Four Pass Loop: Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness

 (note Frigid Air shortcut in the back right) 

I walked 28 miles this weekend! Including about 7000 feet of climbing over four high alpine passes:

A couple new-ish friends and I plan to spend Saturday evening at Snowmass Lake in the Maroon Bells Snowmass wilderness. As we examine the map on Saturday morning, I decide to take the long way to Snowmass Lake in order to complete the full Four Pass Loop. Backpacking in solitude is one of my favorite activities (sorry mom); there is nothing more meditative for me than walking quickly up and down mountains with a heavy pack on my shoulders: body in motion, mind at rest. In addition to a handful of positive human interactions, I spend some time with a friendly marmot on the top of Frigid Air Pass. I notice a shortcut before Frigid Air that could have saved me a few miles of walking through a shrubby basin (see photo above), but I avoid this potential risk since I am not carrying a map. I arrive at tree line approaching the third pass (Trail Rider) around 3pm just as the afternoon’s storms are rolling in. The pass itself is clear, so I take advantage of this window and race up and over to beat the storm. After walking some 20 miles I arrive at Snowmass Lake and enjoy a Dr. Bronner’s sponge bath, savor a couple sips of pinot grigio with my saner companions, and cook up some salmon quinoa seasoned with heaps of berbere. In the morning, I continue my quinoa kick with a hazelnut blueberry variation and shoot what I know will be the best photos of the trip. Snowmass Mountain is not guarded on the east by any prominent peaks or ridges, so by 7am the entire alpine cirque is illuminated and mirrored in the glassy lake below. We handily make our way over Buckskin pass, my fourth and final pass of the last 24 hours. 

Almost none of the landscape photos turned out – I retained a few in an attempt to share the glory of these alpine meadows, preternaturally lush and verdant after an unseasonably wet winter, spring, and summer. Just as well – the true beauty of these areas is best sipped slowly through a straw: with each passing moment and every forward step the light shifts and the mountains show a new face.