Granodiorite Traverse
Solo Traverse. 13,000’ of vertical gain. 30.3 miles. 4 technical summits above 13,000’.
An epic solo ski mountaineering route.
May 24, 2021
Arguably the most beautiful day I had throughout the 52/13 project. This was a solo mission in the Elks to climb and ski from the summits of three mountains above 13,000’ and one 14,000’ peak. In sum, I covered 30.3 miles and climbed 13,000’ vertical feet up over the course of 17 hours.
I’m naming this link up the Granodiorite Traverse because of the rock composition of the zone. The four summits and their respective lines are:
Siberia Peak’s East Face (13,420’)
Hagerman Peak’s South Face (13,841’)
Snowmass Peak’s North Couloir (13,620’)
Snowmass Mountain’s South Face (14,099’)
As a synopsis, this day was magnificent for three key reasons: first, this zone (the Capitol-Snowmass Massif) is a surreal part of the Elks comprised by sharp granite that juts out of the ground; second, this day felt like a culmination of all the fitness and technical capacity I’d honed throughout the entirety of my 52/13 project–the day was long and enduring however it flowed with flawless technical movement and efficient transitions; third, this day harmonized with the timing of the sun moving across the sky and its warming of the snow on different aspects: first touching east, then south and finally west.
This massive day, which started in Marble, Colorado, necessitated a 1 am start. This meant waking up (or staying up???) at 11am in Aspen, CO to start the 90-minute drive over to Marble.
I was a bit tired, however mostly dialed in and focused. Two days prior I had skied the Landry Line off Pyramid Peak solo, and then done the 13 mile day out to Treasury (13,462’) yesterday.
The four mountains in this traverse are some of the most remote peaks in the entirety of the Elks and also some of the most remote mountains in all of Colorado. Getting to them is a challenge in and of itself. But boy, it’s worth it.The first obstacle is the rough mountain road up to Crystal–passable with a jeep but that’s not my vibe. So, I strapped on my skis and boots to my backpack, put on my clipless shoes and hopped on my mountain bike at one o’clock in the morning.
There’s something that I adore about starting in the middle of the night. Because your vision is limited, your other senses are heightened. I find that my sensations turn inwards and I find a unique connection to my body. My balance focuses in, my breath quiets, I can feel every beat of my heart. This tuned in feeling translates to moving through the night like a sly animal stalking its objective–defying the odds and utilizing the essence of surprise while the world is asleep.
Many mountaineers speak to the dark starts as time that didn’t exist–essentially, you’re numb and disoriented before the sun rises so the time in the darkness didn’t quite exist. I find that my mind is extremely clear in these moments: I feel as though I’m pursuing something unique and have a clarity about my place in the world during these dark moments. It’s a time to look inward, to feel yourself, to listen to your mind and body, and to not shut things out.
The anticipation of the sunrise is also strong during the darkness. You wait for the world to wake up with the soft blue that opens the eyes of the mountains, and from there, the celebratory and joyful orange that engulfs the alpine shortly follows. The sunrise from this day was amazing–I hopped off my bike about a mile and a half before the Geneva Lake trailhead and began walking on the solid snow split between patches of dry road where the sun was strongest. By the time I reached Geneva Lake (9 miles into the day), the world was waking up turning that soft blue and greeting me.
At this point I began skinning on the frozen spring snow in the direction of the higher alpine Siberia Lake which sits to the west of the 14er Snowmass Mountain and at the base of the East Face of Siberia–my first objective for the day. I ascended directly up the East Face the same way I would descend. There is one crux in the route that had some steep 55º mixed climbing to traverse from the northeast facing aspect directly onto the East Face. After a couple moves, I pulled myself onto the East Face and made quick time boot packing to the summit utilizing all four limbs to propel myself upwards.
I stood on top of Siberia 6 hours into the day, and 12 miles in admiring the west side of the Capitol-Snowmass Massif which holds, in my opinion, the best views of the west faces of both Capitol Peak and Snowmass Mountain out there.
Capitol Peak on the left and Snowmass Mountain on the right
The east face is a grand time. The views are surreal and the corn on the east is lovely. I was also able to find some spring powder in the more northeast facing chute that takes you into the basin following navigating the steep and somewhat rocky traverse crux. Finally, open it up in the rolling Siberia basin in the southern direction to begin the trek over towards Hagerman.
Skis on at the top of Siberia
For Hagerman, I also ascended the same route I descended. Putting my head down, paying attention to the snow and propelling my body up the 1,400’ face to the summit. Skis on and more open-faced corn. Hagerman’s South Face is wide and begs for fast turns down fall line. So I did just that descending the entire face in one swoop before reaching the bottom and traversing east towards the base of Snowmass Peak’s south face.
At this point, I was roughly 18 miles in and had ascended 8,500’. Even though it was late may, it was quite cold so the snow was staying soft and not getting pounded by the sun. Things were lining up.
I made the 1,000’ ascent up the South Face of Snowmass Peak before arriving to the knife ridge that takes you to the precarious summit of this 13er. This was one of the most technical sections in the entirety of the 52/13 project. The ridge is sharp and exposed on both sides so utter focus and two ice axes were mandatory.
11 hours and 9,500’ in I was at my third summit. My goal was to also ski Snowmass Mountain (the 14er) that day so I opted for skiing the North Couloir which takes you to the east slopes of Snowmass above the magical Snowmass Lake. Also, you get some unreal views of the Western side of the Maroon Bells from this point which adds to the diversity of magical mountains you experience in this traverse.
The North Side of Snowmass Peak starts off with a short section of steep exposed face skiing before dropping into the North couloir that is towered by a granite well on the skier’s left side. Oof that was good.
And time for the commute home–might as well summit and ski a 14er on the way ay? I made my way up the classic east slopes route to the 14,099’ summit of Snowmass Mountain. I took a breath up here and indulged in the magic of the day. I could now see Siberia’s East face and down to Geneva Lake. The beginning markers of my day.
The coldness of the day allowed me to ski the rarely explored South Couloir off of Snowmass Mountain rather than the more typical West Face. And boy, I was stoked on that because it just stands out in utter boldness from the top of Hagerman. The couloir is roughly 1800’ making it a proper ski descent filled with ample turns. The bottom cliffs out so you have to be careful to take the single exit to skier’s left.
A view of the South Face/Couloir on Snowmass Mountain from Hagerman Peak
From here, it was corny basin skiing all the way back to Geneva Lake. Alright, time to get home.
Always thankful to travel on Ute Territory.
