Much of the route up North Maroon can be seen from Maroon Lake -
1. Leave the trailhead, walk past the lake start up the Crater Lake trail -
2. Walk approximately 1.75 miles to a signed trail junction and turn right onto the Maroon-Snowmass trail -
3. Continue over 0.75 miles to the trail junction
for North Maroon -
4. Turn left and descend to the creek in Minnehaha Gulch -
5 and
6. Cross the stream and follow the well-defined trail as it zig zags up through talus fields -
7 and
8. Near 11,100', turn left beneath cliffs and continue to another talus field -
9. Near 11,500', reach an open, grassy area where North Maroon comes back into view -
10. Continue to the rock glacier
below the north face -
11.
Follow cairns and trail segments onto the rock glacier and cross it while aiming for a break in the cliffs on the other side -
12. Keeping looking for cairns and you should not lose or gain much elevation as you cross. Beyond the rocks, locate a more-defined trail and follow it south around a corner -
13. Shortly past the corner, turn right and climb 200 feet below cliffs -
14. At 11,950', reach a corner where you get your first look at the next portion of the route - a broad gully that extends to the northeast ridge -
15 and
16. For the remainder of this route description, this gully will be referred to as the
1ST GULLY . Follow the trail into the gully and begin climbing the left side -
17. You'll climb 600 feet before exiting on the left side, below the white cliffs seen in
16. Much of this area is steep Class 2 hiking but as you ascend, the terrain becomes a bit more difficult -
17. Above 12,600', follow the trail left and exit the gully -
18. Turn another corner and traverse across ledges to reach the entrance to the
2nd GULLY near 12,700' -
19.
The route now becomes more difficult and time consuming. If the weather is deteriorating, turn back! This gully is steeper than the 1st and has plenty of loose rock and scrambling near the top. Descend slightly to reach the center of the gully and begin climbing -
20 and
21. Above 12,900', the gully gets steeper -
22. Follow the faint trail along the left side of the gully as you aim for a notch in the ridge, left of a hump of rock -
23. At the notch, turn left and climb through cliff bands (
24 and
25) to gain the ridge crest
near 13,300' -
26.
Continue a short distance to reach a rock band, near 13,500' -
27. Climbing the band direct is the crux of the route and involves a short, Class 4 chimney. There's a Class 3 way around to the right but it's longer and forces you into more loose rock so most people climb the rock band directly. If you're having trouble identifying the chimney, look for the two leaning blocks just above it -
28. Walk up to the pitch and carefully begin climbing -
29 and
30. At the top, turn right and follow easier terrain before turning left to climb back toward the ridge crest -
31 and
32. Climb onto a precipice where you can see the remaining 300 feet to the summit -
33 and
34. Leave the precipice, ascend the edge of the ridge and climb the last steep, exposed Class 3/4 ledges -
35. Back on easy ground, walk a short Class 2 section to reach the summit
-
36,
37 and
38. Taken from Pyramid Peak,
39 shows the east side of North Maroon and the route between the 1st and 2nd gullies.