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Ryan Schilling, Erin Burr and I had planned to climb South Maroon a couple weeks earlier,
and later Kurt Traskos opted in as well. Kurt suggested we do the traverse to North Maroon
as well. I had been planning on the Four Great Traverses at some point as a separate goal
from climbing all the fourteeners without traversing and 3k absolute gain for each. I think
it is an understatement to say that one would be missing out not doing a Great Traverse. I
was just waking up in my tent at 5:15 a.m. when Ryan, Erin, and Kurt showed up from Maroon
Lake. I told them I'd be ready to go, but they had to wait a few minutes. We were off at
5:30, and I enjoyed a tasty breakfast burrito Erin had prepared on the hike up. We reached
the creek crossing in a short amount of time and began the slog up the East Slopes of South
Maroon (photo on right).
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| This slope is exhausting and relentless, though never really exceeds class 2
difficulty. We were gaining about 1,500' per hour on the way toward the Saddle at 13,300',
a good pace. Route finding up this slope is not easy, though a steady momentum upwards will
attain the correct route at some point. The gain to this saddle is an astonishing 2,700'
and at a consistently unpleasant steepness, much like Mount Columbia's West Slope. It was
rather windy and somewhat chilly from about halfway up the slope to the saddle. The angle
eased up a bit near the saddle, and a more defined trail was available. We reached the
saddle an took in the amazing views of Capitol and Snowmass, Fravert Basin, and of course,
the looming South Face of South Maroon (photo on left). |
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After a short break, we began the ascent on the flat ridge and were soon away from the wind.
It didn't take long for the first few class 3 moves to show up. A couple short chimneys
led the way up to a series of ledge traverses North along |