Mt. Bierstadt

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TRIP REPORT: Mt. Bierstadt, CO by West Slopes Route 8/31/97

Didn't have much time this weekend and the weather looked pretty marginal, so we were looking for a climb that was close by. My SO had started a job in Ft. Collins about a month before, so this put the Front Range peaks a little closer than if we were going from Colorado Springs. We decided Evans/Bierstadt from Guanella Pass would be an interesting and fairly short climb.

Arriving at Guanella Pass around 8:00 AM, the place was already a zoo. The parking area was mostly full, and there were people all over the place. It took a while to gather up our stuff and put on our boots so we didn't hit the trail til about 8:30 AM.

The "Sea of Willows" was pretty much as advertised, though I was generally able to follow the trail without a lot difficulty. There was a lot of mud and in a few places you could sink in above the top of your boots if you weren't careful (my SO proved this on the way back).

Eventually, the trail begins a few long switchbacks up Bierstadt's west slope. We exited the willows and climbed up to a large shoulder at around 13,800 feet. It was then just a short hike with a little boulder hopping to a rocky summit. We reached the summit around 11:00 AM and joined a fairly large crowd that was already there.

I surveyed the "Sawtooth" ridge crossing and could see a few groups working their way across. The ridge looks down right nasty from this vantage point though I could make out what I thought was the route. The weather was starting to cloud up and I should have trusted my instincts, but we decided to go ahead and try to make it across. After a quick snack, we started down the ridge from Bierstadt's summit.

The first part of the ridge traverse is some good bouldering with a few places where you need to use your hands to lower yourself down. Most of the route is below the ridge on the east side. It took about an hour for us to reach the saddle between Bierstadt and the Sawtooth. The clouds had been moving in rapidly as we worked our way down and at this point, it looked like the rain was going to start at any moment. This ridge could get unpleasant in a hurry if it were wet, so we decided it was time to find a way down. We found a gully that took us down through the steeper parts on the west side of the ridge and then started a long traverse below the ridge and Bierstadt's summit to reach the easier ground of Bierstadt's west slope.

We made our way back down through the willows and reached the car around 2:30 PM. The parking lot was even more zooey than when we left with Gaunella Pass road packed with cars. It never did rain (isn't that always the case when you abort a climb), but I didn't mind playing it safe.

All in all, Bierstadt is a very straight forward and short climb. The Sawtooth ridge crossing (at least the part I did) is fun and does require some Class 3 scrambling. The scenery isn't as good as a lot of the places I've been in Colorado and Guanella Pass can be very crowded, but it is definitely worth doing this climb.

-Tom

Stats:
RTD - Bierstadt by West Slopes Route: 6 miles
Elevation gain - Bierstadt by West Slopes Route: 2930 ft.
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