Maroon Bells

Maroon Bells

The Maroon Bells ( " Maroon Bells " ) are a mountain range in the Elk Mountains, about 16 km southwest of Aspen in the U.S. state of Colorado. The two peaks (South ) Maroon Peak ( 4,315 m) and North Maroon Peak ( 4,270 m) apart about 500 meters. Both peaks are among the so-called fourteeners, as they are high in each case over 14,000 feet. However, the lower North Maroon Peak is not performed in all enumerations as Fourteener because the peaks are relatively close together.

The view of the Maroon Bells from Maroon Creek valley to be the most photographed spot in Colorado.

The ascent is recommended only for experienced climbers. The U.S. Forest Service warns on signs even that this is the Deadly Bells are whose unstable rock " kills without warning ." The deadly attribute was given to the mountains in 1965, a year in which eight climbers were killed at five different mountain accidents. The Maroon Bells do not exist, like most other mountains of the Rocky Mountains, granite or limestone, but from mudstone, so comparatively unstable sedimentary rock composed million year old mud or clay. Almost all advancement routes are therefore at risk of rockfall. This maroon mudstone owe the Maroon Bells but also their characteristic color and thus its name.