Last Updated on June 30, 2022 by James Dziezynski
It’s surprising that in all my years in Colorado, I hadn’t gotten around to doing the Sawtooth Traverse. This classic route is a class 3 scramble between the 14,060 ft. summit of Mount Bierstadt and the northeast shoulder of 14,264 ft. Mount Evans. The Sawtooth is usually climbed south to north, starting at Mount Bierstadt. The exit from the Sawtooth offers several options: traverse 1.2 miles over Mount Evans (and its sub-peak, 14,256 ft. West Evans), hike 0.7 miles to the 13,842 ft. top of Mount Spalding or simply descend via an accommodating gully trail.
Since this is a beautiful and easy-to-access area, you can’t go wrong!
Mount Bierstadt – The Start of the Adventure
We started from Guanella Pass at 3:45 am and the first order of business was to follow the well-established standard route up the broad slopes of Mount Bierstadt. We hoped to capture the first rays of sun from the summit, which we did around 5:30. When we first crested the top and gazed upon the Sawtooth, it certainly has an intimidating presence. The mantra for the day was “get closer and the path will reveal itself”—and this proved to be true. Still, looking at the sheer, seemingly vertical exit in the distance, there was good reason to be apprehensive.
The descent from Bierstadt is a tedious affair. The path stays right (east) of the ridge proper, then dissolves into a series of big, occasionally loose boulders. There are nice views of Abyss Lake along the way. It’s worth noting that this section could be trouble with snow in the spring: punching through seems inevitable. We climbed in early August and had no problems and the route was mostly snow-free. Don’t be afraid to dip a little lower — the rocks are more stable in the lower sections. Your initial goal is to line up with the low saddle at 13,250 ft. on the Sawtooth and go there.
Entering Class 3 Territory on Sawtooth Ridge
Up until now, it’s been all class 2 scrambling. At the saddle, you’ll be confronted with what ultimately will be the toughest part of the traverse—the first tower (though it’s hard to believe it at the time because the rest of the traverse looks so gnarly). There are a few ways up this tower. The slightly easier lines are to the right side (near the grassy gully) and the more direct lines to the left. We stayed left, where the climbing was either class 3+ or maybe easy class 4. There were always bomber handholds (watch out for loose boulders and check your holds). Whatever way you go you’ll eventually pass a notch and reach a second, less burly tower.
Again, the option here is to either go directly up a welcome notch (class 3) or scramble around to the right and traverse some grassy ledges. We preferred the solid rock in the notch and the climbing was easy, so I’d suggest this option as opposed to the cambered, grassy slopes to the right.
Finishing Line on the Sawtooth Traverse
After a brief section of boulder hopping, you will reach a very small saddle with the finish before you. Here you have the choice to make your life easy or difficult, depending on your choice of routes. I believe that several online route descriptions make a major blunder here: they suggest going left around the tower to reach the final ledge section of the traverse. I find this to be a terrible choice (I scouted this route). Going left puts you on an exposed series of dicey ledges with some serious fall potential, then leads you to the base of a broken, loose gully, where you’ll have to power-scramble on all fours to reach the solid part of the ledge traverse—no fun and dangerous.
The infinitely better option is to scramble up a fun, protected notch that goes above the sketchy stuff and has a nicely cairned trail that lines up perfectly with the finish ledges. Visually, the final major obstacle presents itself as a steep, gray wall of rock. Once again, some online descriptions offer a lower scramble route around this gray wall — which is an awful idea. This deposits you in the thick of loose scree and requires a very loose, ugly scramble up to more solid ground. The upper route (marked by cairns) is again infinitely better! It won’t reveal itself until you are right on top of it, but it follows a solid line of rock that is wide enough to feel safe. There are plenty of good handholds on the right that will serve as a railing. The first few steps are narrow but the path widens, thankfully (for those who have climbed Longs Peak, this section is very similar to the Narrows ledges).
Voila! And Now, the Famous Swamp Exit
Once you pop out above the ledges, there’s a brief “false finish” around the corner, followed by one more corner that leads to the true exit. And just like that… you’re in a broad, open alpine field decorated with boulders, wildflowers, and if you’re lucky, a family of mountain goats. The walk over to Evans or Spalding will be a cinch (easy class 2) or you can just descend. We opted to hit up Spalding, since we have already been up Evans a few times.
The descent gully is the obvious bowl that dips to the west between the Sawtooth and Mount Spalding. When you reach the precipice of this gully, a very well-marked trail magically appears (it mostly follows right of the creek). Surprisingly, this trail is in pretty good shape. It will lead you down to the willowy, swampy flats where a secret waterfall and an ocean of wildflowers await.
Now, there’s the matter of the last mile of this trail. Eventually, it will connect with the main Mount Bierstadt trail but in order to do so, it passes through the mushy, murky willow festooned swamp. It’s very easy to lose the trail in the 7 ft. tall willows and there will be plenty of muddy swaths along the way — do your best to stay on target and if you lose it, trend west towards the shoulder of Bierstadt. We were able to stay on the trail without too much trouble though it took a little more time than we anticipated.
Eventually, you will reconnect with the main trail where the caravan of day hikers will likely look at your muck-covered shoes and wonder where you are coming from. A little farther and you will be back to the Guanella Pass parking lot.
Sawtooth Traverse Tips and Hints
To enjoy the Sawtooth, I would highly encourage following the route described here. Sometimes an alternate route offers a better challenge or more thrilling exposure but in this case, the alternate routes are simply rotten, ugly, and sketchy. Bring a helmet and be sure to check conditions before you go (there have been fatal falls off the Sawtooth in snowy and icy conditions). If you stay on target, this is a fun scramble with an unexpectedly fun finish. Tacking on Evans, Spalding, or even the farther out peaks such as Gray Wolf Mountain can add to the adventure. A point-to-point to Summit Lake off the Mount Evans paved road could be fun too.
One final note: reversing the Sawtooth is a more difficult traverse, as you’ll have to downclimb the towers or else retreat down one of the eastern gullies towards Abyss Lake and boulder hop back up to Bierstadt. It may be fun but we were happy with the traditional route.
Directions
From the town of Georgetown off I-70, follow the paved road to the summit of Guanella Pass. There is ample parking here in two lots plus street parking. Since you need an early start to safely do the Sawtooth, parking shouldn’t be an issue (we car camped in one of the upper lots). The Mount Bierstadt Trail starts at 11,660 ft. on the east side of the lots and is very well defined, complete with bridges through the swamps. It is 3.5 miles to the summit — a relatively easy trail. Be careful not to go too fast on the way up Bierstadt — remember, it’s only the warm-up. From there, descend north off Bierstadt and traverse the Sawtooth – 0.6 miles total. If you immediately descend after the traverse, it’s about 6.5 miles (though given the terrain, this will likely take 5 – 6 hours). We went over to Spalding and back, making our day 8.5 miles total. Traversing to Evans and back makes for a 10.5-mile day.
