TRIP REPORT OF A CLIMB OF SOUTH MAROON PEAK

HIGHEST OF THE "DEADLY BELLS"

by Chuck Allen

for my Maroon companions, Jake Collins, Jace McAlister and Joey Hammond, and for our friends and fellow climbers, Brendan Anslinger and DiShon Lutz, who could not make this trip

Maroon Bells and our climbing group

In June 2001, three close friends and I drove from Indiana to Colorado to climb Maroon Peak, also known as South Maroon Peak, the highest of the Maroon Bells at 14,156 feet (left in photo). It was a trip filled with laughter, joking, blow-gunning, potato-gunning, towel-popping, mooning and pillow-fighting. On Thursday, however, we awoke under a canopy of stars and went to work. Seven hours and 3,900 vertical feet later, we arrived together on Maroon's sun-drenched summit. Humor arrived, too, as one of our group did snow angels in his birthday suit and another sent bottle-rockets whizzing past our heads.

This is a photographic trip report of our climb. We offer our mental and physical impressions during the experience. To assist other climbers, we also offer information on physical conditioning, acclimatization, mountain safety, climbing equipment, Wilderness Area access and Maroon Peak's Southeast Ridge route.

Enjoy your visit here. Also, please check out our GUEST BOOK, our FAVORITE LINKS and our POLL at the bottom of the "Final Thoughts" page!

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