"Tour d'Abyss" is a name coined by Chris Wetherill in reference to the Bierstadt/Evans combination 3.19 listed in Gerry Roach's guidebook. In Roach's description you start at 13,300' on a switchback of the Mount Evans Road, descend a gully from the saddle between Mount Evans and Epaulet Mountain into Abyss Basin, then climb onto Bierstadt's 3rd class East Ridge. From the summit of Mount Bierstadt you descend onto the 3rd class Sawtooth Ridge and climb Mount Evans' West Ridge to its summit. Finally, descend back down to your vehicle to complete the route. This route circles Abyss Lake, hence the name "Tour d'Abyss".

Foto ©2001 by John C. Maki

Bierstadt's East Ridge apparently is not climbed by many; the only trip reports I could find online were those from Chris Wetherill and Ilana Stern. These two reports contrast each other greatly: Chris chooses the perspective of the novice hiker to show that this is a serious route, while Ilana takes the angle of the technical climber. Reading Chris' report led me to believe that this would be a difficult climb, definitely not for everyone. Ilana said the route was a piece of cake, but goes on to qualify her opinion as coming from an experienced technical climber. Which to believe? Where do I fit in?

I am not a technical climber but I suppose I could free solo lower fifth class terrain without too much difficulty. I have climbed 3rd class routes on Longs, Torreys, Sneffels, Kit Carson, Quandary, and Wetterhorn, but no 4th class routes. I think I am fairly competent at routefinding. Here is a trip report from my perspective.

After purchasing a $10 pass from a machine at the ranger station at the start of the Mount Evans Road (takes credit cards for your convenience!), I parked on the corner of a switchback of the road at about 13,300' and started hiking at 06:45. The weather was overcast and drizzling slightly. I found the descent gully - it's the one that cuts into the saddle most deeply - and worked my way down to Abyss Basin. This gully did not present any problems, as it wasn't too terribly loose. Once in the basin I bypassed a small lake on the north side and started up the slope to gain Bierstadt's East Ridge. This slope was mostly grassy punctuated by medium- large rocks, and while steep, was not hard to climb. This slope was the most strenuous part of the climb.

          
Fotos ©2001 by John C. Maki

I met the ridge a little below Point 13,420. A little 2+ scrambling got me to the top of Point 13,420, where I had a nice view of the ridge's crux at Point 13,641. I descended a bit and checked out possible routes to get around the crux. Point 13,641 requires you to find your way past an initial wall, then regain the ridge crest before you actually reach the Point. I looked to the left, and that looked like lower fifth class moves would be required to climb the wall. To the right was a grassy ledge system that meandered down and around the initial wall section. I found a narrow ledge that zig-zagged up, first in the direction of Bierstadt, then back, then toward Bierstadt again. I had to use undercling holds to keep my balance in a few spots, but the ledge was solid and the rock was nice and grippy. There is considerable exposure below this ledge. Once I topped out on the ridge, I could see my worries were over. A class 2 ridge walk over some ups and downs lay ahead, with a few class 3 spots here and there, and then the final steeper talus hike up to the summit. I reached the summit at 09:00, for a time of 2:15 hrs on this section of the climb.

          
Fotos ©2001 by John C. Maki

I was pleased with myself - not only did I beat Ilana's time but I also thought the route was not difficult or dangerous. You do have to be comfortable making class 3-4 moves above exposure, and you need reasonable routefinding skills, but nothing like I encountered on the West Ridge of Quandary. I wore my helmet briefly during the passing of Point 13,641, but left it in my pack for the remainder of the climb.

Foto ©2001 by John C. Maki

I signed the summit register, and found an entry from Brian Schultz a few days before. He had mentioned in an email that he was going to attempt Bierstadt's East Ridge as well. I'm looking forward to comparing notes on the route. I didn't hang around on the summit, and started following a couple of climbers toward the beginning of the Sawtooth. We all reached the starting point at 09:15, and one of the guys asked if I knew anything about the ridge. I shrugged my shoulders and said I hadn't climbed it but I had read about it. He asked if I'd like to join them in crossing the ridge and I said "sure". They were from Oregon and Maryland and were in Colorado for a 14er climbing spree. They had also climbed in the northeast (Katahdin, Washington) and the northwest (Rainier) during the last year or so. I usually climb alone but it was nice to have some company, and since the weather was stable and I'd passed the hardest part of my climb, I didn't mind taking my time more on this ridge.

We descended into a saddle, then climbed upward, mostly near the ridge crest or to the right of it. In general, easier terrain could be found to the right, but I found it more fun to stay near the crest. The exposure to the left was dramatic. Once above the saddle, we had to make some routefinding decisions and the climbing was 3rd class in spots. At one point I had to backtrack after trying to take the high road over a tower - I ran into a 2' gap between my rock and the next one. The route was reasonably well-cairned, but sometimes we didn't see cairns until we were right on top of them.

          
Fotos ©2001 by John C. Maki

While crossing the ridge we were wondering how we would cross over to the left side of the ridge near the end. I could see a possible route, a scree and dirt traverse, but it looked too steep. We figured the path would present itself to us as we got closer, and it did, more or less. After following a series of 5 or more cairns to the left, we found ourselves in front of a scree gully we would have to cross. The exit from the gully still looked awfully steep. We could see a small ledge above a rock slab which we could reach near the top of the scree gully, so we pushed up the gully and onto the ledge. This was definitely the way, and the ledge led us to easier ground above the exit that we had seen before. Nothing was too steep here, though there was decent exposure off to the left. Finally, at 10:45, we popped out onto gentle grassy slopes and headed toward Evans' West Ridge.

I gave the guys some advice on their descent to Guanella Pass, and suggested they stay low on the Evans ridge for a while to pass a false summit. They then informed me that I could be relieved of my guide duties and I said goodbye and headed up the ridge. I stayed low following a cairned route until I was past the first false summit, then I traversed up to the ridge crest and followed that more or less to the summit. I topped out at 11:50, had a Clif Bar, and headed back down to the Jeep. There weren't a lot of tourists up there today, but I had been on this summit many times before and felt no need to hang around. Plus, I had a cold beer waiting for me in the Jeep...

I walked down the gentle slope toward the Epaulet saddle, wondering how many road switchbacks I would pass before reaching the Jeep. A car was descending the road and I kept up with it for a while, meeting it at the next two switchbacks before it got ahead of me. I reached the Jeep at 12:15, making for a 5:30 hr climb in all. In summary, this was a very enjoyable climb on excellent rock, and I am sure I'll do it again. I would recommend this route to anyone who has climbed a few 3rd class 14er routes.