The parking lot / trailhead for the Bells (and Pyramid) is about 9.5 miles up the road, and you'll get excellent views of Pyramid Peak and then the Bells as you draw closer. Follow the signs for either day parking or overnight parking.

From the parking lot, head west along the excellent Crater Lake trail next to Maroon Lake on the right. Follow the trail as it angles up the valley towards Crater Lake. The trail tops out after about 1.2 miles, and the cairned turn-off for the Pyramid trail is at about 1.4~1.5 miles. It's a faint trail and the cairn can be hard to spot, so look carefully.

The Pyramid trail initially climbs gently onto a small plateau and continues mostly south to the base of a steep talus field. The next 1000' of climbing will take you along the new trail built by the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative (started in 2004, still under construction as of summer 2006). This excellent trail contains several steep switchbacks and boulder-stairs as you climb into the basin beneath Pyramid. The trail at the basin entrance is flanked by huge cairns, making it easy to spot the exit point on the hike out.

In the amphitheatre, hike south over boulders towards the base of Pyramid. There's not much of an established trail through here. The easiest routes will either be on the semi-permanent snowfield at the bottom of the amphitheatre (if the snow is soft enough or you're equipped with crampons), or on the right side, where a faint climbers trail can be intermittently seen. Don't hike all the way to the base of Pyramid, though. Proceed up the basin until it flattens out (about a half mile from your entrance point), and then turn left (east) and head to the base of the steep slope that will take you to the saddle. There are intermittent cairns leading you to the base.

Now it's time for another ~1000' grunt, from the basin floor to the saddle on the ridge. There are a number of trails and variations that lead to the saddle and they're all steep and loose in places, so be careful as you climb. Also, it's best to put on your helmet at this point, just based on the terrain. Other climbers can be right below you.

After the grunt to the saddle, you'll see Pyramid's summit staring you down, and it's just about time for the fun to begin. From the saddle, turn right (southwest) and follow the faint trail around a small buttress to your right. Re-gain the ridge for a short distance and then follow faint cairns into Pyramid's east face (angling to your left). It is possible to climb straight up the ridgeline from here, but that is a harder option.

Cross a couple of rock ribs as you continue generally left and up on a faint climbers trail. The crossing points on these ribs are generally well-cairned. If you're following the easiest route, you will come across a narrow but solid convenient ledge, usually called the 'cliff traverse', that neatly bypasses some steep cliffs.

The trail will lead to a gully of greenish rock, which is the first real class IV move so far. From here there are several route variations depending on your comfort level. You can climb the green section for a few hundred feet, exiting to the left. Another option exits the green section to the right after only ~20 feet or so, and then trending upwards and left. Either way, you'll be alternating between class 3 and 4 climbing until near the summit. Take your time finding the best route, and be sure to test hand and footholds! Just below the summit, the steepness eases a bit, and the last 100 feet or so are a simple scramble to the narrow summit.

The first hour of the trek was one I was quite used to by now, since the Crater Lake trail access both Maroon and North Maroon Peak, as well as Pyramid. The gradual climb beyond Maroon Lake felt welcoming and familiar in the predawn darkness. Upon reaching the small pass between Maroon and Crater Lakes, I easily spotted the ~4 ft. cairn that marks the turnoff for Pyramid. Now it was time for new territory! The first quarter mile or so from the turnoff was a pleasant, gradual ascent that landed me in on a small plateau, approaching a steep talus field that marked the start of the steep climbing. Luckily, the new CFI trail up this 1000' slope was mostly completed (as of August '06), and the switchbacks through the talus and thinning trees weren't as bad as they first appeared. In addition, I had the pleasure of watching a beautiful reddish sunrise light up the valley and glow on the Maroon Bells before the overcast skies settled in for the day.

The steep trail turned more rocky as it transitioned into the huge basin beneath Pyramid's huge north face. This was my first good look at Pyramid in the morning light, and it definitely looked impressive and intimidating. As the CFI trail ended, a number of huge cairns marked the spot on the edge of the basin making the exit point easier to find on the way out. I boulder-hopped up the right side of the basin, following occasional cairns and a faint trail for just about a half-mile, to a point where the basin levelled out and a large cairn to my left indicated the change in direction to the east and to the base of a steep gully climb. The gully itself is pretty obvious (the rest of the climbing options are out of the question), and I could see a group of 4 slowly making their way up the steep and loose trail. After a short break to mow down a Clif Bar and put on my helmet, I started the grunt that would take me to the ridgeline, almost 1000 feet up.

The gully has a number of trail variations that lead up to the saddle, but they're all extremely steep and loose in places. It was a slow grind to the top and I was sweating heavily by the time I finally attained the ridge. The group of 4 I saw above me was just finished up a break, and had not only donned helments but harnesses as well. Turned out to be three climbers and a local guide (Gabe Metzger, from Aspen Expeditions). I asked what route they were climbing today, and they said the standard route. I wished them well as they took off, and sat a few minutes to cool off and rest. From the saddle, the last 1000' feet to the summit look like they're right in front of you -- the summit loomed close and high above, and the thing looked impossible to climb. Mindful of the overcast and potential for bad weather, I didn't rest too long, and followed the foursome in front of me as the real climb started.

From the saddle I was easily able to follow the faint trail along ledges around a small buttress and back to the ridge.  From this point, the trail, faintly cairned, trended left into the east face of Pyramid. There was also a cairned path leading straight up the ridgeline, but it didn't take much to see that was the harder option. The trail continued into the east face, passing over a couple ribs and across the 'cliff traverse'....a narrow but solid path crossing an otherwise steep cliffy section. Shortly after this traverse and more relatively easy route-finding, I came upon another distinctive feature of the route...a long greenish stretch of rock that rose several hundred feet above us. I also caught up with the group of 4 I'd briefly met at the saddle. They had stopped to rope up for the next part of the ascent. Though the group asked me if I wanted to pass, I wasn't moving all that much quicker than they were, and I said I'd just hang out behind them, if they didn't mind. In short order they were roped up and ascented the steep green rock. This was definitely the hardest section of the climb so far, but the steep rock was stable and not too difficult to climb. Following the group in front of me, I exited the gully to the right after about 20~30 feet, and continued on another faint trail up the mountain. From this point (about 500 feet below the summit), the routefinding was slow and complicated, involving short traverses and Class 3/4 maneuvers. The route wasn't marked all that well, but a little careful routefinding kept the difficulties to a minimum. The last 100 feet to the summit were much more mellow, not more than a Class 2 stroll.

The summit of Pyramid is small and narrow, and there were already 4 or 5 other climbers up there, so it was pretty cozy. The clouds had started to move in and there wasn't much to see up there...the bulk of the Maroon Bells were obvious from across the valley, but the distinctive tops were hidden under a low cloud deck. To the east the fog had moved in, obscuring potential views of Castle.  Based on the weather, I didn't stick around for very long, and neither did anyone else. The thought of downclimbing Pyramid on wet rock was something none of us wanted to have to deal with. The 9 of us on the summit pretty much all took off at the same time, slowly but steadily retracing our steps. This is one peak where the descent is definitely just as challenging, if not more so, than the climb! It was about an hour to climb from the saddle to the summit, and also an hour to descend back to that point. Thunder rumbled a couple times, but luckily the clouds did not open up on us.

The climb down from the saddle to the basin was just as tedious, if not quite so dangerous. My legs were starting to wobble a bit from the long morning, and I slipped and fell on the loose gravel a couple times. By the time I'd finished boulder-hopping back to the trail, there wasn't much left in the ol' legs! Luckily, the rest of the trek back to trailhead was on good, well-defined trails. Approaching Maroon Lake, the skies did drop some light rain briefly, but between the exhaustion and excitement of tackling such a tough peak, I barely felt it.