Colorado 14ers: Mt Blue Sky via Sawtooth Ridge Hike Trail Guide
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- čas přidán 11. 08. 2019
- After a failed second attempt on Sawtooth in May, I was back in late July 2019 to conquer Sawtooth Ridge.
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Mt Blue Sky (formerly Mt Blue Sky) via Sawtooth Ridge is a Class 3 ridge that involves scrambling on loose rock and lots of route finding. I would only recommend this hike for experienced hikers comfortable with lots of exposure.
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The willows was one of the most terrifying experiences of my mountaineering life. Admittedly, I started the whole climb far too late, and by the time I was descending evans, afternoon storms were rolling in. My partner and I hauled ass down to the willows. I kid you not, the moment we got there, lightning struck maybe 100 meters away from us. The willows for me consisted of a mad dash through freezing cold rain and muddy ground. We must’ve broken some sort of record with how fast we got out of there and the lightning didn’t let up the whole time. At the end I was throughly soaked, exhausted, and covered in mud up to my waist
Imagine complaining about someone sniffling while he’s showing us this awesome stuff. Love this dude, huge inspiration. Beers on me if you’re ever in Fort Collins!
👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Amazing, that you can do some of these moves while trying to steady the cam - especially in the preceding - Crestone traverse to summit.
Edward Lobb takes a lot of practice and editing!
I just recently discovered your channel and you truly are one of the most knowledgeable people I’ve seen! I love how you just get to the point and show the best routes while always keeping safety in mind. You will 100% help me on future climbs! Keep it up!
Thanks man appreciate the kind words - hopefully this helps you out with future hikes and much more content to come in the future months/years.
Hiked this today - had a great time and this report helped a ton in terms of making sure I was aiming for the right spots especially around the crux, thank you! These were 14ers 10&11 for me after starting this June - your channel has gotten me hooked and I love the content, keep doing what you’re doing!
It's ok I have sniffles today too. Thanks for the video
Mark Brinkley sniffles seem to follow me on the trail in the mountains most of the time haha
thanks man! thanks for describing the cross over at the end of sawtooth, really clarified some of the information I've read online.
toughpat no prob - glad you found it helpful!
Best thing for a runny nose during a climb is ipratropium bromide. Get a prescription and it does wonders for that constant runny nose during cold weather. Looking forward to the sawtooth route this coming July/August with my son. Thanks for the help on this!
You can avoid the willows on the Guanella Pass to Evans route by following the drainage divide between South Fork Clear Creek and Scott Gomer Creek from Guanella Pass around to the ascent gully. This also avoids crossing Scott Gomer Creek, which you have to do if you start up the Bierstandt trail. There is one very short (100 feet or so) marshy section on this route.
Can you map this?
Gotta go back and get the Sawtooth and Evans after encountering snow in early Aug. Frozen hands and the sawtooth shrouded in clouds. Debated for a while but NO ONE was attempting it so we bailed. Heard about the willows. Scratched legs and wet boots! Nice vid again!
Nice fun round trip on this ridge . You can either rap the notch or drop off the side and bypass it .
Solid rock all the way, too.
I did this about 3 weeks ago! Definitely agree that the downclimb from Bierstadt was a tough part. I didn't get as high as you on that last gendarme before the ledge, but I also didn't go all the way down to the right. Fun climb!
This is so cool!! Thanks for the great video. I just checked my pics and see that I did this same route on Aug. 22, 2019. Except that I went down the Evans gulley and through the mud and willows back to the car. Yes, it's as awful as described. 🙂
Beautiful looking day, I thought I was the only one that went what seemed like the worst possible way through those willows.
The willows are terrible, I think I ended up back on the Bierstadt standard trail because I thought it was the better option. I think the worst part is that you are so close to being done so you are mentally and physically ready to be back in the car.
Recently found your channel and it is perfect timing as I am trying to knock out as many 14ers in CO as I can over the next month. The info is awesome and super useful 👍
Eric Sheffey awesome - thanks man, glad you’ve found it helpful and good luck 🤘🏽
This looks like so much fun!
Sawtooth looks like fun! I had wanted to climb the other direction from Evans back on July 4 but still way too much snow for a lowlander unaccustomed to handling end of season slippery stuff. Thanks for the great tour!
Steve Rushton probably a good call - the snow can really make things super tricky even if you aren’t a “low lander” 😂 def worth a shot if the conditions are dry though - great hike!
I'm sorry but this made me cry laughing that the road was closed and that awful cloud above you and how dry and nonchalant you were lmfao
Also wanted to mention how you're so well calibrated to pointing out in the distance on your gopro. Best pointer I've ever seen
Camera work getting better and better dude cool shots
goatbacon thanks - trying to improve those and the edits with each video to make the 10-20 mins more enjoyable.
Thanks for the great video. Wife and I are giving this a shot tomorrow as our 1st class 3 (other than the brief section where we stayed high on Yale). Probably won't stay as high on the sawtooth as you did but some great info for scouting.
Donnie Renn awesome! Good luck, have fun and be safe.
@@TheVirtualSherpa We made it through yesterday. If I had one suggestion (while saying I use your videos to scout our routes many times) is that maybe comment about the gulley. This video skips the willows which suck but man, that gulley was the hardest part in my opinion. Keep the great videos coming, you're my first choice for real scouting videos
Donnie Renn fair point - I did struggle with finding that the first time around as well, the full description on the website does a better job at describing the gully - but agree that I could have shown it in the video
You are spectacular! I love your videos!
I enjoyed a motorcycle ride to the summit of Mt Evans last year. Likely will do it again this year.
Road just closed for the year to fix the road. I had plans as well.
So just did this, and you're right ...the willows suck
I get my ideas for which 14er routes I want to do from your videos.
Good vid, but the way to do it is Tour de Abyss up Bierstadt’s East Ridge from Evans. Two chunks of fun scrambling and you end up right back at your car :)
True, def on the list- I was taking a look at that approach on my way up. Looks like a ton of fun.
Love the sarcasm for people loaded trails n mountains 😅
You make awesome videos, I've been watching for a while now. I'm 15 so I can't mountain climb yet unless like my cousin takes me because I live in Kansas lol. I've bought a lot of mountian climbing jackets, packs etc and as soon as I get my full license I'm going to start my ascend in the great mountain climbing world.
Korloq 👊🏽 that’s awesome man, thanks for the comment and appreciate the views. It’s an addicting and fun hobby with endless summits to climb and trails to find - feel free to reach out if you ever have questions!
I am your fan bro. Fantastic!
🙌🏽🙌🏽
Great video! I want to do Evans but I don’t know about that sawtooth ridge! We’re heading there this weekend. PS, who complains about sniffles!? 🤧 I have allergies too. 😂
You did it! Great job! I'm already starting to miss the mountains. Whats next for ya? Little Bear Traverse?
Tacocat Climbing thanks man - second time this year was the charm I guess haha. Hopefully yeah and then finishing up on longs
Hey I’ve seen you on 14ers.com...congrats on your accomplishment this summer! I hit 20 this year as a 20 year old from Texas!
Could add that you can stay right of the ridge crest for easier walking going down Bierstadt
Agree - but don't love that approach since it deals with a lot of loose rocks. Although its more exposure, I prefer to stay on the ridge directly, but certainly an option.
Those willows were a nightmare when I did this 2 years ago. My hiking partner was sinking to his knees in mud and the gully was a bitch. Don’t blame you at all for catching a ride
The first time I dealt with those willows was when I climbed Bierstadt in the early '80's in April. I had gone up to Guanella Pass on a very warm April day with cross country skis just intending to fool around the pass area (The Guanella Pass road was open all winter back then.). This was before the current trail through the willows had been constructed. When I got to the pass, I saw that the ridge to the summit of Bierstadt was snow-free and decided to go for it. The willows were a pain on the way up, but the snow still had a hard crust on it so I could stay on top of it on skis. I went to the end of the snow on skis, stashed the skis and hiked the ridge to the summit. It was a very warm day, and coming back in the afternoon, with the temperature probably in the 60's, the snow in the willows had turned to completely rotten slush, so I was postholing on skis while bushwhacking through the willow. It was by far the most difficult part of the climb.
Awesome video!
Have you ever done the East Ridge of Bierstadt? It's really fun Class 3 with none of the crowds you find on most of the other routes on these mountains. It's also my favorite way to do the Sawtooth, because you start so high up on the Evans road.
Haven’t yet but it’s been on my list. When I attempt it, I think I’m going to try and create an approach from the south and then link up to that ridge. We will see though...
@@TheVirtualSherpa The first time I did it, the only other person I encountered said they had approached from the south starting from the standard TH on Guanella Pass, so that's definitely doable.
One other thing -- the 14ers.com route description for the East Ridge says the easiest way back is to descend the slope between Bierstadt and the Sawtooth to Abyss Lake. I definitely would not go that way. The entire slope is loose and messy, and even the biggest boulders are totally unstable. I had a nasty fall when a fridge-sized rock went out from under me. Much better to climb the Sawtooth and Evans or go back over the East Ridge (if approaching from the north), or take the standard Bierstadt route down (if approaching from the south).
Some advice for the willows: think like a deer, move like a sloth. That way, they're not so bad. :-)
Someday you’ll love us enough to go through the willows
LMFAO that mountain goat started to pull up on you 🤣
HenkeTooRaw yeah he was not happy at all that I was there, had to cut the footage of me backing away v quickly haha
"Find this cairn and there you go" *Points to 2 small rocks stacked onto a boulder* hahahaha
Did this route, it took me like an hour and half to summit beirstadt and then 7 more hours to go to mt evans and back to the car at bierstadt... through the marshes. I felt like that scene in the lord of the rings, the dead marshes.
So even now in late summer the trail through the willows is difficult? Is it wet too or just hard to navigate? Do a lot of people take the route through the willows? I’m gonna be along doing it. Any advise?
@@kamiknight216 The most time consuming part was route finding. It took me and another random guy forever to figure out where the decent back into the valley from evans even started. Its steep and lots of loose rock. And then you get to the bottom and its beautiful. I think I remember a waterfall... But then the dead marshes start and you walk in ankle deep mud for about a mile. I didn't think route finding was any harder in the marshes than on evans at that point.
I think its going to be muddy no matter the time of the year unless its frozen.
@@bansheezs Thanks so much for the tips! I’m anxious about going but I am excited to experience it for myself!
@@kamiknight216 Another tip I have is during the actual sawtooth part of the hike, I found it pretty easy to just go around the "teeth" instead of over them. There are some narrow bypass paths I found on the east side of each of them.
@@bansheezs Thank you so much! I have been watching so many videos trying to get myself prepared for this. Everyone is saying stay to the right of the sawtooth and stay high so you don’t loose elevation. Is that what you’re saying?
Great video, thanks so much. Would it be "easier" to go from Bierstadt to Evans and then back across the sawtooth a 2nd time? How long do you think that would take and is that a good idea? Thanks!
Technically not easier but route finding wise - yeah 100%. I give an estimated time of all hikes on my website (check the link in the bio of the video) and you can see my linked hike route further down on that same page 👍🏽
Thanks for the intro to this route. It looks like a nice hike with some challenge, scramble, and exposure.
Several years ago my wife and I climbed Wetterhorn in SW Colorado and saw others traversing the sawtooth or maybe the knife-edge to Matterhorn. When I looked several months ago, I found no vids for that traverse. Are you familiar with that route?
Dennis Rackers I’m familiar but have not done it personally so can’t speak to the exact technicalities of it. From what I understand it’s a class 3/4 ridge and is about a mile long.
Is that your garmin on your chest? I saw a small one called the inreach garmin but yours look a bit bigger. Can you share what yours is called?
All my gear is linked in the video description but that is called a garmin inreach. Same thing as the inreach mini (what you are referring to) just a larger screen which I prefer.
I might be out there mid April,I know how much snow you get this year is a huge factor. What do you think about this in April? Thanks
Probably a ton of snow still / long approach from guenalla since it will be closed in April. Also need to be very careful of avalanche risk as you descend from bierstadt to the sawtooth. If conditions are stable, should be fun day though.
Whats next for you?
THE EFFIN SNIFFLES
Joe Schobert 😂
Yeww
What day of the week was this? It didn’t look like you came across any other hikers on sawtooth.
Jason Bohac this was a Saturday - bierstadt was a zoo but typically the sawtooth is fairly secluded because it is significantly more difficult than bierstadt is.
Are you gonna finish all the 14ers this year?
Maria Fritz 🤞🏽hopefully - had that plan last year but a number of things didn’t line up.
Idk if you reply to comments anymore but I’ve done 10 14ers, only one of them class 3, but I’m a decent rock climber and I really want to do this traverse to get both mountains. Do you not recommend without more class 3 experience?
Think you should be okay - the nice part about this traverse is that you can really avoid a lot of the true exposure and class 3 moves by moving off the ridge direct. Best of luck
@@TheVirtualSherpa thanks, your videos have been insanely helpful as I start this transition to harder terrain. Best 14er vids on the whole platform
What are some good dog friendly 14ners? Something doable. Im very fit so is my dog but also want him to be safe out here. Needing something to do while I wait on longs peak season 🤔
Check out my website under 14ers: www.thevirtualsherpa.com/category/colorado-14er-reviews/
For each one, I talk about whether they are dog friendly or not.
@@TheVirtualSherpa You're awesome man!
one person's mother hates them
UConn fan?
Grew up watching UCONN bball as my college team