9/24/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 9/25/2023, By: Mike46r Info: Hiked South Maroon yesterday. Route was snow free. I didn't go out onto the traverse but it looked very snow free from the summit and I saw at least one party out there. Get it while you can. |
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9/23/2023 Route: view from Pyramid and lower trail Posted On: 9/24/2023, By: WillRobnett Info: view from Pyramid and lower trail |
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9/18/2023 Route: Bells Traverse Posted On: 9/18/2023, By: Jajohnson11 Info: Traction not needed for Maroon peak as the route was snow free. We brought microspikes and appreciated having them for the descent off Maroon towards North Maroon. Snow free from bell cord couloir to NM summit. North Maroon descent we did not use traction but there was lingering snow. It snowed more as we descended the traverse so these conditions could have changed. On a different note, there are two day packs skiers right descending maroon peak that should be obvious. If anyone can retrieve them we'll happily pay $100 per pack. It was too loose of an area for us and we were just scrambling so didn't have a rope. A roped party could easily retrieve on hip belay. jajohnson11@gmail.com |
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9/16/2023 Route: Bells Traverse Posted On: 9/16/2023, By: Chipmunk Info: Ascended S Maroon, traversed to N Maroon, and descended N Maroon. There was a coating of fresh snow and ice from about 13k up which made travel extremely slippery and tedious. The sun made quick work of the snow on east facing slopes, but west and north facing slopes are still coated. Our group found the descent from S Maroon to the top of the Bell Cord to be the most harrowing part of the day. The traverse itself was reasonable - the cruxes and ridgetop were mostly dry, but we moved very slowly and deliberately for safety. The chimney on N Maroon is very icy. A huge thank you to Colton, who elected to not ascend due to the conditions but spotted us descending the chimney. 5 hours to summit S Maroon, 3:15 for the traverse, 3.5 hours from N Maroon summit to car for a 13 hour day. |
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9/12/2023 Route: Bells Traverse Posted On: 9/13/2023, By: hanada Info: Recent snow is starting to hold on north side of summit where you downclimb to start traverse. We didn't need traction, but took extra time bc it made rock more slick. |
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8/21/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 8/23/2023, By: trailboss88 Info: Fully dry summer conditions. The trail up to the ridge is poorly maintained in spots and is loose. Plenty of cairns on the route up and down the mountain to keep to safe routes. We used gully #1 for up and down. #2 was super loose and we heard another party unleash a rockslide down it so we were glad we avoided it. |
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8/13/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 8/14/2023, By: donovanrice Info: I found the rock to be more solid and routefinding to be less extreme than anticipated. The trail to first ridge is steep. Summer conditions. Snagged a camping permit for Crater Lake the day before hike. Free parking and bus from Brush Creek & HWY 82 Intercept Lot. Was hiking with some slower buddies. Left Crater Lake at 4:45. Summit at 10. Traversed to North Maroon at noon. Back to Crater Lake at 3:30. Barely made the 5 o'clock bus from Maroon Lake. I would recommend starting earlier. If you cannot snag a parking permit nor camping permit and don't have a chauffeur, a grueling alternative approach would be over West Maroon Pass. But that would be a massive, massive day (18.6 mi, 7300' vert for just Maroon Peak; 23.3, 7700' vert for traverse) |
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7/22/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/25/2023, By: skeater912 Info: Nothing interesting to note for the ascent to Maroon. Snow completely avoidable on the way up. Only mistake we made was climbing too high in the "first gully" - I think we could have cut left and met up with the top of the second/lefthand gully, but we downclimbed the ~50ft or so and followed cairns into the second gully before moving higher. We took the traverse to N. Maroon, will comment on our experience in the N. Maroon conditions report. |
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7/22/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/23/2023, By: HikesInGeologicTime Info: Snow is now entirely avoidable on the standard route, though you will want to be careful about how you thread between the patches around 11,700 feet referenced in winter_wishers report from last weekend if you are coming up the 2800 Feet of Suck in the dark. You will also need to deal with the added suckfest of looseness that is Gully 1, because the entrance to Gully 2 is still blocked by snow. If you really want to haul up crampons and axes, there are still decent snow patches alongside the uppermost gully as well as just off the summit, but they are not very long and this mountain is excruciating enough without the additional weight training. Of further note: partner discovered that staying more or less ridge direct between the top of the Suck and the top of the chimney/notch marking the first Class 3 on the ridge adds no technical difficulty - there is a short chimney to pass, but it is trivial compared to the one described in the main route. Would personally recommend this variation to avoid some elevation loss and subsequent regain as well as saving a little energy. (Fourth and fifth pictures courtesy of daway8.) |
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7/16/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: winter_wisher Info: Snow is now only a minor obstacle as the trail approaches the ridge, with a few brief crossings starting around 11k and a large snowfield at 11.7k. Microspikes and ice axe were sufficient to manage all snow crossings, including the large one. Once on the ridge, snow is easy to avoid with the trail to the summit practically clear. |
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7/7/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: brianfagan Info: The snow is a huge factor in your quest to summit this mountain. Navigating workarounds added hours to our day. First experience of snow was when we started up the east slope to the south ridge. Numerous snow fields of varying sizes, some we crossed with spikes and trekking poles, others we circumvented. As important the snow blocked the trail which we found difficult to re-gain. After reaching the south ridge we experienced more snow touching the white rock band and in gully 1, which was our last encounter. I suggest you wait 2 weeks before attempting this mountain. Will attempt to add pictures in next few days. |
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7/6/2023 Route: Bell Cord Couloir Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: Jorts Info: Its still continuous. There were a couple dodgy snow bridges to cross. Aggro suncupping on midday soft snow made it safe but with lots of back slipping. |
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7/3/2023 Route: Bells Traverse Posted On: 7/4/2023, By: amitchell Info: Getting up S maroon is pretty easy, some snow patches before Ridgeline make the trail hard to follow. After the ridge pretty much all the snow can be circumvented. Traverse is in summer conditions atm. Some snow piles that I had to step in while downclimbing S maroon, bit all the cruxes on the way up were dry. Coming down N maroon there is a fair amount of snow above the precipice. Nothing once you get to gully 2 though. |
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6/30/2023 Route: Bell Cord Couloir Posted On: 7/2/2023, By: ReggieBop Info: Runneled snow the entire way up the Col. Probably a week or so left before its out. The traverse to summit south Maroon is dry, as is most of the descent. A few snow fields to cross once below 12k. Awesome day out! |
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6/22/2023 Route: South Ridge Posted On: 6/22/2023, By: HokieTom Info: Here are pics of Pyramid, Maroon, and North Maroon: |
