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Ski Mountaineering season is ramping up and some big lines are going down almost daily. Last weekend was no exception, especially in the Elks, where several prized peaks and lines got skied in style. Our above average snowpack is holding up rather nicely, as we haven’t had too many warm days so far this spring. I’m hoping this trend continues over the course of the next month as there are still many objectives on the list.

Friday night we packed up the truck and headed over to Aspen for a weekend of peak bagging and skiing. The plan was to ski Maroon Peak, North Maroon Peak, and maybe the east face of Lightning Pyramid. Andy and I met up in Golden, packed the truck full of gear and food, and then continued on to Eagle to connect with Mark. A few hours passed and we found ourselves unloading at the winter trailhead for Maroon Creek. This was the same weekend Mark and I had skied Pyramid Peak a couple of year prior and we were amazed at how much more snow as on the ground this time around. In 2006 we rode the sled on pavement for the majority of the way, whereas this time around we were riding on 3-4′ of snow the entire way up to Maroon lake. It has indeed been a good winter for the Elks.

After packing the snowmobile and pull sled to maximum capacity with gear, camping equipment, and food, we were off into the windless moonlit night. The new sled is a complete workhorse and never flinched with having 3 skiers, several hundred pounds of gear and food, and a packed tow sled on back. In fact, she moved just as quickly and swiftly as she does when there is only one rider and no gear on-board. For those wondering, a few weeks ago I got a pretty good deal on a used Polaris Widetrak LX. This sled is the ultimate skiing machine as there is lots of storage room, 156X20X1.5 track, and hi-low gears. This sled will go anywhere you point it.

We arrived at Maroon Lake sometime after 10pm and quickly unpacked and setup camp. This would be our home base for the weekend and what a view we had:

Settling in for the night with our goal in the background:

We were in bed shortly after midnight with a wake up time of 4:15am. The wakeup call came too soon and it had seemed like we never really went to bed. None of us slept all that well, but it didn’t matter as the excitement and anticipation of skiing a coveted line on the Maroon Bells was making us all anxious. The snow had frozen nicely overnight making for a smooth and effortless skintrack. After a little bushwhacking through a large Aspen grove we soon found the trail and cruised up and over to the shores of Crater Lake just before sunrise.

Shortly after sunrise:

Pyramid:

Andy skinning with Mark in the background:

Andy on the apron with Pyramid in the background:

We climbed up and over the lower bench and made it to the broad and vast apron of the North Face of North Maroon by 7:00am. The towering and daunting north face loomed above us as we made our way up the apron and to the base of our climb. The North Face is a complicated series of cliff bands from top to bottom, making routefinding a key component. A lot of steep traversing and exposed moves are involved, adding a little flavor and spice to this particular line. The north face also holds a lot of local ski mountaineering history.

Moving along the apron:

Looking up at the north face:

The North Face holds a consistent pitch of around 50 degrees from beginning to end. Throwing in a labyrinth of cliff bands and tricky mixed climbing and you got yourself a perfect ski mountaineering objective. The face rises approximately 2,000′ from the apron, so there definitely is quite a bit of exposure involved as well as time to make it to the summit.

Going up?

View of the west face of Pyramid:

Mark working around a spine:

Middle of the climb:

Climbing steep pitches don’t really phase me all that much, but when you add long traverses across steep pitches then that is a different ballgame. I’ve never liked traversing steeps as it just feels unnatural and I’m always afraid I’m going to catch my ski pants with my crampons and go tumbling. I’m sort of clumsy when it comes to doing things like that as each spring I always end up shredding my ski pants via my crampons.

Mark stopping for a quick rest:

The snow from the apron to the summit was near perfect for climbing and skiing. There was a good 8″ or more of soft powder lying on top of a good solid base, making the climb efficient and supportive. After making the first long traverse we made good time cruising straight up to the next traverse and crux of the day. There is a cliff band that splits up the line where you have to traverse climber’s right about 30 yards or so to a non-descript gulley. Finding this gully can be a little tricky as it is not overly apparent that it goes all the way to the upper snowfield. After unsuccessfully trying to get up and over the cliff band, we wrapped around a spine and found the entrance to the upper snowfield via a short and narrow gully. If one were to drop into the line blindly from the top, routefinding in this section would indeed be very tricky. Whenever you get on steep pitches the views below are always deceiving and it is hard to tell what is a cliff band and what is not.

Once we made it to the bottom of the upper snowfield we cruised up to Punk Rock Band, where the second crux of the day presented itself. Punk Rock Band is the uppermost cliff band that stretches clear across the entire North Face. The height of the cliffs range from 15′ to 35′. From the apron I recalled seeing a few exit points in the middle of the cliff band. We found the exit points, but they were super narrow, full of rotten snow, and involved some technical moves to get up and over. Instead of traversing clear across the face and taking the NE ridge to the summit, we decided to give these gullies a shot and pushed our way up and over. Andy’s choice was clearly the easier route as he made it over the cliff band rather quickly. Mark and I took a different route and battled to make it up and over. I enjoy mixed climbing as I grew up rock climbing, but Mark always has a hard time with snow, ice, and rock, so he was rather gripped. On top of that Mark has short arms and legs, making it even more difficult for him to get up these technical sections.

Mark working his way up through Punk Rock Band:

Once above Punk Rock Band all there is left is the summit ramp. A couple hundred vert of easy walking and you are done.

The summit ramp:

It took us about 6 hours to reach the summit as we took a few long breaks throughout our approach. The day was near perfect as there was virtually no wind, the air was mild, and the sky was crystal clear with only a few puffy clouds moving about. We enjoyed the fine weather on the summit for a good 45 minutes and then prepared for our descent.

Mark on the summit. Capitol and Snowmass in the background:

Pyramid Group:

Snowmass:

Maroon Peak:

Capitol Peak:

Off the summit:

Mark down lower:

Andy getting into it:

The upper portion of the peak was your typical wind blown sastrugi, but once we got past Punk Rock Band, we had nothing but soft powder all the way to the apron. I always enjoy dropping in on a steep face and making those first few turns. I think it is the unknown and the uncertainty of what to expect that gets the blood flowing and the mind focused. Once those first few turns are over, then the body and mind relaxes and everything seems to become fluid in nature. For our descent, we decided to take the far skier’s right portion of Punk Rock Band. This connects you with the NE ridge route and involves one tricky move along the ridge and around the cliffs. Once we got under the Punk Rock Band, we traversed back to the middle and made our way down the steep and soft upper snowfield. The snow along this portion was absolutely sick. Deep, supportive, and consistent.

Mark across the middle face:

Andy:

Andy painting the apron:

We worked our way down the face and as soon as we hit the apron that is when conditions went from powder to variable really quick. We worked our way back down to camp through the late afternoon. A rather fine day on a super fun mountain. After cooking up some dinner I brought Mark back down to his truck. It was a short trip for him as he had family in town and couldn’t stay the entire weekend.

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Prime time is here. The prime ski mountaineering season has landed and big lines have been going down daily. Within the past few days several of Colorado’s prized gems have seen ski tracks down them. Capitol, Pyramid, Bells, Holy Cross, Thunder Pyramid, etc. are among the victims. For the past few seasons the third week in April has seemed to have been the unofficial opening of big mountain season here in Colorado. With the amazingly deep snowpack we were fortunate to have this year this spring promises to be one for the books.

This past weekend we set out for Aspen with a few goals in mind. We went 1-for-2 and managed to bag a smaller, yet aesthetic line as a consolation. Here are a few teaser pics to get started:

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Mark:

Andy having fun:

More to come!

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