Date: September 17-19 (started at 3:30 on Thursday, ended around 2:00 on Saturday)
Location: Maroon Bells Area
Distance: 38 miles (tracked on Gaia)
Elevation Change: 11,500 feet of gain and 11,500 feet of loss (per maps)
Calories: I packed in about 6800 calories, but could only put down 3100 over the course of the route. Had an obvious effect on how I felt for some of the trip. Need to figure this part out better. Somehow, downing a chili smothered Super Deluxe Burrito at 19th Street Diner (recommended!)in Glenwood Springs on the way home wasn't a problem, though.
Group: Tyler, Greg, and Mat
Three years ago we did the classic Four Pass Loop, and two years ago we explored an adjacent area on the Capitol - Snowmass Loop. With all the COVID craziness this year, accessing the typical trailhead for the Four Pass Loop was just too much of a zoo/headache. So, we opted to add several miles and several thousand feet of elevation gain to change the Four Pass Loop into the way better (and far more challenging) Five Pass Loop. In order of appearance:
- Trail Rider Pass - 12,420 feet
- Frigid Air Pass - 12,415 feet
- West Maroon Pass - 12,500 feet
- Willow Pass - 12,580 feet
- Unnamed Pass - 12,700 feet
We started around 3:30 PM on Thursday and opted to just go in 7 miles that evening and stop short of Snowmass Lake given the typical crowds there. The fires all around the west definitely added a lot of haze/smoke to the air.
After probably the least amount of sleep I have ever had on a trip (just couldn't fall asleep and not helped at all by the pack of coyotes that was yipping and howling at least four different times that night), we were back on the trail at about 6:30, to start working our way past Snowmass Lake and over Trail Rider.
Losing over 1200 feet of elevation in just one mile, we gave our knees a taste of things to come as dropped down along North Fork and then started around Fravert Basin.
Look closely for the waterfall
Thankfully, you don't lose too much elevation between Frigid Air Pass and West Maroon Pass, though we did pass about 50 other backpackers and trail runners going to various locations. That said, climbing over West Maroon was a bit of a slog for me (let's blame the calories) as we completed the third big pass of the day.
A tired body, lack of sleep, and a couple Tylenol PMs resulted in a much better night of sleep with only one serenade by the coyotes. Headlamps aglow, we were making miles at 5:30 AM, heading down West Maroon Creek towards Crater Lake.
The Willow Pass area was my favorite part of this adventure. Glorious pictures of the Bells kept presenting themselves as we climbed up and away from the typical Four Pass Loop trail.
We didn't take the detour to Willow Lake, but will definitely be back to spend some time at this beautiful place. After a short break to eat a little food, we made our way over the final unnamed pass of the trip.
We then headed down for over 4,000 feet to round out the last 7 or 8 miles of the trip. Have to be honest - a long, steep downhill can be worse than uphill in terms of pain. Some obvious signs of avalanches through this area can be seen below.
Stunning area to visit during a wonderful time of year.
