Pyramid Peak Trip Report 08/21/2009

Peak(s):	Pyramid Peak - 14,029 feet
Date Posted:	08/21/2009
Date Climbed:	08/18/2009
Author:	skier25

Climbing the Pyramide
Pyramid Peak August 18, 2009 It was a dark and stormy night... I wanted to climb Pyramid, so I threw the gear together in the car and managed to convince a partner to leave with him at 9:00 pm in a howling thunderstorm. Lightning crashed all around us until we drove over Vail Pass, and I drank an Energy drink to fight off fatigue. Arriving at the Maroon Lake parking lot at 1:50 am, we quickly went to bed and even saw a couple shooting stars. I always forget how bright the stars shine in Colorado away from Denver... We woke up and there were already a lot of empty cars in the lot (it'd be busy) and there were several photographers by the lake awaiting the sunrise/alpenglow. I wish I could have stayed with them to get a picture, but I'm happy with what I did get. We Started at 6:10 am, which seemed a little late for Pyramid, oh well. I had some trouble looking for the trail that diverges off from the Crater Lake Path, but we found it by assumption and prediction and made our way up the mountain. It seems that there are three sections to climbing Pyramid up the standard approach: hike from the trailhead up into the gulch, scramble up the scree slopes to the top of the ridge, and the climb from the top of the ridge to the summit. Getting up into the gulch proved easy, despite how very steep the trail actually is. Once there, the views of the Maroon Valley and the visible part of the Elk range were great. The towering walls of rock and talus hills made it seem like we were on the set of some distant Star Trek set - off on another planet in some forlorn moonscape. It seemed surreal in a few places. The number of climbers for a Tuesday in August was surprising. There was no shortage of people, and many were complaining since Pyramid is a mountain incredibly prone to the dangers of rockfall. Throughout the day, many rocks were seen careening down, but there were no close calls. We made sure to space ourselves from everyone else. Once up the hateful scree slope and on top of the ridge, the fun of 4th class climbing could begin. It was easy to begin with, and as we neared the top the climbing became spicier. The exposed 'catwalk' was much easier than I had thought it would be. However, the Indiana Jones Leap of Faith section provided much entertainment for us. The hardest part of the climb was the belt of green stone that runs from the summit all the way down below the path. Going up the first 50 feet of the green belt was the most challenging climbing of the day. We scrambled up this with relative ease and continued up the blocky chunks of rock to the summit. At the top we ate lunch and signed the register around 10:00 am. We stayed there for about 15 minutes taking pictures and enjoying ourselves. After observing the weather, we decided to get down fast because a storm had already moved past Snowmass and was beginning to shroud the Maroon Bells. The storm turned out to be a high snow flurry - The winds picked up and snow began collecting and melting on the rocks up high. I wanted off, and we descended quickly. The storm was short lived, however, and we took a nice long break further down when the sun came out. Back at the Catwalk and Indiana Jones Ledges... We saw a mountain goat cross over the catwalk then stop to eat some plants. We headed back down the scree slope and into Maroon Valley. Overall, I would say that I thought Pyramid Peak would be much more difficult than it actually was. I enjoyed not having a big approach and that it was nearly all scrambling and moving over large boulders all the way to the top. Thanks for reading.

Climbing the Pyramide

Pyramid Peak

August 18, 2009

It was a dark and stormy night...
I wanted to climb Pyramid, so I threw the gear together in the car and managed to convince a partner to leave with him at 9:00 pm in a howling
thunderstorm. Lightning crashed all around us until we drove over Vail Pass, and I drank an Energy drink to fight off fatigue. Arriving at the Maroon Lake
parking lot at 1:50 am, we quickly went to bed and even saw a couple shooting stars. I always forget how bright the stars shine in Colorado away from Denver...

We woke up and there were already a lot of empty cars in the lot (it'd be busy) and there were several photographers by the lake awaiting the
sunrise/alpenglow. I wish I could have stayed with them to get a picture, but I'm happy with what I did get.

We Started at 6:10 am, which seemed a little late for Pyramid, oh well. I had some trouble looking for the trail that diverges off from the Crater Lake Path,
but we found it by assumption and prediction and made our way up the mountain.

It seems that there are three sections to climbing Pyramid up the standard approach: hike from the trailhead up into the gulch, scramble up the scree
slopes to the top of the ridge, and the climb from the top of the ridge to the summit.

Getting up into the gulch proved easy, despite how very steep the trail actually is. Once there, the views of the Maroon Valley and the visible part of the
Elk range were great. The towering walls of rock and talus hills made it seem like we were on the set of some distant Star Trek set - off on another planet
in some forlorn moonscape. It seemed surreal in a few places.

The number of climbers for a Tuesday in August was surprising. There was no shortage of people, and many were complaining since Pyramid is a mountain
incredibly prone to the dangers of rockfall. Throughout the day, many rocks were seen careening down, but there were no close calls. We made sure to
space ourselves from everyone else.

Once up the hateful scree slope and on top of the ridge, the fun of 4th class climbing could begin. It was easy to begin with, and as we neared the top
the climbing became spicier. The exposed 'catwalk' was much easier than I had thought it would be. However, the Indiana Jones Leap of Faith section
provided much entertainment for us.

The hardest part of the climb was the belt of green stone that runs from the summit all the way down below the path. Going up the first 50 feet of the
green belt was the most challenging climbing of the day. We scrambled up this with relative ease and continued up the blocky chunks of rock to the summit.

At the top we ate lunch and signed the register around 10:00 am. We stayed there for about 15 minutes taking pictures and enjoying ourselves. After
observing the weather, we decided to get down fast because a storm had already moved past Snowmass and was beginning to shroud the Maroon Bells.

The storm turned out to be a high snow flurry - The winds picked up and snow began collecting and melting on the rocks up high. I wanted off, and we
descended quickly.

The storm was short lived, however, and we took a nice long break further down when the sun came out.

Back at the Catwalk and Indiana Jones Ledges...

We saw a mountain goat cross over the catwalk then stop to eat some plants.

We headed back down the scree slope and into Maroon Valley.
Overall, I would say that I thought Pyramid Peak would be much more difficult than it actually was. I enjoyed not having a big approach and that it was
nearly all scrambling and moving over large boulders all the way to the top. Thanks for reading.

Comments or Questions

dcbates80911	Nice pictures... 8/22/2009 2:45am ...this one still scares the hell out of me.
Judge K	Great photos 8/22/2009 2:54am Enjoyed the Trip Report and spending part of the hike with you two. Thanks for the summit yodel. Judge K
k-berger	Wow! 8/22/2009 4:43am Those are some of the most beautiful photos I have seen on this site. Those first four are unreal. Nice job!
Alehead	Killer photography! 8/22/2009 6:50pm You are either very good with a camera or photoshop, or both. Either way, thanks for the incredible views...now I want to go, too!
kylerlott	Nice pics! 8/22/2009 7:48pm What type of camera were you using on that trip? Those pictures are sweet!
Mrwaffles989	‘ 8/23/2009 4:00am awesome pictures. did you use a tripod for the first few?
kimo	Gotta love the mountain night sky... 8/23/2009 2:45pm Your trip report makes Pyramid look like a lot of fun. Photos five, seven, the third from the bottom, and some of the trail are awesome. Nice work.
skier25	Thanks for the kind comments 8/27/2009 3:43pm I used the Rebel EOS XTi again, and I did not use a tripod for the first few. I crouched and shot the photos very still. It was nice seeing you on the way up Judge K!

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