Maroon Peak

Route: Bell Cord Couloir
Posted On: 6/13/2016, By: yingyangsoup89
Info: Snow melting super fast in the elks. No snowshoes needed at all on the approach. The cord has a massive runnel throughout the middle, which isn't a surprise. I would give it another week before it is crap. From the saddle and up to the summit of south, it is mostly dry with areas of snow. No crampons needed on that scramble. Get it while it is still decent. FYI, traverse looks ready to go. 

Route: Bell Cord Couloir
Posted On: 5/16/2016, By: gunnison_garrett14
Info: Climbed Maroon peak via the bell cord on Friday. The road to maroon lake is now open. Lots of slide debris in and around couloir. Snow was very variable on different aspects and even throughout the couloir. The easiest and most solid snow to walk up was the avy debris, other parts were very punchy. Once I topped out on the saddle and crossed over to the backside (WEST) of the mountain the snow was much harder but as I reached the summit the route crosses over to a NE aspect and the snow softened considerably. Started from maroon lake at 3 A.M. and wished I would have started earlier 

Route: Maroon Creek Rd
Posted On: 4/26/2016, By: WillRobnett
Info: Road closed approx 6 miles from the Maroon Lake. Freeze/thaw cycles on the road consistent up to the day-use parking. Full snow coverage 1.5 miles from the lake. Coverage is 2 feet deep at Maroon Lake. Alpine start, brought snowshoes and didn't need them. Gaiters were good to have at the lake. 

Route: Live camera from Aspen Highlands
Posted On: 12/11/2015, By: rambis_21
Info: I was just scouting current conditions of the road up to Maroon Lake and ran across this live camera from Aspen Highlands. It refreshes ever 10 minutes. This is awesome having a fresh view of the whole valley and the Maroon Bells from both Aspen Highlands and Snowmass ski areas. Just wanted to share for people who are interested. http://aspen.roundshot.com/highlands/ http://aspen.roundshot.com/snowmass/ 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 10/15/2015, By: DuncanRod
Info: As Lawrencebg reported previously, the South Ridge route up to Maroon Peak was dry all the way to the top in absolutely pristine fall weather - zero clouds in the sky all day - with only one other hiker encountered on the route. Had planned to attempt Bells Traverse, but encountered enough sketchy snow coverage on the north-facing descent from Maroon Peak to N. Maroon that we ultimately decided against it - given the combination of slipperiness, loose rock, route-diversion necessity, and last but not least the unknown factor of what the descent off the summit of N. Maroon might end up like snow-wise. All that said - a spectacular day. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 10/12/2015, By: Lawrencebg
Info: Essentially snow free all the way up. I was surprised to see only 3 other people on a perfect weather on a Saturday. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 10/5/2015, By: mikemalick
Info: Standard route up Maroon Peak was just about completely dry. The one or two spots holding a little snow could be avoided. 

Route: Bells Traverse
Posted On: 9/26/2015, By: bdloftin77
Info: Maroon Peak is dry going up the standard route. A couple inches of snow in places on the north side of Maroon, but you can find dry places to step on, or rocks to avoid a lot of snow, with care. The traverse is dry. Going up N Maroon on the south side is dry. Going down N Maroon on the north side, there is about 1-3 inches of fairly consistent snow above 13k feet. Take care going up or down.. You can avoid some of the snow by carefully stepping on rocks, but in other places it is more packed down and a bit slick. It CAN be done without traction.. We made it down without microspikes.. We made it okay, but were very slow and careful. I would recommend taking yaktrax or microspikes though. I was thinking about putting them on, but was almost past the snowy area at that time. The chimney is dry in most places, but if your shoes are wet from the snow, it is more tricky. 

Route: Passing through the area
Posted On: 9/26/2015, By: WillRobnett
Info: Fall colors from the South Elbert Trailhead are peak and some what coming to an end. Independence Pass is holding fall colors better than Elbert. La Plata has good colors at lower elevations. Most of Independence Pass is holding good fall colors. Maroon Bells (Maroon Peak/N. Maroon Peak) and Pyramid are the best fall colors Leadville to Aspen right now. The Bells and Pyramid have a thin layer of snow 13,500 and above. North Maroon looked like it had unavoidable snow above 13,5. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 9/22/2015, By: Tigerbear
Info: Snow Free on the west side standard route. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 8/20/2015, By: Sunshineof1985
Info: This is my 25th fourteener I have climbed this summer. I am attempting to climb them all. You can read more about this hike and others at sunshineof1985.com! Enjoy! Time started: 5:15am End time: 5:00pm Time to Summit: 5 hours and 45 minutes Time to Descent: 6 hours *GEAR (to bring): GPS, extra socks, phone, SPOT Satellite Tracker, Map, Topo Map from 14ers.com, hiking boots with 2 pairs of socks on, long-sleeve, wind-guard/raincoat, light weight puffy coat (didn‘t need), lightweight gloves (didn‘t need), day pack with water sack, snacks. *Road Condition: It‘s perfect! A black top road all the way to the trailhead! You‘ll know you‘re going the right way when you pass the beautiful garden on the side of the road! *Trail Condition: Easy to follow until you get to the first junction needed to go up to the Maroon Bells. Look for a very large cairn in the talus rocks by the stream. Head right! The trail is very steep and you‘ll gain a lot of elevation quickly. I didn‘t have too many problems with slipping on scree either. Once you‘re up on the ridge, the trail is well marked by cairns, but make sure you take mental notes of the area for when you‘re coming back. The gullies aren‘t nearly as scary as what it looks online. We went up the first gully, stay to the left. The easiest way up the second gully is staying all the way to the right. Past that you‘ll get to use your arms to pull you up and it gets fun, but know your limits. I never felt too exposed, or in danger for my life. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 8/9/2015, By: joandsp
Info: At about 11,600-11,800ft on the south ridge the well-defined trail encounters a rock out-cropping. There is a largish cairn on the left side of trail before the outcropping and the trail pivots left at the cairn. Now, critical twist, immediately after the cairn if you continue 20 feet there is a large rock in the middle of the "trail." Someone obviously placed it there to block that route. If you look right the "trail" skirts the rock outcropping. The real trail only goes a few meters right along the outcropping and then steps onto and over it. In less than perfect light you will have to be careful not to miss it. Our group went too far right along the outcropping before going over it and we never found the main trail again. We scrambled 1300 feet straight up the south ridge in very loose rock. EXHAUSTING. Watch this section carefully. The main trail has little to no scrambling. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 8/1/2015, By: arianna2
Info: would recommend checking the forest service site before heading out. We were told when we got there at 4:15 that the 14er site is incorrect now. They do have restriction on overnight campers not being able to enter until 5 pm. You have to use the bus from 8 to 5, luckily he let us in since it was so close. Also, you do have to have a bear canister and they heavily police that. A group we ran into from Chicago said that when he talked with them on the phone they strongly discouraged him from camping because of the bear activity and that they might have to close the area to camping for awhile. I am not sure how true that is, but might be worth a call before heading out. There is a mother and cub that are causing all the problems. We never saw the bears and had no problems with camping. Saw lots of porcupines early in the morning and there was no damage to our tent or area while we were gone. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/27/2015, By: mspalding
Info: Trail is completely clear of snow. Water in the first gully makes the second gully a better choice. The second gully seemed like it would be a better choice in any case. Reports from other climbers indicated that there was ice on the traverse, but we saw some folks complete it. The long climb onto the shoulder has a couple of routes. There may have been a reroute since the GPX file was posted. Also, on the way down, resist the temptation to go down at the earlier saddle, use the correct saddle. The earlier one looks good at the top and degrades to nasty as you go down. FYI: Last week 3 campsites had bear incidents. We stayed in a hotel and drove in. 

Route: South Ridge
Posted On: 7/24/2015, By: a day in the life
Info: Snow free, traverse looks snow free as well. There are patches of snow around but you‘d only travel on them by choice. Had two out of town friends along for the ride and they did great on what was only their second 14er. Met two other friendly groups on the mountain. Pyramid looked snow free, unbelievable 360 views from the summit. On a different note, there was significant evidence of poor camping etiquette and inappropriate solid human waste disposal at crater lake camp sites. A previous party left solid human waste on the ground less than 10 feet away from a tent site at crater lake #2 with no apparent attempt to move, bury, or pack it out. We cleaned this up for you. Heard many reports of nuisance bears but had no contact, and forest service is requiring bear canisters. If we don‘t take care of our resources they will be closed for camping and everyone will be impacted.