Elks 14ers by difficulty, your experiences

[LURE]

How would people compare the El Diente north slopes couloir - free of snow - to some standard rock fall danger in the Elks? I know that you're really supposed to avoid that gully on El Diente free of snow. Oh well, we did it and I certainly don't wanna go up it again - we had no prior knowledge of the buttress option.

[Kiefer]

1.) Castle-Conundrum
2.) S. Maroon
3.) N. Maroon
4.) Capital
5.) Pyramid
6.) Snowmass (Saved for my finisher- in winter)

If I could impart one piece of advice for the Elks, is that you MUST be nimble. Being quick, agile and nimble on loose rock-'n'-roll is tantamount to safety.
And, as a backup piece of advice, is to be confident in your skills. Confidence works great in dating and it works great in climbing. I know that may seem obvious and perhaps putting the cart before the horse, but I've seen in others and experienced myself what a lack in confidence & being overly cautious will do. Even if you lack the requisite skills for a grade, having that assurity and belief in yourself will carry you through a lot of difficulties. And the wonderful thing about that, is that it compounds.

On solid ground, like everything in the Sawatch, Front Range etc. one can afford to be static and lackadaisical. The problem, is that through the normal progression of skills and difficulties, by the time you reach the Elks, you've had a lopsided amount of class 1 and 2 and virtually no experience or exposure on loose rock. Now all of a sudden, the ground moves, you can't trust it. Of course you should be nervous and suspect. But use that as a strength, not a weakness nor something to be afraid of! Knowing the consequences of anything takes away the unknown.

I did the aforementioned but I also did tons of class-3 peaks (non-14ers) interspersed. I did training runs through the Boulderfield (Longs Peak) and would run the Hanging Lake Trail (when I lived in Vail).
With the point being to focus on my agility, nimbleness and quickness of foot.
Don't let gravity work against you, make it work WITH you.

Hope that helps!!!

[GeezerClimber]

My order: Castle, Capitol, Snowmass, Pyramid, N. Maroon, Maroon. Like one of the other posters, I did not think N. Maroon was as bad as its reputation but there are a lot of fatal accidents on it. My theory is that people doing the traverse get off route descending and that's where the trouble begins. I also think the loose rock on the bells and Pyramid is over hyped. It's there but the reality is no where near as bad as the reputation. Capitol and Snowmass have loose rock hazard too. Little Bear's loose rock is the scariest IMO.

Dave

[pmeadco]

How would people compare the El Diente north slopes couloir - free of snow - to some standard rock fall danger in the Elks?

Personally, I think the El Diente couloir is much worse. There is a lot of teetering piles of small rock in that couloir that are ready to break loose at any time, and it is a continuous chute from top to bottom which gives falling rock lots of opportunity to gather speed or knock other rocks loose, unlike most of the Elks chutes, where you often traverse from one short section to another.

I found the sketchiness of the rock to be greatly overstated on maroon bells and pyramid. I dont remember anyone in our party knocking any loose rocks down at all, either on the standard routes or on the bells traverse. There is an issue with goats and other people knocking junk down. If you concentrate and test your holds the danger is not nearly as high as some people state. Just make sure you know the route.

I agree with this assessment. Yeah, there is some crappy rock there, but if you are paying attention that is a risk that is easily mitigated.

Everybody has their own challenges, so I understand and respect that others may find things more difficult than I did, and vice versa. I am not a mountaineer, and I have no real ambition to become a trad climber, but I have spent a lot of time on rocks so I'm generally pretty comfortable up to class 4. The only sections that gave me pause was a small (like about 6') section on the Knife Edge on Capitol that didn't have many grips to choose from in the way of cracks or indentations (I did not butt-scoot across it) and the first move off the top of the crux on North Maroon. Pyramid was just plain fun to me. Maroon was an interesting route-finding challenge, but the slog down the "2000 feet of suck" did get old. I did W. Snowmass and am continually baffled by the terrifying descriptions people post about it -- just stay to the left (northern) spines, judge each rock you touch before putting weight on it, and, as stated by Kiefer, be ready to adjust if things move on you.

I love the Elks. Lots of fun challenges and just a gorgeous place to hang out.

[wildlobo71]

My order: Castle, Capitol, Snowmass, Pyramid, N. Maroon, Maroon. Like one of the other posters, I did not think N. Maroon was as bad as its reputation but there are a lot of fatal accidents on it. My theory is that people doing the traverse get off route descending and that's where the trouble begins. I also think the loose rock on the bells and Pyramid is over hyped. It's there but the reality is no where near as bad as the reputation. Capitol and Snowmass have loose rock hazard too. Little Bear's loose rock is the scariest IMO.

Dave

I agree with your points. I broke a finger due to the golden bee-bee of single rock fall smashes on the NW face of LB... However, IMO, the worst loose rock combined with angles and tough lines is El Diente's trash approach in Kilpacker Basin, or the descent from Mt. Wilson into the same.

Easiest to Most Difficult:
Castle
Conundrum
Snowmass
South Maroon
North Maroon
Capitol (rock fall experience pushes this down)
Pyramid (rock fall and a resultant cracked helmet pushes this down... but it's also my favorite Elks.)

[SchralpTheGnar]

On a macro level they are all about the same, more impactful will be conditions and how "on your game" you are. For example I did capitol, the full ridge from the daly saddle to the summit in November and it felt very easy but I was honed when I did it. I got up off of the couch in may and did the bell cord on maroon and it was comparably much more difficult and intense. For the record, My favorite 14er experience thus far was snowmass in may. North Maroon north face snow climb was incredible, amazing climb in stellar conditions. Have never been up pyramid, waiting. For a 1200" snow year for that one.

[Dan_Suitor]

You don’t have to do them in the order ascending difficulty. In fact, I decided to do Pyramid after Castle and Conundrum to get over any apprehensions I had of the Elks. It worked and the other peaks in the Elks did not appear as daunting.

That being said, and if your goal is to eventually bag them all, I’d recommend Pyramid or North Maroon next. Just start early on a day with good weather and you won’t be as rushed allowing you to take your time.

If you want a confidence booster before taking it on, try the Bierstadt – Evans Sawtooth traverse or Kelso Ridge on Torreys for good class 3 routes with exposure that are closer to home.

Good luck and be safe.
Dan

[handonbroward]

My order: Castle, Capitol, Snowmass, Pyramid, N. Maroon, Maroon. Like one of the other posters, I did not think N. Maroon was as bad as its reputation but there are a lot of fatal accidents on it. My theory is that people doing the traverse get off route descending and that's where the trouble begins. I also think the loose rock on the bells and Pyramid is over hyped. It's there but the reality is no where near as bad as the reputation. Capitol and Snowmass have loose rock hazard too. Little Bear's loose rock is the scariest IMO.

Dave

I agree with your points. I broke a finger due to the golden bee-bee of single rock fall smashes on the NW face of LB... However, IMO, the worst loose rock combined with angles and tough lines is El Diente's trash approach in Kilpacker Basin, or the descent from Mt. Wilson into the same.

Easiest to Most Difficult:
Castle
Conundrum
Snowmass
South Maroon
North Maroon
Capitol (rock fall experience pushes this down)
Pyramid (rock fall and a resultant cracked helmet pushes this down... but it's also my favorite Elks.)

Geez what happened on Pyramid? Rock fall induced by another party or a goat? Typically the only real rockfall there is all the way to the back of the amphitheater, where no human being short of one with a death wish should ever venture.

[kaiman]

I did W. Snowmass and am continually baffled by the terrifying descriptions people post about it -- just stay to the left (northern) spines, judge each rock you touch before putting weight on it, and, as stated by Kiefer, be ready to adjust if things move on you.

I agree with this. Having climbed Snowmass from both from the west side (S-Ridge up, West Slopes down) and the East side from Snowmass Lake (twice), there is certainly loose rock, but it is easily avoidable if you take the time and effort to pay attention and test each hold. On the other hand Capitol has a similar type of rock as Snowmass, but you have the added pressure of it being a bit more technical and a lot more exposed which elevates things as slipping or grabbing a bad hold could easily become fatal.

Like one of the other posters, I did not think N. Maroon was as bad as its reputation but there are a lot of fatal accidents on it. My theory is that people doing the traverse get off route descending and that's where the trouble begins. I also think the loose rock on the bells and Pyramid is over hyped. It's there but the reality is no where near as bad as the reputation.
Dave

True, the complicated route finding in general, and particularly on the traverse has definitely lead to it's fair share of accidents and fatalities. I too, found the Maroon Bells reputation to be a bit overblown, however, what worried me most on my climbs of both of those peaks was less the rock under my feet, but the fact that due to the steepness and nature of the routes, any rock that falls from above has a chance of hitting you without warning which has also proved fatal in the past. So being there early, and being aware of and staying well out of range of the trajectory of other climbing parties is very important.

I also agree with pmeadco and GeezerClimber that Little Bear and El Diente rival if not surpass most of the 14ers in the Elks for crappy rock quality and objective danger.

Kai

[TallGrass]

My third thru fifth 14ers were N. Maroon, Pyramid, then Capitol. I think much of it is mental in that if you think it's hard, you tense up, which makes it harder, feeding a self-fulfilling prophecy, instead of just zoning in/out to just focus on the next step, the next link section in the chain, and enjoying the moment, the views, and (hopefully) the weather.

I'd second the idea of dealing with dynamic versus static terrain. Some kids grow up playing only on sidewalks, paved streets, bolted-down jungle gyms while others explore creeks with cliffy dirt sides, home construction sites with piles of loose rock, climbing trees high enough to where branches are small enough to move and break.

[fahixson]

My Elk 14ers have gone like this ...

• 2007 - Castle (no summit because it was my second 14er outing and I was reading the map upside down)
  2009 - Castle (no Conundrum due to weather)
  2015 - Snowmass (attempted East Slopes, turned around a few hundred feet below summit because of wet/soft snow and trouble staying dry getting around lake in the dark)
  2015 - Pyramid
  2016 - Capitol
  2016 - N Maroon
  2016 - Castle (no Conundrum because we were worn out from Capitol & N Maroon in the days prior)
  2017 - Castle & Conundrum
  2017 - Maroon (planned)
  2018 - Snowmass (S Ridge planned)

By difficulty, I would rate as follows (obviously speculating a little bit because I haven't made the summit of Maroon or Snowmass yet) ...
Castle, Conundrum, Pyramid, N Maroon, Maroon, Snowmass, Capitol

Seems like the general consensus is that C&C is the easiest, Capitol the hardest and the other four will just depend on conditions, goats, other people, and how you're feeling that day. The more time we've spent in the Elks, the better our success rate has been. Advice I wish I had from the beginning - One partner is good, two strong partners are great; Start earlier than you think necessary so you can go slower on the upper portions where route finding is critical both up and down.

[RonfarZ3]

The order I did them in was:
- Castle/Conundrum
- Snowmass Mountain
- Maroon Peak
- Pyramid Peak
- North Maroon
- Capitol Peak

In terms of difficulty, I'd rank them as follows (easiest to hardest):
- Castle/Conundrum
- Maroon Peak
- North Maroon
- Snowmass Mountain
- Capitol Peak
- Pyramid Peak

Pyramid really got in my head and freaked me out, but I found the Bells to be easier than I expected, mostly because of that "Deadly Bells" sign at the end of the lake. Did Snowmass from the S-Ridge, which had its difficulties in getting to the trailhead, as well as getting to the ridge and getting down from the ridge.