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Pyramid Peak (14,018’)
Northeast Ridge
Hiking Group: Bill Stafford, Mike Schumacher, Dave Pneuman, & Brian Kooienga
After posting several weeks ago that I was looking for some other 14erworld members to join me on this climb; Bill, Dave, and Mike all responded that they were interested. I guess it didn’t take a lot of arm-twisting. It’s tough to beat a mid-September day in the Elks, especially one like last Saturday. Bill and I rode out together Friday night, and we met up with Dave at the overnight lot at Maroon Lake. We slept outside near our vehicles and were not hassled at all by the overnight staff. There were several other groups also doing the same thing. I guess the staff out there relaxes a little on overnight camping when they get out of the summer high season.
Bill, Dave, and I hit the trail a little before 6. Originally, we had agreed to meet Mike at the trailhead at 5am. As usual, I slept through my alarm and we just missed him. It was light by the time we reached the turn off for Pyramid trail, so finding it was no problem. There is nice trail being put in by the CFI all the way up to the talus field. After about an hour and ½, we arrived in the lower portion of the amphitheatre and there Mike was waiting for us. After some brief introductions, we all noticed that the wind still had a pretty good bite to it. We were also in the shade of Pyramid’s north face, so it didn’t take long for us to decide to keep moving. As far as we could tell, there was just one woman ahead of us on the route. I was glad there weren’t any big groups ahead of us given all the rock fall danger I had read about on this mountain. As we all moved up further into the amphitheatre, we could tell it was going to be a perfect weather day. Barely a cloud in the sky, and a nice cool breeze to keep you from overheating. The Aspens were also just beginning to turn. The next couple weeks should be prime time for catching the fall colors. Further up into the amphitheatre, the day’s first real challenge lay directly ahead of us. The steep 1,000’ climb up to the northeast ridge at 13,000’ was a real slog! Mainly it was just a matter of keeping moving and getting through it. We all reached the saddle just before 9am and took a well-deserved break.
The remainder of the route above the saddle was pretty strait forward. The route over to, and up the green gulley was well cairned. Beyond that, there are several options you can take up to the summit. It seemed like all paths take you to the same place. It’s just a matter of which one looks best to you. Yes, there are areas on the climb where if you fell off it, you’d be in trouble. But there are great hand and footholds all over the place. I think it would be difficult to get yourself into trouble as long as you were checking all your holds. Most of the scrambling was 3rd class, with maybe a 4th class move here or there. The entire route was still snow free. We all moved well together as group, and at 10:15 we arrived on the summit and enjoyed the views in all directions. This was one of the clearest days in recent memory. We could easily pick out peaks in the San Juans to the west, see virtually the entire Sawatch Range, and see all the way to Grays and Torreys to the east. Combined with the mixture of colors and other peaks of the Elk Range, it was a classic day for sure. I think Mike mentioned he was happy he decided to come, rather than staying home and working on his porch. Good call Mike! After awhile on top, we noticed that there were many groups still coming up behind us, so we all decided to get moving. We certainly didn’t want to be below any of them on the way back down. Rock fall is definitely a concern on this peak.
On the way back I down, I ran into Jim Mallory, who was part of a large 14erworld group who climbed Culebra last year. It seems like running into other members on this board is becoming a normal occurance. Other than a few route finding “variances” by yours truly, and a couple falls trying to ski a snowfield in the amphitheatre, the descent went pretty well. As I mentioned before, we moved really well as a group all day. Each of us took turns leading different sections, and the pace was one that we were all comfortable with. We arrived back at the trailhead at 2pm for a total round trip of 8 hours.
As usual, it was great meeting and climbing with new people from 14erworld. It’s always better to share in days like Saturday, especially with others who enjoy the Colorado outdoors as much as you do. A big thanks to Dave, Mike, and Bill for responding, and props again to 14erworld for making this possible. |
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