| A Young Man's Game Trip Report |
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| A Young Man's Game   | 
| Page Type: Trip Report Location: Colorado, United States, North America Date Climbed/Hiked: Aug 23, 2008 Activities: Hiking, Scrambling Season: Summer | Page By: Aaron Johnson Created/Edited: Aug 28, 2008 / Sep 5, 2008 Object ID: 436479 Hits: 2866 Loading... Page Score: 92.59% - 73 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
PRELUDEI’ve never had an interest to climb all of Colorado’s famous and revered mountains over fourteen thousand feet high in elevation, let alone climb the Maroon Bells, widely regarded as two of Colorado’s most dangerous mountains. I was never into the fourteener thing, although I had climbed about half of them many times before they were known as fourteeners or even had trails on them. I climbed mountains because they looked cool!
The Maroon Bells |
Then I met Ellen on my fifth climb of Mount Democrat via the little used Southeast Ridge route. This girl had a strong will to climb all of Colorado’s fourteeners. My efforts to sway her desire in this matter were wasted, so I decided it was in my best interest to support her in this quest and get it done. Years later, we’re married and we climbed North Maroon Peak, which was a wonderful mountain that we both enjoyed. We were pleasantly surprised by the mountain’s character, and it made me appreciate the possibilities with its two fourteener neighbors, South Maroon and Pyramid Peak. Pyramid Peak was a cool looking mountain, and I had always considered climbing it, but I was in no hurry, and the same went for South Maroon.
Two years later and with much patience on Ellen’s and my part, we found ourselves at the end of Ellen’s fourteener quest. She only had three mountains left on the list. South Maroon, Pyramid and Tabeguache (Tab-a-wash). Unfortunately, during the course of the season, things had changed for her main partner: this person being me.
Somewhere along the list of outings we were executing every weekend, I acquired Achilles Tendonitis, which was on the brink of becoming the feared and tragically common Plantar Fasciitis. Two types of folks get this disorder. Young athletic types, and old athletic types, meaning me. By the time I had the situation diagnosed and a treatment was in place, I was days from going on a major vacation in the San Juans, with plans to climb seven mountains, two of which were included in the 2nd Annual SP Summer Gathering in the San Juans. My ailing left foot would not have withstood the pounding to ensue were it not for my podiatrist acting quickly (he’s a fellow mountain climber as well) and understanding the urgency of my situation. He had a Dynasplint technician see me the day before I left for the San Juans, at which time I was armed with a splint I would wear at night to keep my calf muscle and Achilles tendon stretched and limber. The Dynasplint saved my vacation and assured its huge success.
The following physical therapy sessions quickly got my foot back on track. I had recovered rapidly, much to my therapist’s amazement. I worked hard on this goal and stayed focused, and throughout the ordeal, continued hiking and climbing as we have always done-every weekend.
In order to support Ellen in her quest, I knew a climb of South Maroon loomed on the horizon. My big concern was distance and duration of gain. Eight mile days are perfect for me. 10 mile days can wear on my feet and ailing knees. A 12 mile day, with 4,800 feet of gain in less than three miles would be a whopper of a punishing climb on my ailing feet and joints. Naturally I was concerned, and not at all thrilled about the climb. Furthermore, the mountain had a renowned feature known as “the great slope,” which is even consistently reported in SP’s summit logs as the number one reason for folks never wanting to return to the mountain, and why people consistently ranked the mountain as one of their least favorite climbs.
Of course there were other route options. The famous traverse between the Maroon Bells is considered a classic, but I wasn’t about to get on Class 5 terrain without proper gear, although the route is done by hundreds every year without protection of any kind. I had quit climbing with ropes back in the 90s when I got tired of carrying the gear. Another route is a snow route called the Bell Cord Couloir. I used to climb in snow quite a bit, but I don’t care for it any more, I had long since quit carrying the gear and I no longer tolerate cold conditions very well. So the only sensible option for us was the third class South Ridge Route, with its notorious “great slope,” 2,800 feet of climbing on a fifty degree or more tundra slope littered in loose debris. Going up wouldn’t be so bad. Going down is what I was dreading.
Beyond the great slope was another mile of Class 3 scrambling that would take us two hours in one direction. Overall, the mountain, at this stage of my life, was a pretty big challenge to take on. I figured on a twelve hour day and I was expecting considerable knee and foot pain as the price to be paid.
Snowmass & Capitol Peaks |
CLIMBING SOUTH MAROON PEAKThe morning came quietly and efficiently. We woke up at 3:00 AM, met three other fellow climbers at the Maroon Creek trailhead and were hiking by 4:00AM. John, Josh and Dave would climb the route with us and continue over to North Maroon and descend its Northeast Ridge route. Ellen and I would climb and descend the brutal South Ridge route of South Maroon, and we knew our day would be much longer. John and Josh are young, in their twenties, and beginning their mountain climbing careers with much exuberant youth and vitality. Dave, an acquaintance of Ellen’s in his forties, planned on tagging along with them. Because of the dangerous nature of the mountain, we encouraged these three gentleman to blaze on ahead of us to minimize rock fall incidents and keep their faster pace. We were hiking in the dark, and ended up on the wrong trail, costing us about a half hour, but once we were on the right trail, we all made good time, they the three younger climbers did indeed blaze on ahead. We wouldn’t see Josh or John again until the day’s end.
The Great Slope |
By sunrise and a little over three miles later, we had departed the nice main trail and had engaged the dreaded great slope. Ellen was moving a little slower than usual, but I was feeling pretty good, all things considered. My physical therapist felt I would come away from the climb with no problems, so my confidence was high. All along it was in the back of my mind that this great slope I now toiled up on would severely punish me later, but I pressed on, knowing this got us one mountain closer to completing Ellen’s gallant quest.
The Great Slope |
I looked back to see Ellen struggling up the great slope, probably one of the most demoralizing features on a mountain I have ever seen. We are no strangers to long, steep slopes, having climbed in the Sawatch, the San Juans and in Glacier National Park. We’re no strangers to loose conditions, either, which this slope had plenty of. Usually the tundra made for nice steps, but this slope was steep enough that the tundra wasn’t much more help, but we’d take what we could get. Half way up this slope, one gets the feeling that it will never end, and you look up only to see a never ending horizon of tundra and littered stones against a blue bird Colorado sky. Nothing more than a tilted desert!
South Maroon Peak South Ridge |
Finally the tundra did end, and a steep scramble up a horribly loose climber’s trail perched us on the south ridge. From here, the view north is indeed daunting, but we expected that and it did not bother us. The fun would soon begin! Upon reaching the true ridge top, we found Dave waiting for us. He felt he was slowing John and Josh down, and decided to wait for and see the day out with us.
Class 3 Chimney |
Narrow Notch |
After a break we started out along the ridge line, crossing some immediate exposed areas before engaging a nice climber’s trail that contoured north below the ridge on the west side, soon bringing us to our first and very fun obstacle. We ascended a steep chimney, and at the top, made a hard left and climbed further through a narrow notch.
Unlikely Terrain |
From there, the trail contoured through unlikely terrain and was pleasantly solid feeling, contrary to earlier accounts. In fact, the entire mountain felt wonderfully solid. Sure there was plenty of loose stuff around, but staying on the route assured most of the most terrain was avoided and the route was efficiently executed.
Two Gullies |
After about thirty minutes of scrambling along the route, we arrived at what many would consider to be the crux. Two gullies filled and choked with dangerous loose rock presented themselves. Either one can be climbed. The first one was very narrow, the second one was wider. Like most folks, we chose the second one, hoping the greater width might reduce the chances of being struck by a tumbling stone, most of which were a foot square or larger.
Gully Climbing |
Ginger climbing and placing emphasis on hand holds on solid rock walls to the left got us up this steep gully without incident. We climbed about three hundred feet to the top and took another left, proceeding along the route over exposed ledges, up sheer walls and around blind corners. The route was spectacular and kept our minds engaged. Route finding was fun, and the views were amazing.
Climbing the South Ridge Route |
One of many blind corners |
One of several exposed ledges |
I was thoroughly enjoying the mountain, but also appreciating the staggering complexity of the route. Those that developed the route spent much time and effort in doing so, and it was no small task done within a few days. I would not have wanted to pioneer a route on this mountain back in my early days of climbing. It was now easy for me to understand how people could manage to easily become lost or disoriented on this three dimensional maze of rock. The Maroons had an endless history of rescues and recoveries. With terrain like this, their deadly reputation is well deserved.
Climbing South Maroon Peak |
An ascent of a lower angled scree gully and more exposed ledges took us to complicated terrain several hundred feet beneath the summit ridge, where cairns and trails presented possible routes in a scattered fashion. We climbed straight up, figuring our distance from the summit was close enough that gaining the ridge would make sense. Some fun and exposed scrambling followed and we were soon on the ridge line. This was an elegant dance to the summit, with the east face, a great chasm looming to our right, and the mottled and complex west face falling away to our left.
Climbing South Maroon Peak |
We were then on the summit and proceeded to enjoy a muted celebration. I was quite happy for Ellen, but I was honestly questioning the accomplishment for my own interests. I enjoyed the extended class 3 climbing a great deal, but in the big picture, I wasn’t so sure climbing South Maroon was going to amount to a “triumph” for me. I was thrilled to have climbed it with Ellen in my continuing support of her goal. She assures me it would not have been possible without my support, so it was certainly worth it in that regard. But in my overall experience, I found myself saying “so what?”
Ellen on top with only two to go! |
We lingered on top for a half hour and ate some food, took pictures and enjoyed the wonderful view. We were blessed with wonderful weather. Clouds formed over us and moved east over the rest of Colorado’s mountains, where rain and lightning would carry on well into the night. Our Usual Suspects climbing group would report to us later they were caught in a ferocious hail storm after a climb of Argentine Peak just below Silver Dollar Lake. Weather was not a concern for us, but we knew the descent would be every bit as time consuming and demanding as the ascent. We were soon on our way down.
On our descent from the summit, following the myriad of trails had us take pause soon enough. I realized we had dropped too far and spotted a cairn two hundred feet above us. That’s how easy it is to become disoriented on this mountain, and I’ve been doing pretty decent route finding all of my life. Crestone Needle, in the Sangre De Cristo Range has a similar reputation, but that mountain did not fool me as completely as South Maroon did. A bit embarrassed, I led Dave and Ellen back up in a direct climb back to the route, where we proceeded on without further incident.
A group of four slightly younger gentlemen from the Midwest caught up to us and we shared some of the descent together. They were pretty tough to just show up and take on a potentially dangerous mountain like Maroon. In harsher conditions, I don’t know if they would have been as fortunate. They were grateful for following us down the mountain as well. Their inexperience was evident in the loose gully, as they squatted on their butts and sent rocks tumbling down. We made sure we were out of harm’s way before they descended, insisting we all descend the route one at a time. At one point they got ahead of us, but lucky for them I just happened to spot their progress, and they had wandered WAY off route into dangerously unstable territory. I shouted from above that they were off route and they sheepishly ducked and clamored back to where they were supposed to be. They had no helmets. Hopefully after their harrowing experiences on this mountain, they went out and bought some (they were planning to climb Longs Peak one day later).
Descending the scree trail was a painfully slow process, and a herd of goats were lingering on the first bit of tundra at the top of the dreaded great slope. Much to our amusement, a particularly aggressive goat was charging at our Midwestern friends, and they were actually running BACK UP the mountain in fear for their lives. Relying on my expertise, they asked what we should do. I shrugged, saying, “I don’t know. I’ve never dealt with a pissed off goat before!” Dave was our tallest group member, and thought a stalwart march would deflect any attacks, and Ellen felt there was safety in numbers if our herd simply marched by “their” herd. That seemed reasonable to me, but I also felt presenting the grumpy goat with something he had not seen or heard before might be effective. Shouting out a “yeeeyah!” seemed to do the trick. The aggressive goat and an inferred partner parted from the herd up the slope, and our group passed through theirs without any problem.
Aggressive Mountain Goats! |
Below the goats, these four gentlemen took off down the unrelenting great slope, obviously free of concerns such as failing knees and aching feet that 42 years of mountain climbing can create. Our hiking poles were godsends in aiding us down the mountain. Even so, the slope was so steep and the “trail” perilously loose that frequent diversions onto tundra and around steep rock slowed our progress, especially mine. A simple slip could mean a disastrous tumble for quite a distance on this slope. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad on the tundra, but I didn’t want to chance it. After all, I had to be there for Ellen on her last two fourteeners.
Descending the dreaded great slope |
I could feel the hips seizing, the knees groaning, and most troubling, the pain returning to the bottom of my left foot, and a similar sensation in my right foot. My concern had been validated. It was too much and too long of a day for the recovering condition I had been in. We had hopes of climbing Pyramid the next day, but I began to concede that Ellen may have to climb the mountain without me.
Much to my surprise, once we were off the great slope, Ellen informed me that she could not possibly climb Pyramid the next day, and Dave said the same. He felt he would not have the energy to pull it off. I had packed in some tennis shoes for the walk out and had stashed them in some trees. Putting them on for the march out was no doubt a big help, but I feared the damage had been done. I had gone through my entire supply of Motrin as a preventive measure in keeping the inflammation at a minimum, but my knees were screaming at me and my feet were in bad shape.
As we walked out, my feet seemed to recover a bit in my tennis shoes. The trail descends gradually, so no further abuse on my knees would occur. We did well on the march out, but even so, the day took longer than my projected twelve hours. We returned to the parking lot three hours later than planned. John and Josh had been there since 4:30PM, having successfully executed the traverse to North Maroon. South Maroon had clobbered me good.EPILOGI used to run the mountains just as John and Josh are doing now. I remember running up the North Ridge of the Mount of the Holy Cross in 50 minutes from East Cross Creek, being the first on the summit that day for twenty minutes, simply because I wanted the summit to myself before the hordes showed up. I ran all over the San Juans in 1980. Over the years, my travels and experiences have taken me to many, many places, blessed with a lean, muscular body that knew no bounds.
Then something happened. People called it “the forties.” Well, I was in better shape than most folks, so for me, it was “the fifties.” That’s when I noticed, despite my efforts to the contrary, that my physical shape was going downhill and in a big hurry. With Ellen’s priceless help (she’s quite the study in the field), I’ve strived to eat right, take better care of myself, and I even joined the local gym for winter maintenance (and I hate gyms). Despite my best efforts, and despite the fact I’m STILL in better shape than most folks I know in my age bracket, despite the fact I can still climb mountains fairly efficiently, and do routes that would level most folks, I can’t seem to stem the downward slide.
My knees are strong. The gym has helped that situation, but a hike that involves more than 8 miles is murder on them. My feet, the toughest thing on my body for forty one years, are very tired, and shorter days are indicated for them as well. A myriad of other physical problems and maladies have seemingly besieged me. As soon as I get through one problem, another crops up. All of these problems threaten my mountain climbing in some way, yet through it all I continue to press on, for I am determined to keep climbing, or at least hiking, until I drop dead (which in all reality could be the case, given how much I hike). Perhaps it’s time to slow down and take it a bit easier…
I have mixed feelings about South Maroon. Without a doubt, it’s one of Colorado’s great mountains, and one that demands much respect. Many have died on the mountain. We were blessed with excellent conditions. We could not have asked for anything better. I would hate to be on the mountain in anything other than stellar conditions. What a nightmare that would be! I loved the class 3 portion of the route, and even the lovely walk in, but that great slope is just awful. It’s the worst climbing I have ever experienced, save for my ill-guided misfortunes on Potosi Peak back in the 80s. The great slope ruins the mountain for me, and unjustifiably places the mountain at the bottom of my favorites list, just above Mount Bross, essentially a mound of loose rocks. It’s not fair to the mountain, but that’s how it is.
Of course my impression might a bit different if I was younger….NA-A-A-AH! Young folks even hate the great slope.
And of course, folks that hike and climb are usually impressed by someone who has climbed most of Colorado’s tough mountains, and climbing both of the Bells is indeed a respected feat among Colorado’s climbers, especially for an old coot like myself. But for the general population, they couldn’t care less, and I am compelled to consider this angle as well. Yes, I’m very glad I was able to climb the mountain and be there for Ellen, that was the most important aspect of the climb for me. But for me personally, I find myself once again asking “so what?” What good did it do me? I’m already in good shape. I had no altitude issues. I stumbled off that mountain, worn out, tired and seized. The next day was pretty ugly, and neither of us could climb Pyramid (Dave went on to climb Pyramid with John and Josh). We had to postpone the climb until the following week.
It’s tough having to concede that one can no longer run the mountains, bounding like a gazelle like he did twenty years ago, but that is the harsh reality. I’m having trouble accepting it, but must do so gracefully. If South Maroon did me any good, it was teaching me this lesson. It’s time to slow down, it’s time for the aggressive climbing to end, and after Ellen’s last two fourteeners, that’s certainly going to be the case. And you know what? That’s okay with me. I’ll keep hiking and climbing, I won’t rest on my laurels, but on the other hand, I’ve climbed more than most folks I know, and I’ve no need to prove anything. The fact that I once did it is satisfying enough.
It has to be this way, or I’ll tear my body apart and I won’t be able to do it at all. I’ve recovered well enough for the Pyramid climb. Thankfully it’s just a six mile day with ungodly gain in two miles, so I think I’ll manage. Time will tell. Those epic days, those aggressive climbs, extended miles though…they’re going by the wayside for this old climber. I just hope that those that read this report get two things out of it: Helpful information about this particular route on the mountain, and the fact that the inevitable is bearing down on every one of us, whether we like it or not. You young folks be sure to make the most of your lives while you are fit and able to do so! Climb safe, use poles to preserve your knees and take as much care of yourself as you can so you don’t end up in the shape I’m in after forty years of climbing!
It is said a good mountain climber is an old one, and I agree with that sentiment. I’m content to allow myself to be considered one of the old ones. It doesn’t bother me, and my old bod will thank me for this newly adopted attitude. But gallivanting around the peaks at breakneck speed without breaking a sweat is a young man’s game. I’m grateful to Ellen for this shared experience, and to South Maroon for opening my eyes to this difficult but important lesson in my life.
Aaron Johnson ascends a wall on South Maroon Peak |
Photos in this report by Aaron Johnson & Ellen Ritt
Proceed to PART TWO: STAYING IN THE GAME Additional ResourcesIf you're thinking of attempting the South Ridge route on South Maroon Peak, here are some additional resources to help you with your endeavor. Keep in mind that the ascent and descent of the great slope and the class 3 section will take as long to ascend as to descend! Any way you look at it, it's a long day! If you can, consider utilizing the traverse for your descent (if you don't mind Class 5 terrain) as it will shorten your day considerably!
Class 3 Standard South Ridge Route with Photos at 14ers.com
Excellent and very helpful resource!
South to North Traverse
Excellent trip report with photos.
Bellisimo!
Excellent report on the traverse. Images
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Elk Mountains > South Maroon Peak > A Young Man's Game
