Four Pass Loop

The route

The Four Pass Loop circles the Maroon Bells in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness outside Aspen. It starts and ends at Maroon Lake (9,580 ft), runs about 27 miles, and crosses four passes that all sit above 12,000 ft: West Maroon (12,500 ft), Frigid Air (12,415 ft), Trail Rider (12,420 ft) and Buckskin (12,462 ft). Total climbing is around 7,750 ft.

Most people go clockwise: up the West Maroon valley past Crater Lake, over West Maroon Pass, a short hop across to Frigid Air, a long descent and climb through the Fravert Basin to Trail Rider Pass, down to Snowmass Lake (10,980 ft), then over Buckskin and back down to Crater Lake and the trailhead. Going that way puts the gentlest grade on the first pass with a full pack and saves the steep side of Buckskin for the descent.

Three to four days is typical for backpackers; trail runners do it in a day. Bear canisters are required, the Maroon Lake road needs a parking or shuttle reservation in summer, and the passes usually hold snow into early July.

What the sculpture shows

The sculpture shows the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak in the middle of the loop, with Snowmass Mountain to the northwest. The route reads as one closed loop that climbs out of each valley and drops into the next. At 27 miles with 3,000-foot valleys the relief is strong; the four pass crossings are easy to find on the ridgelines.