That ledge at :56 is real deal! I remember my first time doing this and seeing that piece from Bierstadt and thinking this is absolutely insane.. I was with a group of guys that pushed me to do it but one of the craziest things I’ve ever done to date
For sure, having reached the top of Bierstadt by way of a peaceful path, peering down at the prospect of this jaggedness is definitely an intense shift in flavor. The ledge is spooky, but exciting.
Thanks for the video, very interesting and too hard for me. Part of the fun for folks who do this traverse is to stay up high, it seems to me. If you drop too low are you really doing the sawtooth?
Yes, I suppose that is part of the challenge, like a balance between the engaging and the hazardous. Plus, one doesn't like losing a lot of elevation on these stretches. I would say that if you descend well below the ridge's higher difficulties and then make it up to Mt. Evans, you get credit for traversing from Bierstadt to Evans, but not for climbing the Saw Tooth ridge. And thank👍you for watching!!
Thank you, and I'm glad this was useful - that's one of the main things I aim for in making these. Funnily enough, earlier this evening I myself was watching a video of another 14er route I was thinking of doing, and now I'm not so sure I want to!!
Gets a conspicuous look at the consequences of failure... then laughs... Classic CT!! This looks extremely challenging and beautiful! Thanks for taking us along!!
Thanks O.E. - it was on both counts. And is no situation too precarious for a joke? I guess I'm still looking for one. I suppose the ledge footage looks scariest, but going up the rocks beforehand was scariest for me at the time. Later.
I’ve done both Biersdat and Evans but not the sawtooth, so really want to give that a try some day. I think the shortest route may be to start out from summit lake, go up Mt Spaulding and then head over to sawtooth ridge directly from there, traverse it (go up to Biersdat if so desired) and back down same way. I’m guessing no more than 7 miles round trip
If you're ok with traversing the ridge twice, then starting at Summit Lake would be shortest. Or you could even start from the top of Mt. Evans. In any case, traversing the entire ridge would mean reaching the top of Bierstadt.
This ridge achieves considerable heights and exposed drop-off ledges. But there is plenty of room for walking along the ledge. In order to traverse this ridge, I first climbed Mt. Bierstadt and afterward descended the west slopes of Mt. Evans, for a total of maybe 8 or 9 miles. The ridge stretch itself was a small portion (albeit the most challenging) of this total. Given the day's totality, I brought along probably 5 or 6 12 oz. bottles of water.
How bad were the willows?? Be honest lol I’ve heard it’s a nightmare... Want to do this traverse but don’t want to traverse again, or, yeah go through the willows
To get back to the Guanella Pass TH, you must either re-traverse the Sawtooth Ridge, or go down the route along the west slopes of Mt. Evans. The latter option does involve going through some of the infamous willows on its lower stretches. They are pretty bad, but not unbearable. I had to step into and through ankle-deep mud or higher numerous times. Maybe it would have been good to bring some shoes/boots I didn't mind getting muddy to change into just for this stretch. I'd say the path through this area is reasonably well-defined, but there could be hell to pay for straying off of it - then you would be facing mud AND the thick bushes themselves. Also, the gully you must descend before getting to the willows isn't very pleasant either - it is largely loose rock and gravel. You can find some bits of footage of both these areas toward the end of my Mt. Bierstadt video. Anyway, thanks for the question, and good luck if you attempt it. Let me know how it goes. -CT
Hey thanks for the feed back. Summited both; only realistic way other than being dropped off at guanella and picked up on Evans is that way. I think I’ve made my mind up there’s no “easier” path....through the willows...couldn’t imagine going back over the sawtooth, and backup to beirstadt 😅👍 ✌️
Which return route is easier? After having done this, I'd say that objectively, if your turnaround point is the Sawtooth, it would be roughly a tie: re-traversing the saw tooth ridge is more technical & hazardous, but the west slopes descent is longer & more unpleasant. For me personally, I'm glad I chose the latter, because that way I got to see views & scenery of the mtns. that I wouldn't have seen if I had merely returned the way I had come. I always love seeing & photographing these majestic peaks from different locations.....Also, if you are planning on going all the way to the summit of Mt. Evans as part of the ascent, then the distance variable favors the west slopes descent, and in that case this would be the overall easier option I would say.
Thank you! I will continue to think on it and keep in mind the information you’ve given. Look forward to watching any other adventures you have planned. 🏔🤜🤛
On the various occasions when I climbed to the summits of Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans, I have been content to just look at this jagged, aptly-named ridge. But my interest was finally sparked to climb it. While I suppose I concur with the thought that it looks a bit more scary than it is, this doesn't mean it doesn't have its scary and challenging moments. Which part did you find the most intimidating - either from climbing or watching? For my aforementioned video on the Summit Ridge stretch on Mt. Evans: th-cam.com/video/hD726jLeXHo/w-d-xo.html For the video of my hike up Mt. Bierstadt: th-cam.com/video/wGUHDp1nu70/w-d-xo.html Happy trails! -Centennial Treks.
![일상 속 기분 좋음 [Proto disco meme]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/DwmEIaZ7XGQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Brave heart.
That ledge at :56 is real deal! I remember my first time doing this and seeing that piece from Bierstadt and thinking this is absolutely insane.. I was with a group of guys that pushed me to do it but one of the craziest things I’ve ever done to date
For sure, having reached the top of Bierstadt by way of a peaceful path, peering down at the prospect of this jaggedness is definitely an intense shift in flavor. The ledge is spooky, but exciting.
Ive looked at that ridge many times while on Bierstadt and Evans and always said to myself- I...
don't think so. Good scrambling!
You could have done it back in your hay day.
Thanks for the video, very interesting and too hard for me. Part of the fun for folks who do this traverse is to stay up high, it seems to me. If you drop too low are you really doing the sawtooth?
Yes, I suppose that is part of the challenge, like a balance between the engaging and the hazardous. Plus, one doesn't like losing a lot of elevation on these stretches. I would say that if you descend well below the ridge's higher difficulties and then make it up to Mt. Evans, you get credit for traversing from Bierstadt to Evans, but not for climbing the Saw Tooth ridge. And thank👍you for watching!!
Thanks for your map and sharing this climb!
👍
Thank you. This was REALLY helpful in our decision not to do this. Maybe someday, but not this upcoming trip. Phenomenal video!!!
Thank you, and I'm glad this was useful - that's one of the main things I aim for in making these. Funnily enough, earlier this evening I myself was watching a video of another 14er route I was thinking of doing, and now I'm not so sure I want to!!
Gets a conspicuous look at the consequences of failure... then laughs... Classic CT!! This looks extremely challenging and beautiful! Thanks for taking us along!!
Thanks O.E. - it was on both counts. And is no situation too precarious for a joke? I guess I'm still looking for one. I suppose the ledge footage looks scariest, but going up the rocks beforehand was scariest for me at the time. Later.
@@CentennialTreks Perhaps all situations are best with a sense of humor! Later!
Wow Lucas! I would have been absolutely terrified!! Great climb and video!!
thank you scary footage is exciting footage.
I’ve done both Biersdat and Evans but not the sawtooth, so really want to give that a try some day. I think the shortest route may be to start out from summit lake, go up Mt Spaulding and then head over to sawtooth ridge directly from there, traverse it (go up to Biersdat if so desired) and back down same way. I’m guessing no more than 7 miles round trip
If you're ok with traversing the ridge twice, then starting at Summit Lake would be shortest. Or you could even start from the top of Mt. Evans. In any case, traversing the entire ridge would mean reaching the top of Bierstadt.
Not a fan of the crowd on top of Biersdat but I think you are right about that
Not sure about this I don’t like heights or extreme ledges 😳. How much water did you carry ?
This ridge achieves considerable heights and exposed drop-off ledges. But there is plenty of room for walking along the ledge. In order to traverse this ridge, I first climbed Mt. Bierstadt and afterward descended the west slopes of Mt. Evans, for a total of maybe 8 or 9 miles. The ridge stretch itself was a small portion (albeit the most challenging) of this total. Given the day's totality, I brought along probably 5 or 6 12 oz. bottles of water.
Thanks so much !
Wow I felt myself cringing a time or two. I wondered about the classes, I assume that has to do with the difficulty of the climb.
Yes there are 5 classes, 1 being just walking on a trail, and 5 being technical rock climbing.
How bad were the willows?? Be honest lol I’ve heard it’s a nightmare... Want to do this traverse but don’t want to traverse again, or, yeah go through the willows
To get back to the Guanella Pass TH, you must either re-traverse the Sawtooth Ridge, or go down the route along the west slopes of Mt. Evans. The latter option does involve going through some of the infamous willows on its lower stretches. They are pretty bad, but not unbearable. I had to step into and through ankle-deep mud or higher numerous times. Maybe it would have been good to bring some shoes/boots I didn't mind getting muddy to change into just for this stretch. I'd say the path through this area is reasonably well-defined, but there could be hell to pay for straying off of it - then you would be facing mud AND the thick bushes themselves. Also, the gully you must descend before getting to the willows isn't very pleasant either - it is largely loose rock and gravel. You can find some bits of footage of both these areas toward the end of my Mt. Bierstadt video. Anyway, thanks for the question, and good luck if you attempt it. Let me know how it goes. -CT
Hey thanks for the feed back. Summited both; only realistic way other than being dropped off at guanella and picked up on Evans is that way. I think I’ve made my mind up there’s no “easier” path....through the willows...couldn’t imagine going back over the sawtooth, and backup to beirstadt 😅👍 ✌️
Which return route is easier? After having done this, I'd say that objectively, if your turnaround point is the Sawtooth, it would be roughly a tie: re-traversing the saw tooth ridge is more technical & hazardous, but the west slopes descent is longer & more unpleasant. For me personally, I'm glad I chose the latter, because that way I got to see views & scenery of the mtns. that I wouldn't have seen if I had merely returned the way I had come. I always love seeing & photographing these majestic peaks from different locations.....Also, if you are planning on going all the way to the summit of Mt. Evans as part of the ascent, then the distance variable favors the west slopes descent, and in that case this would be the overall easier option I would say.
Thank you! I will continue to think on it and keep in mind the information you’ve given. Look forward to watching any other adventures you have planned.
🏔🤜🤛
.....And thanks for watching. The next several months should involve some neat places & videos.
On the various occasions when I climbed to the summits of Mt. Bierstadt and Mt. Evans, I have been content to just look at this jagged, aptly-named ridge. But my interest was finally sparked to climb it. While I suppose I concur with the thought that it looks a bit more scary than it is, this doesn't mean it doesn't have its scary and challenging moments. Which part did you find the most intimidating - either from climbing or watching? For my aforementioned video on the Summit Ridge stretch on Mt. Evans: th-cam.com/video/hD726jLeXHo/w-d-xo.html
For the video of my hike up Mt. Bierstadt: th-cam.com/video/wGUHDp1nu70/w-d-xo.html
Happy trails! -Centennial Treks.
Way cool video bro...
Hey Matt thanks I appreciate that.