You can do the peaks in any order. Once underway, definitely stay on the trails or standard climbers routes. The other requirements:
1) start and finish at the Maroon Creek Trailhead; edge of the parking lot next to the bathroom.
2) summit three peaks: Maroon Peak (14,156'), N. Maroon Peak (14,014'), and Pyramid Peak (14,018').
This Colorado 14er hat-trick has a mixture of runnable trail and technical terrain-particularly on the Bells Traverse-one of four "classic" 14er traverses in Colorado. Approximately 9,000' of vertical gain/loss and 12ish miles.
"Fells are what people in the north of England (especially in the Lake District ) call mountains and hills. Hence, fell running. Nothing to do with falling, but you may also do this a lot as the terrain is really rough and steep."
North Maroon only (8.9 miles / 4500 feet elevation gain): Starting and ending at trailhead toilets by car park at the North end of Maroon Lake. See https://www.14ers.com/route.php?route=nmar2&peak=North+Maroon+Peak
The rock in these mountains is famously loose and rotten. Please be especially careful not to kick rocks on those below you!
NOTE: Many Colorado 14ers should not be considered “backcountry” where you can go anywhere you want; their popularity can create a plethora of braided social paths that lasts for decades in the fragile tundra. So if there is a trail, please stay on it! Hundreds of volunteers work really hard to protect our beloved mountain environment (read here).
Comments
I don’t advocate for short cutting switchbacks or going off trail. When I said no set route for this FKT I meant no set order for summiting the peaks.
Hope this wasn’t misunderstood, I cherish these wild areas and want them to be protected until long after I’m gone.
Rickey Gates ran the N. Maroon roundtrip FKT on September 15th, 2016, with a time of 2:53:37
This was long before this route made it on the website and I believe should be recognized.