9/19/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/19/2023, By: CommanderDawn Info: A thunderstorm cell blew over Pyramid on Monday night and left 1/2 or so of fresh snow above 12,200. Most of the snow exposed to the sun was gone by noon leaving behind damp soil. A thunderstorm cell came over at 1pm and lightly sleeted on me in the amphitheater but I was too far down to know what impact it may have had at higher elevations. Overall a beautiful windless day before 1pm. A pair of microspikes combined with the snow (or moist soil after the snow melted) made this hike easier than in dry conditions. The only difficulty of the day was a layer of hard to see ice on some of the boulders of the Amphitheater, specifically at 12,000 where you are crossing toward the start of the ascent. I was the only hiker on the mountain today. |
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9/17/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/17/2023, By: eric7600 Info: Few inches of snow on north facing sections of the ridge, overall no problem. Spikes might be nice, but not required. |
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9/13/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/14/2023, By: tlgold1990 Info: Climbed Pyramid on Sep 13. Summer conditions still. Weather held out and none of the snow the days before stuck. We were the only ones on the peak all day. |
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9/11/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/11/2023, By: highpointmike Info: Snowed ~2 inches overnight. Was a little wet in the morning but doable. Definitely now inching towards snow season. Climbed up the north face a bit and the snow there was not melted and much sketchier than the normal route. Castle/Conundrum looked *a lot* snowier. |
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9/9/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 9/13/2023, By: Jonathan Deffenbaugh Info: Probably N/A at this point with the new snow in play, however managed to stick to the established route, while enjoying solid rock climbing in the green gully followed by climbing the south ridge proper to the summit. More consistent Class 3-4 climbing compared to the Bells on the final 1,000 ft from the saddle. On the way down ended up descending the south ridge proper followed by descending red gully beside the green the gully as that managed to have more of a solid descent option due to rock stablility, also had cairns on it too. |
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8/5/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 8/6/2023, By: squatchdaddy Info: Summer climbing conditions. Brought along axe and microspikes to be safe based on previous reports. Axe is no longer needed unless you want to practice glissading through the rock glacier at the base of the amphitheater. Microspikes inspire confidence for that snow patch on the ascent - but you can hike the snow or on the adjacent rock easily enough. The bits of snow remaining along the ridge to the summit have melted off of the route. Happy hiking. |
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7/30/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 8/1/2023, By: mtgoatmike Info: Amphitheater had a decent amount of snow up to the base of Pyramid. It is avoidable if you'd rather hike on the loose scree, but the snow was a nice option, no traction was needed. The gully up to the saddle (1,000 feet of "fun") was decently marked with random cairns and foot paths. Once up on the saddle, all remaining snow was avoidable. The narrow ledge/gap section is completely dry, there were some wet/muddy spots above the green rock section, but it was nothing to worry about. Lots of loose rocks, a large group ahead of us was very inconsiderate and continually sent rocks raining down on our group, luckily no one was hit. Overall, took our group 9.5hrs roundtrip. |
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7/21/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/22/2023, By: sazoic1 Info: Amphitheater has snow but it's avoidable, gulley is very loose - took us much longer than expected to get to the ridge. There is a snow filed at the beginning of the ridge at 13,000 feet. It's somewhat stable but will be impassable very soon. Beyond that the ridge is clear with exception of one tiny snow field that is melting fast. There is running water on gray/green rock but it is avoidable. |
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7/16/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/17/2023, By: nweitzer7 Info: Lots of snow in amphitheater makes the trekking a bit easier than only Boulder hopping. Avoidable snow until the saddle where a cornice persists on the far side of the route, its avoidable but postholes are getting deep. Only 2 small snow crossings on the route above 13, can scramble around both if desired or if a mountain goat detours you with a glare |
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7/13/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/14/2023, By: prspost Info: Agree with others, spikes and ax needed. Snow can be avoided ascending the ridge going up to the 13,000 foot saddle. Would recommend staying climbers left of the snow field 3/4 of the way up to stay on the trail instead of the choss on climbers right. I've included a picture of the cornice about 200 feet from the saddle up the northeast ridge. The cornice is on the opposite side of the ridge, but if it were to go there is a small chance some snow would come down onto the route. |
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7/12/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/13/2023, By: helenemily Info: Amphitheater still for the most part covered in snow. Doable with crampons or spikes + axe, great glissade down. Above the gully the cornice is still there just not visible when ascending so be careful. Snow got bad fast when sun was up. |
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7/9/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: blonde_dinosaur Info: Not summer conditions yet, give it a couple more weeks. I would not advise doing pyramid right now unless you have snow travel and self arrest skills. If you do, the route is very doable. There are a few small but steep snow crossings. My group brought spikes (no crampons) and axes and we used both. Id say axes mandatory for the snow crossings. Like others have said, you can get to the northeast ridge without really having to deal with any snow. You may prefer to follow the trail in the amphitheater through the snow instead of having to climb up the loose boulders. The snow in the morning was bulletproof though. Whatever cornice that was on the northeast ridge is now gone. Route finding is tricky, especially since there are still snow slopes on the route, so pay close attention. |
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7/6/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/9/2023, By: Jorts Info: The amphitheater is still fully snow covered. Cut climbers right of the NE ridge route with a snow climb and some glissading. Appeared like the true standard route was 90% snow free. |
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7/3/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 7/4/2023, By: amitchell Info: Snow is totally avoidable up to the amp. There are tiny patches on the trail you can go around. Snow in the amp is firm all day, even when warm. No snow from the amp to the ridge. From ridge to the summit is burly to say the least. It is a maze of snow patches ridgeline, ledges, and gullies. There is a lot more class 4 climbing than just the green wall. The good thing is that there is always another cairn. We never had to go past one cairn to find the next, which made routefinding easy. |
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6/26/2023 Route: Northeast Ridge Posted On: 6/27/2023, By: ColoNativeGal Info: A couple of pics and views from afar in case someone needs it. Block below the summit is still holding snow. |
