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I arrived to the Maroon Bells parking area around 10:30pm. I got a midnight to midnight pass, which was relatively straight forward and it didn't seem like anyone minded that I got there a few hours before midnight.
I woke up at 3am, had breakfast, strapped my running vest on with my helmet on the back, and set off around 3:40am. I took the Maroon Snowmass Tr. to East Maroon trail to the trailhead for Maroon Peak, going South to North.
Beginning ascent to Crater Lake from Maroon Lake
The Maroon Peak trail is relatively easy to miss in the dark, so just be aware so that you don't continue on East Maroon.This trail was void of all snow, and relatively steep (but not as steep as N. Maroon.) The 800 ft of suck at the end to gain the ridge is exactly that. I didn't feel the rest before that was anything to write home about. Just steep crappy rock like everything you've heard. Classic Elk range stuff.
Mountain bike tire tracks hiking up Maroon Peak (South)
After some fun ridge running I got to Maroon Peak with relative ease, and ate a snickers bar as I studied the traverse. It's pretty daunting from the view!
Summit of Maroon Peak looking at North Maroon
You come to the first difficulty almost immediately after descending the scree. Huge tower. Super fun.
First of the traverse difficulties. Found the right pitch to be a little less intense than the middle route
It's a little tricky in spots to find the route, but there are plenty of cairns if you look. Some are literally on the rock shelf above after you make the ascent, sort of congratulating you on climbing the right thing.
North Maroon peaking out from traverse
I gained the summit of N. Maroon around 8am and then started the descent back to Crater Lake.
Summit of N. Maroon looking at Maroon Peak
The descent off N. Maroon maybe have been the most sketchy part of the whole thing. I almost took the wrong chute like 2-3 times. So just pay super close attention to your GPS. It's really easy to get off route. VERY steep. But void of all snow on July 16.
Polar plunge in Crater Lake to finish it off
I finished with a polar plunge in Crater Lake with like 100 tourists looking on.
The iconic sign
Got back to the parking lot around 10am, and headed to Aspen for a well deserved coffee. Super fun day! Great conditions on the mountain with the exception of all the haze from the fires.
My GPS Tracks on Google Maps (made from a .GPX file upload):
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
Comments or Questions
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