Intro

Being able to do 14ers with your family members is truly a blessing. For the past decade, I have been climbing the 58 with my sister, Meghan, and my dad, Tony. It has been a journey of epic highs and grueling lows, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. On 09/14/2024, we ventured out to pyramid to get Meghan's last 14er. This would also be Tony's SECOND time finishing the 14ers. He did them all along with the centennials throughout the 70s-90s. Now, he's been doing them with his kids. At 64, the legend is still bagging the peaks! He's a true inspiration to me. Meghan too is a great sibling to look up to with doing the 14ers. Despite numerous setbacks, she did 14 14ers this summer. Truly incredible! Anyway, let's see what we got up to during our ascent/descent of Pyramid.

The Climb

Starting at 4:00 A.M. with a bluebird day ahead of us, our climb of Pyramid was looking to be quite solid. Below treeline and up to the Ampitheatre entrance though, we got hit by some strong wind. The gusts around the amp. entrance were particularly bad. After we ventured further into it, the wind died down and we were welcomed by a scenic sunrise overlooking the basin.

I personally dislike the Amphitheatre because of its never-ending boulder field and brutal exit slope to the 13k saddle. Going up something that steep really tests your Achilles! After getting to the 13k saddle, we were greeted with a great view of the remaining climb and a new friend.

I found the climb after the 13k saddle quite nice and my favorite part of the ascent. Simple route-finding, fun scrambling, and a cute little leap of faith gave me a lot of enjoyment. Tony/Meghan were having fun as well and were getting closer and closer to their final summits. I think the greatest threat on pyramid is the rockfall. There's a fair amount of loose gravel/rock on the upper portion that can get sent flying frequently on a busy day. There's enough Cairns to keep you focused and the hard moves hold solid rock. As we inched closer to the summit, it kept feeling more surreal. This journey of my dad's/sister's that I have been a part of for so many years was reaching its conclusion.

I reached the summit first and got to welcome my family to their last summit of the 58. Boy was it awesome! There were some tears, laughs, and wide smiles as Tony and Meghan touched the final USGS marker. Pyramid is a popular finisher peak, and I understand why. The views from the top are arguably the best in the entire state. It's rare when you get to see four other major peaks from the top (Capitol, Maroons, Snowmass). There was another woman on the summit on who was also finishing and lent us some 58 balloons. If you end up reading this, thanks so much!

After some celebration and enjoyment on the summit, we began our journey downward. This would be Tony's last time on Pyramid and descending seemed like he was saying a final goodbye to an old friend. You can complete the 14ers, but I feel like you can never truly finish them. The mountains always beckon the climber even after they ascend them. Take my dad as an example haha.

Getting down was admittedly pretty rough. Pyramid's steepness makes descending hard in some spots. The slope the 13k saddle and Amphitheatre were real chores and made me long for the parking lot. The descent becomes much better after the amp and you get some great views of the Bells on your way down.

After reaching Maroon lake, we were greeted by Meghan's husband and my mom Suzanne. They had another set of 58 balloons for us to celebrate with! Having people back in civilization who would fight tooth and nail to help you if something went wrong on a 14er is another true blessing. My mom and brother-in-law, despite not being on the peaks with us, were crucial components of our team over the years. Having them there for the last one was awesome. Reaching the summit was great, but getting down was another level of satisfaction. My 14er season of 11 summits during the summer had concluded and Meghan/Tony had achieved the goal they worked at for so long.

Conclusion

With 52 14ers done, I'll do six more next summer to round out my 58. Meghan and tony are in for some well-deserved relaxation and an Alpine break haha. getting to bear witness to the culmination of years of hard work was an amazing experience. I am so proud of my sister/father, and I have them to thank for keeping me engaged with the mountains. Climbing a mountain is great, but getting to experience it with my loved ones is what kept me coming back every time.