Northeast Ridge route
Pyramid Peak from Crater Lake trail |
Finally! We've conquered Pyramid Peak. Ken and I had failed on
the same route back on Memorial Day weekend because the ridge was so
corniced and dangerous. I think we might could have climbed the
mountain by the northwest ridge but we didn't even consider it then.
Ken and I arrived in the Maroon Bells parking lot in the late afternoon
and set up my tent right next to the car in a downpour! Dan and Ryan
also joined us for this trip, however they didn't camp in the parking lot
and instead elected to get up at 2am and drive out to meet us. We
all met up around 5:45 am. The weather was overcast but at least it
wasn't raining. I preferred overcast climbs but a rainstorm would
probably turn us around on a difficult peak like this and I certainly
didn't want to fail again.
We began hiking around 6:15am and made quick time up the trail. We found the turnoff with no problems and had no trouble in following the trail, which was obliterated by snow in May. |
| The trail zig zags around, crosses a short boulder field, then begins an unrelenting, brutally-steep, climb into the amphitheater below the mighty north face of the peak. I think this is the longest consistently steep trail that I've ever been on (right). After a little over an hour, we emerged into the amphitheater. Instead of a nice snow bowl this time, it was a massive, deep pile of rubble and talus. It's very time consuming to rock-hop your way through it but we did. We headed straight for the north face for a long time then headed hard left to begin the long climb up to the northeast ridge. The climb up to the ridge wasn't as treacherous as I thought it would be. Last May, even though we had crampons and our ice axes, it was a lot scarier. With complete snow meltoff, the climb to the ridge is tedious and loose, but I never felt that it was very dangerous, except from potential rockfall from parties above, and even then it was nominal. Still, we had our helmets on and indeed there was a group of three in front of us though they didn't knock anything onto us. | 
Steep hike to the amphitheater |
 |
Ken and I got in front of Ryan and Dan. This was Ryan's first fourteener (what an intro!) and he was breathing hard not being accustomed to the altitude. About three fourths the way up, we cut over to the right to intersect the ridge at it's lowest point and cut off a bit of hiking. The main trail just goes straight up to the ridge but there's no need to go that way. We discovered the cutoff last May when there was no trail and we just climbed up easiest route on the steep snow. We waited for Dan and Ryan at the ridge, which looked a lot easier now that the snow had melted and the easier route was now visible. |
| The first part of the ridge is 3rd class and not too hard at all. Eventually, while still on the ridge, we came up to a large wall which we thought would be the crux. However, there's a prominent notch to squeeze through here and we continued on, this time on the left side of the ridge. We traversed some more then descended a bit and then were faced with a little dicey cliff to traverse (right). The cliff traverse is easy but it does get really narrow (like only a foot wide). So, if "The Narrows" on Longs Peak freaked you out, don't even consider a climb of Pyramid. After traversing the cliff, we continued around the ridge and then were at the "official" crux of the climb - a long 4th class gully on pale-colored rock. The other climbers that we'd seen were not too far in front of us at this point. I started up the section then I heard someone shout "Rock!". About a second later, a rock came whizzing down the gully about 20 feet from me. It was enough to spook me so I came down and waited. Ken however decided to go on ahead - he was anxious to pass the climbers. Once he had climbed most the way up, he shouted down that it was ok for the rest of us to follow. This section isn't too hard at all really but it's super dangerous because of the potential rockfall. |
The cliff traverse |
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The 4th class gully |
At
the top of the 4th class section, we met up with the three other
climbers. We talked for a while and discussed our plans for the
remainder of the route. Dan and Ryan were still working their way up
the 4th class section. We hollered down to Dan and Ryan directions
for the most expedient route up then we and the other party headed
up. The other party was in front of us but they soon choose a route
that I wasn't too crazy about. So Ken and I decided to forge our own
route directly up the mountain. Most of the remaining route finding
consisted of scouting from side to side with comments like "Nope,
there's a 500 foot drop here." and "Can't go this way - there's
a 1000 foot drop over the north face here." but we were fast and we
picked a perfect route to the top.
Our route was fairly direct from the 4th class section. It wended straight up the face, then swung right about 100 feet below the summit. Above the north face we weren't able to see the other climbers at all. We had no idea where they had gone. We climbed ledges above the north face until we finally arrived at the junction between the northeast and northwest ridges which is about 100 horizontal and 15 vertical feet from the true summit! We triumphantly strolled the remaining ridge to the summit. |
| The
other party didn't arrive on the top until about 45 minutes later!
And that was after Dan and Ryan. Ryan was super-excited to make it
to this summit. We were all impressed with his resilience and
determination to make it to the top. Dan also commented that this
was definitely his hardest fourteener. This was unquestionably one of
the most difficult for Ken and I (although it was to be superceded in
difficulty by the Maroon Bells traverse that Ken and I completed the
following weekend).
We stayed on top for a long time then began the long and dangerous descent. The descent reminded me why this is such a dangerous mountain. |
(l-r) Ryan, Dan, myself, and Ken on Pyramid Peak |
The descent off Pyramid's summit. |
I
led both parties down the exact same route that Ken and I had climbed
up. For the most part, it was a safe route down. The rock was
fairly solid and we avoided most of the really loose stuff. However,
somewhere above the the 4th class gully, Dan was standing on a large rock
that both Ken and I had climbed over. Ken was below and to the left
of Dan and I was about 10 feet below Dan. Suddenly, without warning,
the rock, which was about the size of a large cooler, just popped from
under his feet. Dan started to fall, he managed to catch himself
with the help of Ken. The rock tumbled down right towards me.
I hopped quickly to the left and out of it's way as it bounded down the
gully. Thank God no one was in the gully then because they would be
hard pressed not to be pulverized by shards of the rock as it broke into
smaller pieces. We could smell the flaming friction smell of the
rock as it picked up frightening speed and broke into smaller
pieces.
This was a really fun climb, but it is to be taken seriously by all climbers. |
