Maroon Peak Trip Report 07/24/2010

Peak(s):	Maroon Peak - 14,163 feet North Maroon Peak - 14,022 feet
Date Posted:	07/24/2010
Date Climbed:	07/23/2010
Author:	Zambo

Adventure and Reflections on the Bells Traverse
Summary: This is the fourth Bells traverse trip report in as many days on 14ers.com. Because of that, I'm very aware that most of the route Beta I put here will be neither unique nor impressive. However, that's not what I'm going for in this TR. I leaned some very important lessons on these mountains, and I guess most of this post will be some of my own personal reflections I take from this climb. Conditions: We were blessed with a beautiful Colorado bluebird day. Also, no snow or ice along the standard routes or traverse. Report:These peaks humbled me in all the best ways. Here's the "story": My best friend Tyler was coming into town from D.C. and what better way to spend quality time with him than to walk up some of Colorado's most epic mountains? Ty had only done two 14ers prior to this, but he had some good rock climbing skills and is in incredible shape. Of all my friends I knew he was the most capable of doing these difficult peaks. Except for maybe one... I've been friends with Benners for 5 years or so and he literally wrote the route description on this site for the traverse. If there is someone better to have with you on this climb, I can't think of who it would be. Btw, he is far too humble to admit this is true true, but it is. Full of ambition and drive to do something "epic", our original plan was to climb Pyramid along with the Bells. After getting to the TH from Denver around midnight we slept a few hours and ended up taking off at 3:30; a bit later than we anticipated thanks to an early morning lighting storm at 2:00. The trip up South Maroon was easy hiking in the dark followed by a looooong and horrible slog up the East face. This face is no joke: it takes forever, is very tiring, and was super muddy for us due to rains the night before. However, these trials were soon put to rest as we gained the saddle and were greeted with gorgeous sunrise views into the heart of Colorado. Sunrise over Pyramid This slope sucks bad.... ...but the view from the saddle is well worth it. From the saddle onwards "the fun begins." I found South Maroon's face to indeed be fun as it was some great Class 3 climbing. The exposure mostly wasn't too bad here, although there certainly are some very harrowing spots, and we did a great job staying on route. As you've heard a million times, the rock sucks so test everything! The remainder of the route from the saddle Some of the cliff ledges Looking into the gulley Benners heading up the South Maroon gulley Gotta love that basin > It took a bit longer than expected, but we were rewarded with having the summit all to ourselves on this beautiful morning. View over to Snowmass and Capitol. Those are some incredible peaks No one was around, so we busted out or pipes on the summit... ...and no, that's not pot in there. Is it even fair what a beautiful state we live in? Here's a summit vid from Maroon Peak's summit. Prolly pretty dumb unless you know us; maybe still dumb even if you do, lol. Now the "real" fun begins. As I said before, these peaks humbled me in all the best ways. Like most people probably are their first time on the traverse, I was full of nervous and excited energy the whole way up S. Maroon. I knew I had the physical ability to do the traverse, but I still didn't know exactly what it would be like till I was there. "How hard exactly is it? How would it compare to other Class 3 routes I'd done before? How bad exactly was the exposure? I hope to God a hold doesn't come loose on me"... These were some of the thoughts racing through my head all day. Finally, it came time to tackle the beast. The traverse really caught my attention. I knew that it was a challenging and exposed ridge, but you really don't fully understand that until you are climbing up a 50ft wall on loose rock with hundreds if not thousands of feet of air beneath you. Only then do you really "get it." It was a challenging and thrilling mental battle across the entire ridge. The down climbing to the top of the Bell cord wasn't too bad. As written by Ben, the first 'real' obstacle came in the form of the dihedral from the base of the Bell cord. There is a good way up, but it is indeed a challenge and it only gets magnified by the exposure. After this the climbing continues along with some exciting ridge walking. The crux moment came for me at the top section of the second obstacle. This is by far the most exposed and difficult section of the climb. As I watched Benners ascend this 5.0+ move, I began to realize this would be a very difficult spot for me. As I stood there and thought about it more and more, it became apparent that this wasn't something I was willing to do. For some people I'm sure this is no sweat, and I think I could get up that section 9 times out of 10, but I decided this simply wasn't a risk I was willing to take. It wasn't worth it. So, while the other two climbed up the face I followed some cairns and traversed around the West side of the face. This led me to a gulley (which doesn't appear on the route descriptions) that was far more manageable. Still some intense class 4 climbing, but much more consistent with the difficulty of everything on the rest of the route. Also, I have to imagine this is the best way if coming form North to South and not wanting to rappel. From here I met up again with the guys and we finished together. Still plenty more tough climbing ahead, but the worst was over. There she is... First challenge Looking back down the dihedral A good idea of some of the ridge line sections A great view of some of the typical to more difficult climbing sections found on the traverse Moving into the second big face More of the face Up the blocks on the second challenge. These are by far the most difficult moves on the route Topping out over the second obstacle The view after the second obstacle of the remainder of the traverse ahead Final summit wall After just under two hours of some of the most intense climbing I've done, we made it to the summit. It was nice to be back on flat ground. As I mentioned before, I feel I learned some important lessons on the traverse, and I wrote out some of my personal reflections at the bottom of this TR in case anyone is interested. On North Maroon, happy as hell! Summit view over to Pyramid The route back down North Maroon wasn't too challenging compared to the traverse, but it still grabs your attention in spots. There are some tough down climbing sections, but we found a bit of looking around is often the best way to find the easiest lines. The first look wasn't always the best one. Anybody got a hanglider? Downclimbing N. Maroon Once we finally got to the gulleys it became a long and tiring slog down. With the fun over, and the down climbing sections finished, the car couldn't seem to get there close enough. This was a long day as we got back to the car after 10 1/2 hours of hiking. But both Ty and I had to be back in Denver, so our hopes for Pyramid were dashed. Kinda disappointing as physically we could have done it and the weather was offering a rare perfect window, but there's always another day. These gulleys suck when all you want to do is get back to the car These are the best "smiles" we can offer after being out there for 12 1/2 hours So that's the basic trip summary. However, I am a firm believer that it's not the experiences of life, but what you learn and take away from them that really matters. Having said that, what I've written below is pretty reflective of what I learned from this climb. If you're not interested in my own personal ramblings (and hey, I wouldn't blame you ), this is a good place to stop reading. So, having completed my first Great Colorado traverse on two of the most challenging mountains I've done yet, what did I learn? I think this is a very important question. The last thing I want to do is blindly keep walking up these peaks. For me, the experience is wasted if I don't let it teach me, change me, and mature me. I've been on a 14er blitz since moving back to the U.S. these were my 16th and 17th peaks this season. I've been planning lots of trips, buying new gear, meeting other people interested in climbing, and just generally getting really excited about it. I love it! Now, none of that is inherently a bad thing, but the Bells provided a well timed and much needed speed bump to my progress. I've done plenty of class 3 climbs, but this was my first great traverse and also my first experience with sustained class 4 over extreme exposure. I think there are 3 main things I've learned from the experience 1. Take baby steps 2. It's good to be humble 3. A good guide is invaluable The first major take away from this climb was more fully realize just how serious and dangerous these more difficult climbs are. You are literally one slip away from disaster. As one quote I love goes, "We are all immortal until it is our turn." This really hit home for me yesterday. In retrospect, I realize now my approach to the more difficult peaks was a bit too rash and aggressive. I still think I am more conservative than most out people out there, but I'd say I was overestimating my own 'expertise' a little bit. It is good to challenge yourself and always be improving and moving up in the world, but as Ben says, there is nothing wrong with taking baby steps. This is a great point. People often get hurt when they do too much too soon. There is no shame in slowly improving. The second thing I learned is that it is good to be humbled. The crux section of the route was a big moment for me. I had the options of either listening to everything my mind was telling me ("don't do this, this one move is a BAD idea"), or listening to the ridiculous 'machismo' voices in my head telling me to suck it up and go. I'm glad I listened to the voice of wisdom. I know some people can do that move no problem, but really who gives a crap at all about what other people think? It's better to be humble and alive than rash and dead. I think this is a lifestyle thing. I'm all for challenges and epic adventure, but when you stupdily push the limit all the time, eventually something bad WILL happen. As my friend Eric says about your own experience, fears, and abilities, "the mountain doesn't care." This is another great point. There is no sympathy or forgiveness from the peak. They key is to never put yourself in a position where you need it. I was also blessed to have two great friends with me who respected and supported my decision to take the "easy way". There is no substitute for good partners. Finally, I learned that relatively new mountaineers (such as myself) really can't benefit enough from mature, responsible, and experienced guides. Although he might not agree, Ben's guidance and leadership up this really made it a great trip, and saved us a ton of headaches. I always knew what an asset an experienced partner is, now I know it even more. Thanks dude! So, to wrap all that up I will end with this. I still love the mountains, I love 14ers, and I love the adventure. I am still very excited to keep climbing and experience new challenges. The Bells in no way killed my passion, but it redirected it in a much more humble, conservative, and healthy direction. Happy climbing! PS: I forgot to say thank you to Anna-Lisa (Ben's wife) for the awesome banana bread. Not even 12 hours old when we had it on the summit. Amazing... Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Adventure and Reflections on the Bells Traverse

Summary: This is the fourth Bells traverse trip report in as many days on 14ers.com. Because of that, I'm very aware that most of the route Beta I put here will be neither unique nor impressive. However, that's not what I'm going for in this TR. I leaned some very important lessons on these mountains, and I guess most of this post will be some of my own personal reflections I take from this climb.
Conditions: We were blessed with a beautiful Colorado bluebird day. Also, no snow or ice along the standard routes or traverse.

Report:These peaks humbled me in all the best ways.

Here's the "story": My best friend Tyler was coming into town from D.C. and what better way to spend quality time with him than to walk up some of Colorado's most epic mountains? Ty had only done two 14ers prior to this, but he had some good rock climbing skills and is in incredible shape. Of all my friends I knew he was the most capable of doing these difficult peaks.

Except for maybe one...

I've been friends with Benners for 5 years or so and he literally wrote the route description on this site for the traverse. If there is someone better to have with you on this climb, I can't think of who it would be. Btw, he is far too humble to admit this is true true, but it is.

Full of ambition and drive to do something "epic", our original plan was to climb Pyramid along with the Bells. After getting to the TH from Denver around midnight we slept a few hours and ended up taking off at 3:30; a bit later than we anticipated thanks to an early morning lighting storm at 2:00.

The trip up South Maroon was easy hiking in the dark followed by a looooong and horrible slog up the East face. This face is no joke: it takes forever, is very tiring, and was super muddy for us due to rains the night before. However, these trials were soon put to rest as we gained the saddle and were greeted with gorgeous sunrise views into the heart of Colorado.

...but the view from the saddle is well worth it.

From the saddle onwards "the fun begins." I found South Maroon's face to indeed be fun as it was some great Class 3 climbing. The exposure mostly wasn't too bad here, although there certainly are some very harrowing spots, and we did a great job staying on route. As you've heard a million times, the rock sucks so test everything!

The remainder of the route from the saddle

Benners heading up the South Maroon gulley

It took a bit longer than expected, but we were rewarded with having the summit all to ourselves on this beautiful morning.

View over to Snowmass and Capitol. Those are some incredible peaks

No one was around, so we busted out or pipes on the summit...

Is it even fair what a beautiful state we live in?

Here's a summit vid from Maroon Peak's summit. Prolly pretty dumb unless you know us; maybe still dumb even if you do, lol.

Now the "real" fun begins. As I said before, these peaks humbled me in all the best ways. Like most people probably are their first time on the traverse, I was full of nervous and excited energy the whole way up S. Maroon. I knew I had the physical ability to do the traverse, but I still didn't know exactly what it would be like till I was there. "How hard exactly is it? How would it compare to other Class 3 routes I'd done before? How bad exactly was the exposure? I hope to God a hold doesn't come loose on me"... These were some of the thoughts racing through my head all day.

Finally, it came time to tackle the beast.

The traverse really caught my attention. I knew that it was a challenging and exposed ridge, but you really don't fully understand that until you are climbing up a 50ft wall on loose rock with hundreds if not thousands of feet of air beneath you. Only then do you really "get it." It was a challenging and thrilling mental battle across the entire ridge.

The down climbing to the top of the Bell cord wasn't too bad. As written by Ben, the first 'real' obstacle came in the form of the dihedral from the base of the Bell cord. There is a good way up, but it is indeed a challenge and it only gets magnified by the exposure. After this the climbing continues along with some exciting ridge walking.

The crux moment came for me at the top section of the second obstacle. This is by far the most exposed and difficult section of the climb. As I watched Benners ascend this 5.0+ move, I began to realize this would be a very difficult spot for me. As I stood there and thought about it more and more, it became apparent that this wasn't something I was willing to do. For some people I'm sure this is no sweat, and I think I could get up that section 9 times out of 10, but I decided this simply wasn't a risk I was willing to take. It wasn't worth it.

So, while the other two climbed up the face I followed some cairns and traversed around the West side of the face. This led me to a gulley (which doesn't appear on the route descriptions) that was far more manageable. Still some intense class 4 climbing, but much more consistent with the difficulty of everything on the rest of the route. Also, I have to imagine this is the best way if coming form North to South and not wanting to rappel. From here I met up again with the guys and we finished together. Still plenty more tough climbing ahead, but the worst was over.

A good idea of some of the ridge line sections

A great view of some of the typical to more difficult climbing sections found on the traverse

Up the blocks on the second challenge. These are by far the most difficult moves on the route

The view after the second obstacle of the remainder of the traverse ahead

After just under two hours of some of the most intense climbing I've done, we made it to the summit. It was nice to be back on flat ground. As I mentioned before, I feel I learned some important lessons on the traverse, and I wrote out some of my personal reflections at the bottom of this TR in case anyone is interested.

The route back down North Maroon wasn't too challenging compared to the traverse, but it still grabs your attention in spots. There are some tough down climbing sections, but we found a bit of looking around is often the best way to find the easiest lines. The first look wasn't always the best one.

Once we finally got to the gulleys it became a long and tiring slog down. With the fun over, and the down climbing sections finished, the car couldn't seem to get there close enough. This was a long day as we got back to the car after 10 1/2 hours of hiking. But both Ty and I had to be back in Denver, so our hopes for Pyramid were dashed. Kinda disappointing as physically we could have done it and the weather was offering a rare perfect window, but there's always another day.

These gulleys suck when all you want to do is get back to the car

These are the best "smiles" we can offer after being out there for 12 1/2 hours

So that's the basic trip summary. However, I am a firm believer that it's not the experiences of life, but what you learn and take away from them that really matters. Having said that, what I've written below is pretty reflective of what I learned from this climb. If you're not interested in my own personal ramblings (and hey, I wouldn't blame you

), this is a good place to stop reading.

So, having completed my first Great Colorado traverse on two of the most challenging mountains I've done yet, what did I learn? I think this is a very important question. The last thing I want to do is blindly keep walking up these peaks. For me, the experience is wasted if I don't let it teach me, change me, and mature me.

I've been on a 14er blitz since moving back to the U.S. these were my 16th and 17th peaks this season. I've been planning lots of trips, buying new gear, meeting other people interested in climbing, and just generally getting really excited about it. I love it! Now, none of that is inherently a bad thing, but the Bells provided a well timed and much needed speed bump to my progress. I've done plenty of class 3 climbs, but this was my first great traverse and also my first experience with sustained class 4 over extreme exposure. I think there are 3 main things I've learned from the experience

1. Take baby steps
2. It's good to be humble
3. A good guide is invaluable

The first major take away from this climb was more fully realize just how serious and dangerous these more difficult climbs are. You are literally one slip away from disaster. As one quote I love goes, "We are all immortal until it is our turn." This really hit home for me yesterday. In retrospect, I realize now my approach to the more difficult peaks was a bit too rash and aggressive. I still think I am more conservative than most out people out there, but I'd say I was overestimating my own 'expertise' a little bit. It is good to challenge yourself and always be improving and moving up in the world, but as Ben says, there is nothing wrong with taking baby steps. This is a great point. People often get hurt when they do too much too soon. There is no shame in slowly improving.

The second thing I learned is that it is good to be humbled. The crux section of the route was a big moment for me. I had the options of either listening to everything my mind was telling me ("don't do this, this one move is a BAD idea"), or listening to the ridiculous 'machismo' voices in my head telling me to suck it up and go. I'm glad I listened to the voice of wisdom. I know some people can do that move no problem, but really who gives a crap at all about what other people think? It's better to be humble and alive than rash and dead. I think this is a lifestyle thing. I'm all for challenges and epic adventure, but when you stupdily push the limit all the time, eventually something bad WILL happen. As my friend Eric says about your own experience, fears, and abilities, "the mountain doesn't care." This is another great point. There is no sympathy or forgiveness from the peak. They key is to never put yourself in a position where you need it. I was also blessed to have two great friends with me who respected and supported my decision to take the "easy way". There is no substitute for good partners.

Finally, I learned that relatively new mountaineers (such as myself) really can't benefit enough from mature, responsible, and experienced guides. Although he might not agree, Ben's guidance and leadership up this really made it a great trip, and saved us a ton of headaches. I always knew what an asset an experienced partner is, now I know it even more. Thanks dude!

So, to wrap all that up I will end with this. I still love the mountains, I love 14ers, and I love the adventure. I am still very excited to keep climbing and experience new challenges. The Bells in no way killed my passion, but it redirected it in a much more humble, conservative, and healthy direction.

Happy climbing!

PS: I forgot to say thank you to Anna-Lisa (Ben's wife) for the awesome banana bread. Not even 12 hours old when we had it on the summit. Amazing...

Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):

Comments or Questions

globreal	Thanks for being honest.... 7/24/2010 5:44pm and sharing your thoughts and not just the details of the climb. Great job!
scottfarish	We heard of this legendary quest 7/24/2010 10:17pm We had a group of 5 that was right behind you. In fact, one of the guys in our group (Drew, I think) was trying to catch up to you. We ended up summitting N. Maroon around 9:00, and we saw a group standing on S. Maroon (maybe you guys??). Drew and Brian from our group began the traverse across to S. Maroon, but we lost sight of them when they were on that tricky exposed ridge. Did you ever cross paths with them? I'm interested to know if they made it to the South summit. Great job, too! - awesome pictures of this traverse.
Zambo	re:We heard of this legendary quest 7/25/2010 2:18pm hey there! ya, we saw a group on the summit of n maroon and then passed Drew and Bran about mid way through the traverse. at the point we saw them they had done all the difficult sections, so i'm sure they made it to the top. what did you think of that descent off n. maroon? seemed like it took forever to us...
scottfarish	re: 7/25/2010 8:41pm Good to hear that Drew and Brian most likely made the 2nd summit. We were a little concerned when they dropped out of our sight, but they both appeared to be strong climbers, and I'm sure they did fine. The descent off N. Maroon was arduous. That 2nd gully seemed so much steeper than it did on the ascent. We opted to take the Class III bypass instead of the Class IV chimney. The chimney was fun to climb, but none of us felt comfortable down-climbing it. But, compared to the S. Maroon slog, North seemed like a breeze Great job again... I really enjoyed reading your report of that wicked traverse.
susanjoypaul	No substitute for good partners 7/25/2010 10:25pm Amen to that! Your candor is refreshing. That's one hell of a traverse and anyone who minimizes it is fooling himself, but they ain't foolin' anybody else. Excellent report. And for the record: as far as I know, there's no trail on that traverse, so however you do it is ”on route” ;-)
Presto	Mental challenge ... 7/27/2010 10:52pm Yes, indeedy, sometimes the more exposed stuff is more of a mental grind for me too. I very much appreciated your parting thoughts ... listening to your instinct is a good trait to have. Nice photos ... thanks for posting. Happy trails!

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