Hike: Mt. Bierstadt, Mt. Evans Combination
What started as a routine, relatively uneventful hike to the summit of Mt. Bierstadt turned out to be quite an adventure. Mt. Bierstadt, very popular with locals, stands at 14,060 feet, and is reached by a moderately strenuous trail to the top, with only 2,770 feet of elevation gain in three miles. I started out at 8:30 AM and reached the top around 10:00, joined by a circus of hikers and even a small group of Catholics preparing a mass.
The traffic was disappointing and, although I had wanted to make the trek across the classic “Sawtooth”, the route contained significant Class 3 climbing (Grade II), and I was not about to do it alone. (Up until this hike, Class 2+ on Sneffels was the worst I’d seen and the “+” came from one short, exposed pitch near the top.) When I heard a group of hikers discussing plans for traversing the Sawtooth, I promptly introduced myself and asked to join them, as I figured this would be my only chance to get to Mt. Evans (another fourteener at 14,264. They graciously agreed and fifteen minutes later the six of us began our descent across the north face of Bierstadt to the first Sawtooth saddle.
(The following photo is a view of the Sawtooth from part way down the north face of Bierstadt. Notice the figures in the snowfield below, where we would begin ascending to the first saddle.)
The descent was a scramble through a boulder field and several snowfields. We enjoyed a bit of glissading down some of the snow.
As the Sawtooth loomed nearer, I was perplexed as to how we would be able to climb that. The guidebook mentioned it looked harder than it was, and I was certainly hoping the author was right.
I noticed a couple figures on the closest gendarme of the tooth and my knees went a little weak.
Luckily, John, the guy with the maps, explained a way to skirt the pinnacle’s east side. This we did, encountering several pitches of perhaps Class 2+, some exposure, but no worse than I’d seen before. (Here is Lisa on the way up the Sawtooth.)
I was relieved to make it to the crest of the next saddle with confidence. Along the way, some wonderful views of the valley to the west and Abyss Lake to our East.
At the ridge crest, we were to climb over to the west side to some narrow ledges and what the guidebook referred to as a “large, exposed diagonal ledge through the Sawtooth’s cliff band”. Passing some snow on the crest, we crossed to the west side and began the ledges. They were narrow in places, leaving one feeling very exposed to the gaping cliffs below. I avoided looking until I was firmly planted on the wider parts. The view was breathtaking. Literally.
Pam, Scott, and Lena were ahead of me, and Lisa and John behind. Pam and Scott worked their way up the diagonal ledge, which was steep, full of loose scree, and exposed. Definitely Class 3. This is where hiking becomes all climbing, choosing hand- and footholds carefully.
Lena was in front of me when Pam dislodged a large rock from above that tumbled past Lena. There was quite a bit of heavy breathing on my part. I remembered some of the tips from my climbing lesson this past winter and applied them. It felt amazing to be at the top of the ledge, and I felt a surge of confidence. The worst was over. There were a couple more pitches that had to be carefully handled, but were probably only Class 2+. We all made it safely to the airy tundra and snow fields below Mt. Evans.
There was a great sense of elation/euphoria at having made it past the Sawtooth and the worst of the climb. The hike to Evans was much easier with no more climbing. The view back across to Bierstadt was humbling. I was amazed at what we had accomplished.
(In the panorama below, Bierstadt is in the center, then the Sawtooth the right.)
As there is a road to the top of Evans, it was disappointing to see the atmosphere that prevailed. I lingered for about five minutes before joining Lisa at the summit house to refill my camelback with water. The descent took much longer than expected. After returning the way we came, the path of descent was down a scree gully beside a tumbling stream into the valley below.
More snow here and another opportunity for some glissading. Descending deeper into the valley, we joined a wide waterfall that fell over the cliff we had just come down, the stream of which joined others and filled the valley with bogs, marshes, and tarns, making hiking difficult.
Not to mention the infamous Bierstadt willows, thick shrubs that sometimes came over our heads and often scraped our legs.
Hiking was slow and methodical until someone ahead found the Bierstadt trail about two miles from parking. We reached the trailhead at about 8:15, which completed almost 12 hours of hiking and climbing and a great day of adventure.
