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| Comparing Pyramid and North Maroon |
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I just completed North Maroon and Pyramid on consecutive days. As plenty of people asked me to compare them on the trail here are my thoughts.
First, thanks to the CFI people who built the trails in the talus on the lower reaches of both these peaks. It made a real difference at the end of a long day "to take the stairs" and not to have to pick my way down more rock! (But I still missed the final 5pm shuttle.) I guess they have moved on, but I'll hold off doing Maroon in the hope they give the Wall of Suck the same treatment.
Pyramid was a bigger challenge for me. It took me an hour longer even though I was better acclimatized and its shorter.
The three biggest differences I felt were:
- Route Finding:
Pyramid required a lot more work in this regard (see my Pyramid Trip Report), and I did a bit of backtracking along the way. The top of the second gully on North Maroon required some choices, but most of the rest of the time the route was quite obvious.
- Rock Quality:
North Maroon felt like a series of small ledges. While you certainly had to be careful and check holds, the rock was not as rotten as I expected it would be and the holds/foot placements on the bedrock were well worn or marked with sweaty palms. This made getting up and down much easier.
Pyramid had its ledges, but it seemed their was a lot more steep loose gravel and dirt mixed in.
- Exposure:
North Maroon was steep, but even the crux chimney didn't really feel exposed as the area at the base was flat.
Pyramid had a lot more places where I was conscious that I wouldn't want to fall. You might not die if you fell, but it would be a painful exit from the mountain.
Both were among my favorite 14ers.
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