Pyramid prep

[Sbenfield]

Hey guys I'm hoping to make a summit attempt of pyramid sept 13. Other climbs that I have done include longs keyhole, sawtooth, and ellingwood SW ridge. I feel confident for pyramid but I was just hoping for any advice before I give it a try

[WSN]

a helmet

[Tornadoman]

I climbed this peak a couple weeks ago, and here are a few pointers.

1. Watch your routefinding, bring the route description from this page and follow it as well as you can. There are a lot of different ways to reach the summit, some of them easier than others, but if you find that things are getting really difficult (long stretches of class 4/5) you are probably off route. Most of the class 4 sections are only a few moves.

2. Check your holds. The rock was more solid than I expected, but still make sure to test everything.

3. Keep an eye on the goats, they kicked a few rocks down toward us on our descent. If they start raining down rocks, find a nice place to shelter and wait to see if they will move on.

4. The "Leap of Faith" is no big deal at all (unless you are really short I guess).

5. If the weather looks bad turn around, that would be a bad peak to be on during a storm.

6. Have fun! This is definitely in my top 5 favorite 14ers thus far!

[mattyanderson26]

+1 for studying the route really well before hand. Pyramid was my first class 4 hike, so I was kind of nervous. But when we actually did it, it seemed easier than I thought because we were able to stay on route. If you encounter a section that seems harder than it should, there's a chance you took a wrong turn, so be prepared to backtrack and reassess. There are numerous cairns on the mountain as well. Other than that, have fun, be safe, and be ready to have goats follow you around the mountain just waiting for you to take a whiz.

[TallGrass]

Pack plenty of water. It's a dry route once you turn left off the trail at the pyramid cairn. Take trekking poles. Note the amphitheater exit is on the FAR RIGHT as you leave (huge cairns to help). There is a trail on the far right as you enter the upper amphitheater for some talus relief, and cairns mark the traverse across the field to the 1,000' dirt slope. You can see the trail opposite as you climb it (see my TR). Leave the trailhead before 11am if you want to summit before 6pm.

[Erich]

+1 for studying the route really well before hand. Pyramid was my first class 4 hike, so I was kind of nervous. But when we actually did it, it seemed easier than I thought because we were able to stay on route. If you encounter a section that seems harder than it should, there's a chance you took a wrong turn, so be prepared to backtrack and reassess. There are numerous cairns on the mountain as well. Other than that, have fun, be safe, and be ready to have goats follow you around the mountain just waiting for you to take a whiz.

+2. FWIW once we got to the green rock we seemed to keep veering too far left going up and kept ending up on what looked like paths that'd take us in the right direction but would cliff out around the corner. Then we would have to back track and find a class 4 move up to the next level. Take your time and really watch for the cairns. This was one (at least for me) where coming down I thought, 'man, this route is SO obvious, how could I not see it coming up?'

[myfeetrock]

Take lots of pictures on the summit. Make sure you have the summit shot you will love so you don't have to go back just for retakes. Do a diving board picture. You'll love it.

[sneu]

I was up there this past weekend and agree with everything posted except for leaving the TH before 11. Adhere to the golden rule to be off the summit by noon. Find some others to follow to help with route finding and the Ledge is very doable with hand holds above. I left TH at 430 and was up on top at 1010 and that was slow going.

[spiderman]

That leap of faith was so terrifying.... it scared my little boy to death. Not really but he did jump back and forth ten times before getting bored. I thought that he was joking when he said that little crack in the trail was the super-scary leap.

I am only an average scrambler but found that peak to be quite tame. Watch out for mountain goats! My one suggestion is to hike up to the turn-off to Pyramid and camp the night before. It cuts off a bit of elevation and distance, allowing you to be a bit fresher for the peak. It also allows you to beat the hordes of hikers the next morning. Better to be above the mob than below them.

Leap of Faith small2.JPG (235.13 KiB) Viewed 506 times

[TallGrass]

My one suggestion is to hike up to the turn-off to Pyramid and camp the night before.

Might hold off camping until the bears are gone and just do it as a day hike. http://www.14ers.com/forum/viewtopic.ph ... 70#p541264

[thatmushroom]

Seconded on the weather. Just did it yesterday, and even if there's no lightning, I'd want to be below tree line if it gets wet. There's too much steep/slippery/talus-y stuff above that that's fine in dry weather, but would be miserable or dangerous when wet.

[--bb--]

You're in for a treat. Pyramid is an incredible mountain. The aspens should be changing by mid-Sept and will be well worth a colder morning. Watch the weather, bring a helmet, and study the route. Take your time route finding; it's helpful to have a strong parter(s) to bounce route finding ideas off of. Sounds like you've done routes to prep. You'll have a blast!