Climbed South Maroon Peak via standard route. Started from Maroon Lake at 5am and reached the summit at 10:20am. Continued on the traverse to North Maroon Peak. Nice walk in the valley followed by annoying loose ascent of the south ridge and some enjoyable scrambling to the summit. Good weather, great views.
Diggler - Jun 14, 2010 1:00 pm Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2010
Bell Cord
Brutal day! Eric picked me up from the airport at 22.30 the night before. Had to give it a go on the day after I flew in, as weather forecast for next 3 days terrible, & Eric had to leave by Sunday.
Rolled into the porcupine-occupied Bells campground & ready to sleep ~3.30. Woke up 5.45. Ugh. Left day-use parking lot @ 6.43. Made good progress on chill approach. Crater Lake & environs beautiful- would be a wonderful place to camp.
Slow progress up the couloir, being we were both wasted from less than 3 hours of sleep. Snow slushy but consolidated. Ambiguous wording in guidebook led us to do an inobvious ascent above the Garbage Chutes on the R, instead of what appeared to be (upon inspection afterwards) the standard way up to the L.
After through the Garbage Chutes, angle amazingly consistent until the couloir terminus. Awesome to look down at the top of the couloir & see 3,000' straight down to the river!
While mostly good through the climb, the weather seemed like it might turn upon our reaching the notch. It hailed/snow lightly for a bit, making the rocks above wet. Despite my reservations about the questionable looking clouds above, as well as the slippery rocks, I decided there was no way I was leaving after all the effort expended at this point without giving it a go.
Despite the decent exposure at the get-go from the notch, holds were big and manageable. Went up steadily. From a technical standpoint, the climbing was not difficult; what was notable was the feeling that every hold might come out, the at-times huge exposure, and the rubble-covered downward sloping ledges. Moving across rock, vs. slushy snow, though, was gratifying, and the distance to the summit from the notch is relatively short. Moved on up, summiting at 15.14. Took a few photos, relished the fog in front of the amazing views, & departed at 15.21.
Getting to the notch, we took care of some odds & ends, & left ~ 16.45. Snow conditions (slushy with little bearing capacity) made me decide to downclimb the couloir facing in, which took some time.
It got dark a little above the Garbage Chutes, so instead of wasting a ton of time trying to find the way down our convoluted route, we just decided to bivy in our safe, relatively flat location.
While it was one of the shortest nights of the year, it was one of the longest nights of my life... Doubt either of us slept more than half an hour. After untold suffering, we finally departed shortly before 5. Route-finding & remaining downclimbing was uneventful. Got back to the parking lot ~9.30. While enjoying some recovery beers at the truck, SAR came by & found us, ensuring we were OK- thanks for looking out, Lark!
Epic trip with a good friend. Timing worked out great- the afternoon we returned it rained non-stop, with mountains hidden behind thick clouds.
Started up at 4:45AM and reached summit via south ridge route with several new friends at 11:31AM . Headed back down at 12:00 noon and back to the TH at 5:45PM. My 48th 14'er with perfect weather all day long....sweet!
cftbq - Aug 21, 2009 1:55 am Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2009
South Ridge
Camped overnight at the bent tree to shorten this route. The Hill of Death is unrelenting, and god-awful loose; actually worse coming down. Swung wide to the left to minimize the slope and enjoy more of the ridge. 10 hrs. RT with some 40 min. on the top in flawless summer sunshine. Route finding is challenging. Gullies are loose and crappy. Actual rock climbing and ridge walking is outstanding.
noahs213 - Aug 2, 2009 5:19 am Date Climbed: Jul 31, 2009
One Traumatic Experience
Horrible luck. Planned the traverse. Perfect weather turned into a whiteout and thunder on the middle of it. Long story short. Me and my climbing partner had to get rescued out by the Aspen Mountain Rescue. Will post a TR soon.
Started late from Maroon Lake parking lot (11:30), and ran the first section (until the bend tree). Was completely alone on the trail (midweek), and my dog got bloody paws from the sharp rock. Duchess was truly amazing (getting close to completing all fourteeners. I did not take her on Pyramid).
8/8/14 - 2nd time up South Maroon - the route was rerouted and is well marked with a cairn, a long haul up, felt technically easy.
jrf - Mar 24, 2009 12:01 am Date Climbed: Sep 6, 2008
South Ridge
11.5 hours to do South Maroon. We elected not to do the traverse. We did have perfect September weather all day. The descent back down to the valley was brutal on the knees.
COhawkeye - Mar 18, 2009 1:46 pm Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2008
South Ridge and Traverse
Slog up the slope but worth it once the traverse began.
ajfraser - Aug 26, 2008 12:27 pm Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2008
brutal bell cord
I would normally never attempt a snow climb this late in the summer, but after some reconnaissance we found that last winter's epic snowpack was still holding deep and strong into August. With a 3 a.m. start we found the snow to be plenty hard up until the last 100 meters to the saddle as the sunrise began the thaw. That being said, there were a couple sketchy snow bridges to circumnavigate from underlying meltwater hollowing tunnels and 3 or more short sections where late thaw left 15 foot crux pitches of 60+ degrees. Very hands on and sustained. A very long and demanding couloir, but outstanding. Final rock scramble to S. summit was enjoyable, and a relief to finally shed the crampons. Descent of Maroon's east slope is every bit as brutal as described. Knees will be screaming at the bottom. Brilliant day.
centrifuge - Jan 13, 2011 12:33 am Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2009
with some extra spicethere was snow and ice on the way up, was a cool climb
thatnissanguy - Dec 18, 2010 9:56 pm Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2010
The Bell Cord Couloir and TraverseGreat climb. Descent from South Maroon back to the Cord was a little sketch. Climbing on the traverse was STELLAR.
Matt Miller - Dec 11, 2010 1:30 pm Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2008
Steep!A large group of us (Kevin, Matt, myself and two others I'd not met before) ascended the south ridge. Good weather and a great day!
BLong - Sep 28, 2010 11:48 pm Date Climbed: Sep 25, 2010
For whom the Bell TollsSouth Maroon was a big, loose, icy, snowy peak on the day we climbed it. The traverse was a bit hairy.
blueshade - Sep 23, 2010 12:24 pm Date Climbed: Sep 21, 2010
Maroon TraverseVery nice scramble. Traverse is a little gnarly in places but doable by a confident climber.
vidclimber - Sep 11, 2010 1:03 pm Date Climbed: Sep 4, 2010
South to NorthGeat hike. Not as much scrambling as I thought. The Treavse made it a great climb.
GrumpyJohn - Aug 30, 2010 9:56 pm Date Climbed: Aug 25, 2010
My First 14erNice hike. Great Goats!
theREALCarpeDM - Aug 7, 2010 1:04 am Date Climbed: Jul 18, 2010
standard routeThe 2800 feet to gain the ridge was the WORST! Except for that it was fun - but Pyramid is better.
metal4lyf - Aug 3, 2010 11:43 pm Date Climbed: Jul 15, 2010
Bell Cord and TraverseThis was an incredible but long day. I'm not sure if we took the hard way from the rock glacier on descent. RT 16:45
strudolyubov - Jul 18, 2010 12:49 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2010
South to North Maroon TraverseClimbed South Maroon Peak via standard route. Started from Maroon Lake at 5am and reached the summit at 10:20am. Continued on the traverse to North Maroon Peak. Nice walk in the valley followed by annoying loose ascent of the south ridge and some enjoyable scrambling to the summit. Good weather, great views.
Diggler - Jun 14, 2010 1:00 pm Date Climbed: Jun 11, 2010
Bell CordBrutal day! Eric picked me up from the airport at 22.30 the night before. Had to give it a go on the day after I flew in, as weather forecast for next 3 days terrible, & Eric had to leave by Sunday.
Rolled into the porcupine-occupied Bells campground & ready to sleep ~3.30. Woke up 5.45. Ugh. Left day-use parking lot @ 6.43. Made good progress on chill approach. Crater Lake & environs beautiful- would be a wonderful place to camp.
Slow progress up the couloir, being we were both wasted from less than 3 hours of sleep. Snow slushy but consolidated. Ambiguous wording in guidebook led us to do an inobvious ascent above the Garbage Chutes on the R, instead of what appeared to be (upon inspection afterwards) the standard way up to the L.
After through the Garbage Chutes, angle amazingly consistent until the couloir terminus. Awesome to look down at the top of the couloir & see 3,000' straight down to the river!
While mostly good through the climb, the weather seemed like it might turn upon our reaching the notch. It hailed/snow lightly for a bit, making the rocks above wet. Despite my reservations about the questionable looking clouds above, as well as the slippery rocks, I decided there was no way I was leaving after all the effort expended at this point without giving it a go.
Despite the decent exposure at the get-go from the notch, holds were big and manageable. Went up steadily. From a technical standpoint, the climbing was not difficult; what was notable was the feeling that every hold might come out, the at-times huge exposure, and the rubble-covered downward sloping ledges. Moving across rock, vs. slushy snow, though, was gratifying, and the distance to the summit from the notch is relatively short. Moved on up, summiting at 15.14. Took a few photos, relished the fog in front of the amazing views, & departed at 15.21.
Getting to the notch, we took care of some odds & ends, & left ~ 16.45. Snow conditions (slushy with little bearing capacity) made me decide to downclimb the couloir facing in, which took some time.
It got dark a little above the Garbage Chutes, so instead of wasting a ton of time trying to find the way down our convoluted route, we just decided to bivy in our safe, relatively flat location.
While it was one of the shortest nights of the year, it was one of the longest nights of my life... Doubt either of us slept more than half an hour. After untold suffering, we finally departed shortly before 5. Route-finding & remaining downclimbing was uneventful. Got back to the parking lot ~9.30. While enjoying some recovery beers at the truck, SAR came by & found us, ensuring we were OK- thanks for looking out, Lark!
Epic trip with a good friend. Timing worked out great- the afternoon we returned it rained non-stop, with mountains hidden behind thick clouds.
Witnessed numerous incidences of rockfall.
dclimb14me - Apr 26, 2010 12:18 am
AwesomeAwe inspiring, great views off the back to Snowmass and Capital. One of my favorites.
bryangast - Jan 7, 2010 10:14 pm Date Climbed: Aug 1, 1997
2 dayA with the connecting traverse.
myrone - Sep 12, 2009 2:40 pm Date Climbed: Sep 11, 2009
South Maroon via Maroon Lake THStarted up at 4:45AM and reached summit via south ridge route with several new friends at 11:31AM . Headed back down at 12:00 noon and back to the TH at 5:45PM. My 48th 14'er with perfect weather all day long....sweet!
cftbq - Aug 21, 2009 1:55 am Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2009
South RidgeCamped overnight at the bent tree to shorten this route. The Hill of Death is unrelenting, and god-awful loose; actually worse coming down. Swung wide to the left to minimize the slope and enjoy more of the ridge. 10 hrs. RT with some 40 min. on the top in flawless summer sunshine. Route finding is challenging. Gullies are loose and crappy. Actual rock climbing and ridge walking is outstanding.
noahs213 - Aug 2, 2009 5:19 am Date Climbed: Jul 31, 2009
One Traumatic ExperienceHorrible luck. Planned the traverse. Perfect weather turned into a whiteout and thunder on the middle of it. Long story short. Me and my climbing partner had to get rescued out by the Aspen Mountain Rescue. Will post a TR soon.
Liba Kopeckova - Jul 21, 2009 11:58 pm
with my dogStarted late from Maroon Lake parking lot (11:30), and ran the first section (until the bend tree). Was completely alone on the trail (midweek), and my dog got bloody paws from the sharp rock. Duchess was truly amazing (getting close to completing all fourteeners. I did not take her on Pyramid).
8/8/14 - 2nd time up South Maroon - the route was rerouted and is well marked with a cairn, a long haul up, felt technically easy.
jrf - Mar 24, 2009 12:01 am Date Climbed: Sep 6, 2008
South Ridge11.5 hours to do South Maroon. We elected not to do the traverse. We did have perfect September weather all day. The descent back down to the valley was brutal on the knees.
COhawkeye - Mar 18, 2009 1:46 pm Date Climbed: Aug 23, 2008
South Ridge and TraverseSlog up the slope but worth it once the traverse began.
ajfraser - Aug 26, 2008 12:27 pm Date Climbed: Aug 24, 2008
brutal bell cordI would normally never attempt a snow climb this late in the summer, but after some reconnaissance we found that last winter's epic snowpack was still holding deep and strong into August. With a 3 a.m. start we found the snow to be plenty hard up until the last 100 meters to the saddle as the sunrise began the thaw. That being said, there were a couple sketchy snow bridges to circumnavigate from underlying meltwater hollowing tunnels and 3 or more short sections where late thaw left 15 foot crux pitches of 60+ degrees. Very hands on and sustained. A very long and demanding couloir, but outstanding. Final rock scramble to S. summit was enjoyable, and a relief to finally shed the crampons. Descent of Maroon's east slope is every bit as brutal as described. Knees will be screaming at the bottom. Brilliant day.