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Peak(s):  North Maroon Peak  -  14,022 feet
Date Posted:  08/04/2008
Date Climbed:   08/02/2008
Author:  ShadyHater69
 The Adventures of Moonlit Meadow and DJ Cotton Cramp!   

A friend and I were supposed to climb North Maroon last weekend, but unfortunately, he was unable to pull through. After talking with Cthulhu 2008 (Andy, whose Rainbow Name is Moonlit Meadow), we had decided to try North Maroon on 8/16/08. After a bunch of rescheduling and such, we bumped that date to 8/2 and we were ready to embark on this most excellent challenge. Friday night, I drive to the Park-N-Ride in Evergreen, and we drive off to his pad in Eagle. We have some great conversation, and soon hit the sack. We wake at 3AM and drive to the trailhead. Andy's wife, tags along, though she doesn't hike with us, instead she goes for a run. We leave for N. Maroon at 5AM.

The start of the route is very easy. Walk 1.5 miles on Maroon Creek Trail to the Maroon/Snowmass trail. Take that for about 0.75 miles where you'll find a fork in the road near some meadows (but don't be fooled! There are two forks on this trail. The first one is just a turnoff for campsites). Take a left at this intersection. You'll immediately cross the Minnehaha Creek.

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Minnehaha Creek

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Pyramid in the morning

After this, bushwack a bit, hike over some boulders, and climb through steep mud till you reach the rock glacier. There's a very nice trail, and if you follow it, this boulderfield will be quite pleasant. Beware, it's easy to lose.

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North Maroon from the Rock Glacier

Hike to the base of the mountain, where the trail will take you into the first gully. Enter the first gully at 11,900.

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Start of the first gully

This is where the fun began! There was a trail all throughout this gully. It was pretty steep but not too bad.

We climbed to about 12,400 where we traversed right to enter the second gully (as recommended to Andy by Jim Davies. Thanks!). This gully is nasty! It was full of loose dirt/rock and was very steep. A helmet is definitely recommended! At around the top of this gully, I started having terrible cramps. Since Andy was way ahead of me, I told him to go on while I slowly slogged on. There's a very brief section near the top of this gully that has a class 4 move. It requires climbing up a system of ledges about 7-8 feet high. It was here I had my only "oh sh*t!" moment. As I began to climb, my left calf muscles cramped up hardcore. I immediately dropped off and took a rest (and some food). Definitely not a place to have your leg give out on you! After some rest, I proceeded on.

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South Maroon rearing it's ugly head

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Cool picture of Andy with Pyramid in the background...at the start of the second gully


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Looking up at the second gully

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At the top of the second gully looking down

After this, I gained the ridge. From this point on, there's a few class 3 moves, but for the most part, it's easy hiking. There are some awesome cliffbands that provide for most excellent pictures!

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Ledges...

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Witness the fitness!!!

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A look at the rest of the route to the summit

Climb a bit higher and you'll reach the "dihedral crux." Honestly, I completely missed it, because there was another chimney a few feet to the left with a huge cairn. It's still class 4, but it looked easier. If you want to by pass this, you can climb to the far left and go up and around. The exposure is probably more intense though. Andy took this route, so he'd be the one to ask about this part of the route. After I climbed the chimney, it was an easy hike to the summit.

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South Maroon from the summit of North Maroon

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DJ Cotton Cramp and Moonlit Meadow!


Coming down wasn't bad at all. Nothing special happened, we were just really careful. I decided to downclimb the chimney and noticed there was a rather new sling where the dihedral crux is. Anyways, we get back around 2PM, ending a great trip. Andy's wife meets up with us (apparently, she had quite an epic run as well), and we're off to The Cantina in Aspen for some Mexican food. We drive back to Evergreen via Independence Pass (my first time) and I'm amazed. I finally get back home at 8PM ending a long, but rewarding day.

Notes:
-A huge thank you to Andy and Becca for being kind enough to let me crash at your place and drive me to Aspen. It was a pleasure meeting both of you. I had a great time this weekend. Awesome trip with great company! Andy: good luck with Pyramid/San Juans, I'm sure you'll be fine! You were running circles around me on Maroon!

-This hike is no joke. Very dangerous. Helmet's a must. I've heard South Maroon is more physically taxing, but I'm not sure how true that is. It's still 4,500 feet, 8-9 miles...

-It's pretty easy to get lost coming down between the Rock Glacier and the Maroon/Snowmass trail. Keep alert.

-Please be careful and remember:

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Hope you enjoyed reading this, I enjoyed writing it!

Bob



Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
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Comments or Questions
Cthulhu 2008
User
Good Job
8/24/2008 8:22pm
Sweet. It was great meeting you and climbing with you. Congrats on finishing almost all of the hard peaks.

Moonlit Meadow



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