Maroon Bells

Maroon Bells
Bell Cord Couloir plus Traverse South to North
June 2, 2018

The Maroon Bells aka The Deadly Bells (according to the sign at the trailhead) are some of the most recognizable mountains in the world. Their picturesque setting in Aspen, CO, just past 2 lakes and in a beautiful valley attracts thousands of visitors each year. Few of these visitors actually climb the dangerous peaks.

Laura and I have both climbed the mountains and completed the traverse; once being the time I completed the Colorado 14ers on North Maroon Peak, so when a friend of a friend asked about them, we had plenty of information to share. Dean is newer to difficult scrambling and low class 5 climbing while being unroped so he asked if we would be interested in joining him for a climb of the snow couloir the Bell Cord and a traverse between the two peaks. Neither Laura nor I had climbed the Cord so we agreed and set several potential dates. 

Friday evening after work, Dean picked us up at home and we all headed west. Stopping only in Buena Vista for a quick dinner, we arrived in Aspen and at the Maroon Bells parking area just before 10 pm. Tired and ready for an early wake up call; Laura and I tossed our sleeping bags in the grass and crashed under the stars for the evening. Waking up at 2 am and eating breakfast, we were ready for the task ahead and began walking at 2:30 am. Passing by Maroon Lake and then on to Crater Lake 1.5 miles up the snow free trail, we reached the cutoff for the bell cord in 45 minutes. Up we climbed, around some cliff bands and eventually reaching the continuous snow couloir that climbs for almost 3,000 feet and bisects Maroon and North Maroon Peaks. Climbing snow for the next few hours, we reached the exit of the couloir around 7 am and took a short break before making our way to the summit of Maroon Peak. After spending just a few minutes atop the mountain, we decided to head down and begin the traverse to the North.

The traverse between the peaks is mostly scrambling on loose Elk range rock with a few short low class 5 sections mixed in. Although Laura and I are comfortable here without ropes, Dean chose to bring a rope for security on these sections. When the exposure and difficulty increased, I was happy to set up an anchor and belay for Dean and he quickly moved past the challenging sections.

10 am and we were on the summit of North Maroon Peak. Looking at the very snowy descent, we knew we were in for a tough trip down the mountain. Postholing and falling through the snow to our waists, the snow was soft and slippery so when we had the chance to find the trail, we took it. Finding the trail and then losing it again multiple times, we eventually bushwhacked to the lower sections of snow free ground after 6 hours of down climbing. Finally making it back near Crater Lake, we made the casual hike out with the tourists and finished our amazing day in the hills at 13½ hours.