Pyramid Peak Trip Report 08/08/2008

Report Type	Full
Peak(s)	Pyramid Peak - 14,029 feet
Date Posted	08/08/2008
Date Climbed	08/01/2008
Author	firsttracks

NE Ridge Solo Climb
Faced with another long weekend of nothing better to do, I headed to the Elks. I still have Pyramid, Snowmass, and Capitol remaining, and I wanted to grab at least two peaks. Pyramid was first up. I arrived in the parking lot at 1:30 am, so I let myself sleep in until 4:30. I promptly hit the trail. (All route pics are from the return). Beautiful wild flowers abound near the lake: I soon reached the cairn marking the climbers' trail to Pyramid: After a while, I got my first glimpse of the amphitheater and Pyramid: Lots of snow remained. I climbed the low-angle snow through the basin: I left the snow near the cairn in the following pic to cut across to the gully towards the NE Ridge: Looking back down at the snowfield: Looking up the access gully from the base: Making my way through the gully: At the saddle, I had my first good look at the route ahead: I finally came to the base of the "green" wall. I headed up the right side, which is more pale yellow in color, so have more fun vertical climbing: Looking down at the base of the wall: Eventually, I worked left and found another rock section to climb: Working my way higher on the peak, I had a good view of the remainder of the route: The route winds left, and then right. Here's another smaller gully to climb: Looking down on the upper route, with mountain goats playing on the ridge (and knocking rocks below!): Finally, the summit appears: Looking back at the route from the saddle: I reached the summit at 7:59, for a summit time of 3:19 from the car. Here's my summit self-portrait: And finally, and unobstructed view of the Bells, with the Bell Cord Couloir still holding snow: Final Thoughts: The NE Ridge was a ton of fun. This instantly became one of my favorite 14er routes. The rock was much more stable than I thought it would be! The only downside of the day was my bone-headed move of forgetting my trekking poles on the ridge. I left them at the base of the green wall, but thought I had left them much lower on the ridge. Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

NE Ridge Solo Climb

Faced with another long weekend of nothing better to do, I headed to the Elks. I still have Pyramid, Snowmass, and Capitol remaining, and I wanted to grab at least two peaks. Pyramid was first up.

I arrived in the parking lot at 1:30 am, so I let myself sleep in until 4:30. I promptly hit the trail. (All route pics are from the return).

Beautiful wild flowers abound near the lake:

I soon reached the cairn marking the climbers' trail to Pyramid:

After a while, I got my first glimpse of the amphitheater and Pyramid:

Lots of snow remained. I climbed the low-angle snow through the basin:

I left the snow near the cairn in the following pic to cut across to the gully towards the NE Ridge:

Looking back down at the snowfield:

Looking up the access gully from the base:

Making my way through the gully:

At the saddle, I had my first good look at the route ahead:

I finally came to the base of the "green" wall. I headed up the right side, which is more pale yellow in color, so have more fun vertical climbing:

Looking down at the base of the wall:

Eventually, I worked left and found another rock section to climb:

Working my way higher on the peak, I had a good view of the remainder of the route:

The route winds left, and then right. Here's another smaller gully to climb:

Looking down on the upper route, with mountain goats playing on the ridge (and knocking rocks below!):

Finally, the summit appears:

Looking back at the route from the saddle:

I reached the summit at 7:59, for a summit time of 3:19 from the car. Here's my summit self-portrait:

And finally, and unobstructed view of the Bells, with the Bell Cord Couloir still holding snow:

Final Thoughts:
The NE Ridge was a ton of fun. This instantly became one of my favorite 14er routes. The rock was much more stable than I thought it would be!

The only downside of the day was my bone-headed move of forgetting my trekking poles on the ridge. I left them at the base of the green wall, but thought I had left them much lower on the ridge.

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

uwe	I Huffed and I Puffed, and I Couldn‘t Keep U 8/9/2008 1:56am Hi, Enjoyed meeting and speaking with you. Great climb for you. Congrats! We have your poles covered.
uwe	Ignore 8/9/2008 1:59am Dulpicate message. Can not seem to delete.
firsttracks	Thanks! 8/9/2008 8:02pm del_sur: good luck with finishing the 14ers yourself. You are so close! uwe: Thanks for all the comments. I‘ll look forward to seeing you up there again at some point soon, I hope.
Matt	My sentiments exactly 1/19/2011 3:38am ”The NE Ridge was a ton of fun. This instantly became one of my favorite 14er routes. The rock was much more stable than I thought it would be” No need for me to write a TR now...

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