{"id":3331,"date":"2014-08-04T11:37:38","date_gmt":"2014-08-04T04:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/checkconnect.net\/blog\/?p=3331"},"modified":"2015-08-30T23:42:08","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T16:42:08","slug":"the-sawtooth-mt-bierstadt-mt-evans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/checkconnect.net\/blog\/the-sawtooth-mt-bierstadt-mt-evans\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sawtooth (Mt. Bierstadt & Mt. Evans)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Distance: 11.2<\/strong>\u00a0miles\u00a0<\/strong>(out and back)\u00a0\u00a0Elevation Gain: 4,335<\/strong>\u00a0ft <\/strong>(total gain)<\/p>\n

Max Elevation:\u00a014,265 ft \u00a0<\/strong>Min. Elevation:\u00a011,473 ft<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Green:<\/a>\"Close<\/a><\/p>\n

We did Mount Bierstadt last year, that route is shown in green in the above Google Earth maps. The blue shows the new route we took to do the Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans combo. On the right is a closer look at the Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans combo.<\/p>\n

After repeated checks of the weather on Mountain Forecast up until 4:00 am on Saturday morning, we determined it was the perfect day to attempt the infamous Sawtooth route that connects 14ers Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans. Nice weather is critical for a successful trip across the Sawtooth and neither of us were willing to take a chance being stranding on jagged rocks above 13,000 feet in a thunderstorm. With a green light on weather, we left the house in the dark shortly after 4:00 am and began the drive to Georgetown and up Guanella Pass. We approached the trailhead for Mt. Bierstadt about 15 min. to 6:00 am and already several cars and groups were prepping to go up Mt. Bierstadt which is one of the easier 14ers on the Front Range. We enjoyed a climb up this mountain<\/a> last September. This time we had a much longer, intense day planned.<\/p>\n

The Sawtooth is a great traverse that connects Mt. Bierstadt to Mt. Evans (after quite a bit more hiking). It gets its name from several aretes (jagged knife-like rock formations) that line up to look like the teeth of a saw. The traverse is a class 3 route with some class 2+ scattered throughout. The route can be crossed either direction, but most people, including us, opted to start at the summit of Mt. Bierstadt so we had fresh legs for the traverse. Our early morning climb up Bierstadt was a warm-up hike for what lay ahead for the rest of the day. Frost blanketed\u00a0the ground and a chill hung in the air as we began. We paused for a few photos, but managed to summit in two uneventful hours. Seen below are early morning photos of the Sawtooth as we made our way toward her.<\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_018\"<\/a> \"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_019\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When we reached the summit we paused for 15 min. or so to rest, take photos, and snack. There were several people on the summit already. We found a quiet spot towards the north side of the peak that looked down towards the traverse to mentally prep. Seen below are photos from the summit before we started the Sawtooth. Notice the Sawtooth in the background.<\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_057\"<\/a> \"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_065\"<\/a> \"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_036\"<\/a> \"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_041\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We donned our helmets and proceeded with our next task of down climbing the steep incline towards the saddle. There was much screw and loose dirt until we reached the boulders. Many sections here required us to lower ourselves waist level down to reach the next rock. While the scree was annoying, bouldering was a rather fun challenge. Unfortunately, due to a very large snow drift located higher on the traverse, we were forced to downclimb a little lower than we wanted to on the route. Not a huge deal, but it meant having to climb back up a bit more later. Seen below are photos of the initial descent of the traverse looking downward as well as back up to the summit of Mt. Bierstadt.<\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_073\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_069\"<\/a> \"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_068\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Once we reached the saddle, we faced our next obstacle. Midway between the traverse, climbers are greeted with a large gendarme (spike rock\/isolated spire found on a ridge). It is the most challenging portion of the climb requiring solid class three (a fall would hurt very badly) moves to get up and over the top. Nonetheless, if you are not in the mood for the challenge there is an alternative route that goes along the right side of the pinnacle that is just class 2. We wanted a nice challenge, so opted for the direct up and over climb. The moves required good balance and arm strength, but this climbing portion was short. Seen below are photos of the gendarme and climb up. \u00a0Yeah…it was a bit steep…The last photo displays the remaining route on the east side of the traverse.<\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_092\"\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_091\"<\/a>\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_094_GendarmeRed\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_allycat_Small_002\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_097\"<\/a>\"Bierstadt_Sawtooth_Evans_Small_110\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were excited to have gotten safely through this crux and were ready for the next challenge, the ledges. This was more of a mental challenge than a physical one due to the staggering exposure. After the gendarme, we followed the traverse to a notch that leads to the west side of the sawtooth. Yep, the side of the traverse that you can see as you hike up Bierstadt. The side that greets hikers and climbers with sheer cliffs that drop a thousand below to the valley. Luckily, there is a mostly decent path that follows along the traverse and steadily upwards. Most of the path was at least 4 feet wide.\u00a0Seen below are photos of the west side of the traverse and a video clip.<\/p>\n