and that helped to put it into perspective.
Nice report and pictures. Your 1500' scramble from the valley bottom did not sound like fun - and I believe it is avoidable (but I am not sure, so don't quote me). When a group of us did this route, I believe we went straight up to the ridge crest shown in your second picture and not up the valley as your route shows. This puts you on the ridge right away and there is quite a bit of fun class 3 scrambling between there and Bierstadt's summit. Anyways, good job.
Did you take that light blue route? Surely that added a lot of extra effort into this trek. Regardless, congrats!
Caution: The information contained in this report may not be accurate and should not be the only resource used in preparation for your climb. Failure to have the necessary experience, physical conditioning, supplies or equipment can result in injury or death. 14ers.com and the author(s) of this report provide no warranties, either express or implied, that the information provided is accurate or reliable. By using the information provided, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless 14ers.com and the report author(s) with respect to any claims and demands against them, including any attorney fees and expenses. Please read the 14ers.com Safety and Disclaimer pages for more information.
Please respect private property: 14ers.com supports the rights of private landowners to determine how and by whom their land will be used. In Colorado, it is your responsibility to determine if land is private and to obtain the appropriate permission before entering the property.
