Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

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Water_Boy
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Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by Water_Boy »

What is the crux of this climb? What do you think the most dangerous section is, if it is not the crux?
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Re: Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by justiner »

Descending.
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Tory Wells
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Re: Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by Tory Wells »

The crux is the 3,000' slope leading up to the ridge. It wears you out, it's long and steep and makes you hate life. The class 3 scrambling is the fun part and not at all cruxy.

Route finding is the other crux, so make sure you study the route well.
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Re: Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by Phill the Thrill »

To me the "crux" was climbing the gullies below Point 13,753 (see photo #16 in the route description on this site). There are two options and I have climbed both of them. I found the "2nd gully" to be the best option, but both are steep and loose, and care must be taken while climbing this section, especially on the descent.

The route finding is the key to this climb, in my opinion. Study the route on this site and I would recommend taking a hard copy with you on your first time climbing it. There are cairns going several different directions, so it helps to know exactly what you plan on doing.
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Re: Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by GeezerClimber »

I agree there is no obvious crux. Quite a few class 3 sections but none hard or very exposed. This peak is easier than the photos make it look. Like Phil, I was most nervous in the rock filled gully. It's probably not as dangerous as it looks. When we were descending, I noticed a guide taking a higher route avoiding that gully. I asked him about it and he said it was harder but less loose, so we followed him. I didn't think it was harder and it was definitely less nerve racking but it might be hard to find on your own.

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Re: Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by stoopdude »

+1 for descending.
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Re: Crux of Maroon Peak - S Ridge?

Post by aweilert »

++1 for descending especially if going down the S-ridge after going up. Hitting the top of the appropriate gully or, better still, the rib between the two initial gullies is critical. If you're too far either direction you're cliffed out. If you miss the rib you end up in the gully, going down some loose and nasty stuff that moves every time you take a step and tries to take you with it. The top point you're aiming for is not all that wide and there's nothing obvious to clue you in that it's time to turn up at the top of the ridge. Then, once you're out of the gully/rib it's an annoyingly poorly defined talus hop back up to Little Gem Lake. Going up, take the rib between the gullies, solid, stable and fun. The "Crux" as it's typically defined is a nifty bit of high-class 3 / low-class 4 with a spot or two where you may find yourself hanging out over an attention-getting drop, but it's better, and more solid than the looser but lower class bypass (Although my son and I took the bypass on the descent). The whole route above the initial gullies is reasonably solid, but you still can never tell whether that refrigerator-sized rock you're about to step on will begin pivoting and moving beneath your feet.
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