Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: July 31, 2002
We dropped a car at Guanella Pass and started hiking from the Burning Bear Campground. This trail leisurely ascends the forested Scott Gomer Creek drainage before reaching a junction with the Rosalie Trail. We stayed on our trail until we neared the heart-shaped, unnamed lake with a given elevation of 11,730'. From there, we ascended grassy slopes to reach Bierstadt's east ridge. It isn't reasonable to take a direct ascent of the east ridge from its base because a massive headwall forms its eastern terminus. From there we had easy class 2 hiking until we went up and over a hump. in the ridge, revealing the crux of this third-class climb. After some interesting routefinding, we were beyond the crux, and had more easy class 2 for the remainder of the ridge to Bierstadt's summit. We descended Bierstadt's standard route to Guanella Pass, retrieving the car we left earlier. A trip report is available here.
Route Climbed: Guenella Pass and Sawtooth (once, at night!) Date Climbed: July 4, 2000 (initialy) September 2000, December 2001, December 2002, Febuary 2003 (since)
Bierdstadt is a fun and managable mountain. Accesable yearround it is a place to introduce friends to both hiking and scrambling routes on a mountain. The chance to drive up the Mount Evans highway to the summit of Mount Evans on an early autumn afternnoon, scramble across the Sawtooth to witness a spectacular sunset, scramble back by the light of the moon to return to your car, might not be the most traditional way to climb a mountain; but it is a sweet way to spend an afternoon after work appreciating something that many Coloradans take for granted.
Route Climbed: Standard West-face Date Climbed: Feb 14, 2004
Climbed with a party of four. Our first 14er and first winter ascent in recent years. Great conditions with temps around freezing and practically no wind. Hardpack, patchy snow. Snowshoes very neccessary for crossing the willows, but not otherwise. Axes useful but not critical. Great views and good times.
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: Jan. 30th, 2004
Climbed in overcast conditions with snow flurries throughout the day with a large CMC group. I'd blazed up this trail in summer like it was a casual hike, but not today. My first time above 12,000ft in 3 months took a little getting used to, but I eventually made it to the top. Trail was well packed in places, and fresh snow from the day made the descent interesting but fun. Carried an ice axe and snowshoes all the way up and down but they never left my pack. Fun day.
Route Climbed: Guanella Pass Trailhead Date Climbed: 1-17-04
This was my first 14'er. The snow was not bad at all and the willows gave very little problems, the winds picked up though and that was a fun fight, gusts were at 40 mph with temps in the single digits. Reached the summit just over the three-hour mark. Great view from the top.
Route Climbed: West slopes Date Climbed: July 1999
My second 14er - since climbed three times more. The sawtooth ridge to Evans is a fun scramble, but the willows on the way out are a pain. The easiest winter 14er.
Route Climbed: Western Slope - Guanella Pass Date Climbed: 12/06/2003
a simple short climb did it in just under 3 hours round trip. my first winter weather summit. 45mph winds and below 0 degrees winds made this one a challenge. wonderful views... email me if you are interested in a great high rez panorama shot from the summit. b@ogonzoo.org
Route Climbed: Guanella Pass Date Climbed: October 14, 2003
My first 14er. You can see just as far from the top of a grain bin in North Dakota, but the climb is colder and not as much fun. I was a little intimidated, as I'm pretty inexperienced and there was only one other car in the parking lot. But, I made it and it was a lot of fun. I would, however, recommend bringing one more sandwhich than you think you'll need!
Route Climbed: Guanella Pass Date Climbed: July 29th, 2002
I've climbed this mountain twice now. I decided to do this so a coworker of mine could climb his first fourteener. It took him quite a while but he eventually made it. The first time I did this mountain it was my 3rd. Beautiful (but crowded) hike. I'd rather do it during the week or climb Square Top across the road instead.
Route Climbed: Western Slope from Guanella Pass Date Climbed: August 23, 2003
This was # 3 and I took the "Sawtooth" on over to Evans for # 4. The Bierstadt trail was shaded the majority of the morning, which made it nice and cool. My wife and I made it to the summit with a good pace of 2 hrs. The summit was really crowded but that did not take anything away from the experience. The "Sawtooth" was AMAZING; enough said. Thanks to Patrick for organizing the trip and Brant for sharing the experience.
Route Climbed: Western Slope Guanella Pass Date Climbed: July 14, 2003
This was my first fourteener, and according to the CMC summit log, this was the first 14er for quite a few other hikers as well. I made the summit in about 1.5 hours. This is a pretty easy hike for a 14er. The boardwalks through the infamous willows sure are nice. There were quite a few other hikers on the trail, and the parking lots at the trailhead were almost full. I had good weather for the hike, partly cloudy and not very windy at all, even at the summit.
Route Climbed: West Slope via Guanella Pass Date Climbed: August 9, 3003
Got a really late start around 2:00 PM after waiting for a storms to pass. The clouds were off and on that day. Most people were exiting the mountain as we were heading up. We got pulverized by rain and hail, but the skies were blue when we hit the summit, and because of the storms, there was only one other couple on the entire mountainside, a rare treat for Bierstadt.
Route Climbed: West Slopes to Sawtooth Date Climbed: July 9, 2003
Made the trip with my wife on one of the most beautiful days I've seen in a while. Could see Long's to Pikes and all the way to Holy Cross. No snow and very few people. Crossed the sawtooth to Evans and Spalding.
RyanS - Apr 8, 2004 2:17 pm
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: July 31, 2002We dropped a car at Guanella Pass and started hiking from the Burning Bear Campground. This trail leisurely ascends the forested Scott Gomer Creek drainage before reaching a junction with the Rosalie Trail. We stayed on our trail until we neared the heart-shaped, unnamed lake with a given elevation of 11,730'. From there, we ascended grassy slopes to reach Bierstadt's east ridge. It isn't reasonable to take a direct ascent of the east ridge from its base because a massive headwall forms its eastern terminus. From there we had easy class 2 hiking until we went up and over a hump. in the ridge, revealing the crux of this third-class climb. After some interesting routefinding, we were beyond the crux, and had more easy class 2 for the remainder of the ridge to Bierstadt's summit. We descended Bierstadt's standard route to Guanella Pass, retrieving the car we left earlier. A trip report is available here.
JonBradford - Mar 29, 2004 7:58 pm
Route Climbed: Guenella Pass and Sawtooth (once, at night!) Date Climbed: July 4, 2000 (initialy) September 2000, December 2001, December 2002, Febuary 2003 (since)Bierdstadt is a fun and managable mountain. Accesable yearround it is a place to introduce friends to both hiking and scrambling routes on a mountain. The chance to drive up the Mount Evans highway to the summit of Mount Evans on an early autumn afternnoon, scramble across the Sawtooth to witness a spectacular sunset, scramble back by the light of the moon to return to your car, might not be the most traditional way to climb a mountain; but it is a sweet way to spend an afternoon after work appreciating something that many Coloradans take for granted.
Jon
MtnWoman - Mar 26, 2004 12:04 am
Route Climbed: Standard West Face Date Climbed: 2/14/04First 14er climbed, and a winter ascent to boot. The incredible views were well worth the effort.
pphlux - Mar 19, 2004 11:19 pm
Route Climbed: From Guanella Pass Date Climbed: March 2002I stopped by this peak on my way home from a failed
attempt on blanca. I had my buddy drop me off on top, and
I hitched a ride home to boulder.
I think everyone should hitch somewhere sometime in their life....
Anyway, pretty straight forward route. just watch carefully for
the tall poles which mark the trail.
Probably the most dangerous part of this ascent was the guy from
Virginia I met at about 10 at night postholing through the willows
with no snowshoes or headlamp. He also mentioned he had seen
bigfoot, and had managed to snap a photo. This is not a joke....
Anyway, a fun peak, and of course, great winter intro.
CharlesD - Mar 18, 2004 10:21 am
Route Climbed: Standard West-face Date Climbed: Feb 14, 2004Climbed with a party of four. Our first 14er and first winter ascent in recent years. Great conditions with temps around freezing and practically no wind. Hardpack, patchy snow. Snowshoes very neccessary for crossing the willows, but not otherwise. Axes useful but not critical. Great views and good times.
Aaron Reid - Feb 28, 2004 12:41 pm
Route Climbed: Standard Date Climbed: Jan. 30th, 2004Climbed in overcast conditions with snow flurries throughout the day with a large CMC group. I'd blazed up this trail in summer like it was a casual hike, but not today. My first time above 12,000ft in 3 months took a little getting used to, but I eventually made it to the top. Trail was well packed in places, and fresh snow from the day made the descent interesting but fun. Carried an ice axe and snowshoes all the way up and down but they never left my pack. Fun day.
justin - Jan 19, 2004 1:56 pm
Route Climbed: Guanella Pass Trailhead Date Climbed: 1-17-04This was my first 14'er. The snow was not bad at all and the willows gave very little problems, the winds picked up though and that was a fun fight, gusts were at 40 mph with temps in the single digits. Reached the summit just over the three-hour mark. Great view from the top.
hhsilleck - Jan 10, 2004 7:24 pm
Route Climbed: West slopes Date Climbed: July 1999My second 14er - since climbed three times more. The sawtooth ridge to Evans is a fun scramble, but the willows on the way out are a pain. The easiest winter 14er.
ogonzoo - Dec 8, 2003 3:37 pm
Route Climbed: Western Slope - Guanella Pass Date Climbed: 12/06/2003a simple short climb did it in just under 3 hours round trip. my first winter weather summit. 45mph winds and below 0 degrees winds made this one a challenge. wonderful views... email me if you are interested in a great high rez panorama shot from the summit. b@ogonzoo.org
bdewoody - Dec 3, 2003 1:03 am
Route Climbed: Sawtooth Date Climbed: 8/23/02Climbed Bierstadt and Evans in one trip via the Sawtooth ridge.
jeffgun - Nov 15, 2003 1:41 pm
Route Climbed: N/W Ridge Date Climbed: MultipleThis is a common winter hike for me. I usually take my husky, Nikita, with me.
flyinghighpete - Oct 21, 2003 5:03 pm
Route Climbed: Guenella Pass Date Climbed: August 30, 2003My friend's first 14er! Perfect day for a hike!
NoDak - Oct 15, 2003 9:55 pm
Route Climbed: Guanella Pass Date Climbed: October 14, 2003My first 14er. You can see just as far from the top of a grain bin in North Dakota, but the climb is colder and not as much fun. I was a little intimidated, as I'm pretty inexperienced and there was only one other car in the parking lot. But, I made it and it was a lot of fun. I would, however, recommend bringing one more sandwhich than you think you'll need!
jrf - Oct 5, 2003 8:21 pm
Route Climbed: Guanella Pass Date Climbed: July 29th, 2002I've climbed this mountain twice now. I decided to do this so a coworker of mine could climb his first fourteener. It took him quite a while but he eventually made it. The first time I did this mountain it was my 3rd. Beautiful (but crowded) hike. I'd rather do it during the week or climb Square Top across the road instead.
eurobeer - Aug 25, 2003 9:30 am
Route Climbed: Western Slope - Guanella Pass Date Climbed: July 16, 2003We attempted this last summer, but the weather kept us from reaching the top.
This time we left much earlier and reached the summit easily. Great hike, close to Denver. It will be a regular hike for us in the future.
URKillnMeSmalls - Aug 24, 2003 7:48 pm
Route Climbed: Western Slope from Guanella Pass Date Climbed: August 23, 2003This was # 3 and I took the "Sawtooth" on over to Evans for # 4. The Bierstadt trail was shaded the majority of the morning, which made it nice and cool. My wife and I made it to the summit with a good pace of 2 hrs. The summit was really crowded but that did not take anything away from the experience. The "Sawtooth" was AMAZING; enough said. Thanks to Patrick for organizing the trip and Brant for sharing the experience.
belexes - Aug 22, 2003 2:39 pm
Route Climbed: Western Slope Guanella Pass Date Climbed: July 14, 2003This was my first fourteener, and according to the CMC summit log, this was the first 14er for quite a few other hikers as well. I made the summit in about 1.5 hours. This is a pretty easy hike for a 14er. The boardwalks through the infamous willows sure are nice. There were quite a few other hikers on the trail, and the parking lots at the trailhead were almost full. I had good weather for the hike, partly cloudy and not very windy at all, even at the summit.
CanopyBoy - Aug 11, 2003 10:12 am
Route Climbed: West Slope via Guanella Pass Date Climbed: August 9, 3003Got a really late start around 2:00 PM after waiting for a storms to pass. The clouds were off and on that day. Most people were exiting the mountain as we were heading up. We got pulverized by rain and hail, but the skies were blue when we hit the summit, and because of the storms, there was only one other couple on the entire mountainside, a rare treat for Bierstadt.
bernardhohman - Jul 29, 2003 1:01 am
Route Climbed: Geunella Pass Date Climbed: September 12, 2001First fourteener. Great day.
miztflip - Jul 9, 2003 4:26 pm
Route Climbed: West Slopes to Sawtooth Date Climbed: July 9, 2003Made the trip with my wife on one of the most beautiful days I've seen in a while. Could see Long's to Pikes and all the way to Holy Cross. No snow and very few people. Crossed the sawtooth to Evans and Spalding.