Off The Grid: Four Pass Loop

Last year on the 4th of July I was snowboarding. Due to the lack of snowpack this year, I had to come up with a new plan. I was fortunate enough to have my office closed July 4-8. With 5 days off I could come up with a great plan. My new friend Jesse and I had been throwing around the idea of going on a backpacking trip along with her new dog, Tana.

The crew Cory, Haley, Jess and Tana. Photo by Cory Arola

After some internet research she chose to do Four Pass Loop (trip report is very inaccurate) in the Maroon Bells Wilderness. Its a 26 mile loop that circles the Bells and goes over four pass all about 12,400'. The catch was she only had 3 days off... Friday, Saturday and Sunday. After some discussion and looking over the maps we decided that would be too large of a trip over three days. The miles combined with the clmbs would be too much. Luckily Jess was able to get the Thursday and half of Wednesday off. As we began to plan the trip, my girlfriend Haley's interest was peaked and she decided to join us on the trip. Four Pass with four members. Two girls, a pup named Tana and myself prepared to embark on this adventure. We divided the gear equally between all members, even having Tana carry her own food and water in a dog pack borrowed from my parents. We left midday on Wednesday July 4th and headed up to Georgetown for my buddy Bretts's BBQ and to compete in the bucket brigade competition. After hanging out for a bit, we made the drive to the trailhead near the Aspen Highlands. Our plan was to sleep at overnight parking in the back of Jess's car get an early start the next morning.

Photo by Cory Arola

We woke up nice and early to see sunrise light up the Bells at Maroon Lake. Then walked up the road to the trailhead, and began our first day on Thursday the 5th.

Photo by Cory Arola

We made the first day a nice short hike passing the infamous Maroon Lake, "Crater Pond", and settled at the base of the first pass, West Maroon Pass.

"Crater Pond". Photo by Cory Arola

Photo by Cory Arola

We stopped early, set up camp, and ate just in time to hide in the tent for some afternoon rain showers. The Big Agnes Copper Spur UL 4 that I decided to use on the trip held all four of us with room to spare. It was much more comfortable than squeezing in the car the night before and the view was much mo bettah.

Photo by Cory Arola

The next day I rose earlier than the girls to get some photos of the sun against the maroon rocks and columbines.

Photo by Cory Arola

We packed up camp and climbed West Maroon Pass at 12,480'. At the top of each pass we did a group photo and a shot of Buffalo Trace whiskey.

Photo by Cory Arola

West Maroon Pass. Photo by Cory Arola

Photo by Cory Arola

We continued by dropping into Hasley Basin at 11,640'.

Photo by Cory Arola

From there we climbed up Frigid Air Pass at 12425' and ate our lunch overlooking the lush Fravert Basin and the west side of the Maroon Bells. We dropped into Fravert Basin and decided to get as far toward the next pass as we could before rain or nightfall stopped us.

Frigid Air Pass. Photo by Cory Arola

Photo by Cory Arola

Fravert Basin was amazing due to the fact it had two levels. We reached a lovely water fall and circled around below to the lower level with a great river and meadow area to camp in (Around 10,400'). We stopped here because weather looked ominous and we didn't want to ford the river so late in the day. We put up the tent in a stand of trees and went to make water. During the last liter of water I was filtering is when the storm hit. It was intense heavy rain, slight flooding in the camp area, hail, thunder, and lightning. Tana was quickly allowed into the tent for her own comfort and safety. We spent the rest of the night in the tent playing cards and drinking wine. The next morning we packed up in the drizzle, and made our river crossing. As we climbed toward Trail Rider Pass the sky cleared and we had sun.

Photo by Cory Arola

Trail Rider Pass. Photo by Cory Arola

In my opinion Trail Rider Pass was the hardest because we had descended so low into Fravert. At the pass of 12,400' we ate our lunch and drank our whiskey. The group photo with Snowmass Lake in the background was gorgeous! We began our descent over a lake that was reminiscent of the Mediterranean. The excitement of the day was just beginning. Due to heavy switchbacks we had to dodge rocks that careless people kicked from above. Just as we crossed back into tree-line is where all hell broke loose. The skies let loose. We hid in a stand of trees under the tarp for a time. The rain never backed down. We tried hiking like a human centipede all under the tarp, which proved treacherous because the rainfall was so heavy that the trail was a raging creek. We made a final push down near to the lake, looking for any spot big enough for the tent. Finally, we found a place that was flat, sheltered, and hadn't collected too much water. We hung the tarp to try to keep the tent body as dry as possible during the pitching. It helped slightly, but regardless, everything was wet. After erecting the tent, we rehung the tarp, making a larger porch area to allow a drier tent exit.

Photo by Cory Arola

We played cards for one last time and drank the rest of the wine. It rained all night and the skies were still overcast when we awoke. We packed right up, put on wet clothes, and hiked until the sun came up. Once the day was warmer we stopped to make water, cooked some breakfast, and ate.

Photo by Cory Arola

The task of Buckskin Pass at 12,462' was daunting. We climbed, warming ourselves thoroughly, and reached the pass early, at 9:46 am; but not too early for our final shots. Excited about the rest of the trip being downhill and the warming weather kept us motivated.

Photo by Cory Arola

Buckskin Pass. Photo by Cory Arola

Photo by Cory Arola

We climbed back down, passed Crater Pond, and made the final push out to the trailhead. 26.7 miles in four days, all exhausted, we headed to Minturn for some BBQ.