Bierstadt-Sawtooth-Evans Traverse

Carly and I summited Mount Bierstadt (14,065 feet) and Mount Evans (14.265 feet) on July 30th, connecting the two via The Sawtooth. We reached the Guanella Pass Trailhead at 3:15 am and began hiking up the shoulder of Bierstadt almost immediately. The star filled sky was nice to gaze at while we gained our elevation. Unfortunately, the wind became progressively stronger with time, such that we were frozen stiff when we reached the summit of Bierstadt at around 5:30 am. Carly took some pictures of the sunrise over Evans, and we briefly chatted with a few other early morning summitters. One of them, by the name of Justin, indicated he wanted to do The Sawtooth traverse, so we invited him into our group, and then off we went, beginning our down climb of The Sawtooth arete. 

Although The Sawtooth may look a bit scary from afar, it was generally an enjoyable relaxing experience in my opinion. The down climb from Bierstadt involves some route finding close to the center of the arete, but usually slightly to right (south) side. Carly, Justin, and I picked our route downwards, and increased our pace as the morning sun unfroze our limbs. After we completed about two-thirds of The Sawtooth, we then began ascending toward what most would consider the crux of the route. A narrow ledge/ramp ascends up towards the northwest shoulder of Evans, and must be traversed in order to exit The Sawtooth. This ledge seemed somewhat similar to The Narrows on Longs Peak. We didn't have any issues crossing this feature, but it was filled with loose rock, and that loose rock led to a terrifying cliff that would surely end in death for anyone who slipped off. Still, it is pretty easy to find a safe route, which we did, and then found ourselves facing the ascent of Mount Evans.

We took the standard route up Evans, which involved boulder hoping on its western face, gradually ascending, and sometimes getting off route in the hope that a false summit would turn out to be a real summit. We eventually reached the top by mid to late morning; we had our summit meal and beer; took our summit pictures; and relaxed in the sun and out of the wind thanks to a couple of large summit blocks. Then, as we were preparing to pack up and descend, two fighter jets flew right over our heads, no more than a hundred feet above. It was surreal to watch that unfold, and I wish I had my phone out to record the event.

We then began the long descent back to the trailhead. We decided to forgo The Sawtooth a second time, and instead took the West Ridge of Evans to Guanella Pass. The first section mildly descended away from Evans, but then narrowed into a very steep gully that seemed to go forever. Even worse, the rock was incredibly loose and we all had our share of slips. Next, we passed a meadow with a waterfall and nice view of Bierstadt and The Sawtooth from below. The meadow transitioned into thick deep mud that we had to navigate the best we could. Willows became increasingly thick as well, and that was our life for the next hour or so. Finally, we reached the civilized Bierstadt trail, and made quick work of the remaining distance back to my truck.

Google map location is here.