14,060 ft.

July 29, 2001

By Tim Briese

I met my friend Brian in Georgetown at 5 a.m. and we drove to the Scott Gomer Trailhead south of Guanella Pass. Along the way we left my truck at the parking area on the pass because we planned to return to the trailhead there after descending Bierstadt’s standard west slopes route. At 6:10 we struck off up the Abyss Lake Trail into the Mt. Evans Wilderness. It was a clear and beautiful morning, just what we needed for this long hike. I had been concerned that we might run into weather problems on this climb, because we had a long approach and a class three ridge ahead that we would not reach for several hours.

I had not seen Brian since the year before and it was good to catch up on everything as we hiked up the fine trail through the woods. By 9 a.m., after hiking some six miles, we reached timberline and could see the lower end of Bierstadt’s east ridge before us. We continued on the trail a short distance further and hiked around a small lake before leaving the trail at about 11,800 feet and bushwhacking upward on steep grassy slopes toward the crest of the ridge above. This grueling portion of the climb reminded us of the lower slopes of South Maroon we had done the year before.

We reached the crest of the ridge at about 13,000 feet and began to follow it toward the northwest. We scrambled around some large blocks on the increasingly rough ridge and paused for a break at about 13,300 feet to assess our route. We were treated to a nice view of Mt. Evans about a mile to the northeast beyond Abyss Lake that lay deep in the valley below. There were a few scattered cairns along this lightly climbed ridge but there was no defined trail. The crest of the ridge ahead looked quite rugged and we were unsure if it harbored a passable route so we began to contour along its right side some distance below Point 13,641. A pair of climbers came up the ridge behind us and took a route up higher close to the crest. Another solo male climber did the same. These were the only other climbers we saw on this route all morning. Brian and I worked our way along the east side of the ridge below its most rugged-looking section, finding it necessary to do some class three scrambling in some scruffy areas. When the difficulties relented we contoured along the ridge and regained the crest beyond Point 13,641. I turned back and saw the solo climber scrambling over blocks on top of the ridge near Point 13,641 and wondered what it would have been like to come that way. It had looked improbable from below but apparently it was feasible to stay on or near the crest of the ridge after all.

The summit of Bierstadt was now visible about a half mile away and the rest of the route looked much easier. We worked our way around two or three minor points on the ridge and then ascended a steep talus slope toward the summit. I was beginning to tire somewhat, for this long route entailed 4600 feet of elevation gain and over eight miles from the trailhead to the summit.

At 12:30 we stepped on top and were greeted by a throng of climbers who had come up the standard west slopes route. In the crowd we found Brian’s friend Artie from Minnesota, and his friend Mark, whom Brian had arranged for us to rendezvous with on the summit. Both Artie and Mark were standing on their first 14er, and were obviously thrilled to be there. I had never met either one before but was quite impressed with them. Mark noticed that some other climbers on the summit had dropped their camera and broken it, and, like a true good Samaritan, he offered to take pictures of them with his own camera and then got their address to send them some photos.

There were about two dozen climbers milling about on the summit while we were there. I estimated that about a hundred came up that day, but only five came up the east ridge route that I know of. Mountain climbing entails many things, from raw adventure to social interaction, and I tasted some of each today. It was a calm and pleasant day with no threat of stormy weather, so we sat on top and enjoyed the views for nearly an hour before beginning our descent.

The four of us began to hike down the excellent west slopes trail together but our progress was slow because Artie had difficulty with the descent. I am usually content with any pace when hiking with a group, but today I was eager to get ahead of the weekend traffic crush on I-70 so I politely excused myself part of the way down and blasted on down the trail. I arrived at the crowded parking lot at the trailhead at 3:10 and headed down the road. I still got stuck in traffic anyway, but the extra time in my truck afforded me the chance to reflect more on the adventurous climb I had done that day.

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