Trip report
Jul 31, 2026 — Pearl Pass Road climbs out of the Castle Creek valley south of Aspen and eventually tops out on the Elk Mountains’ crest before dropping toward Crested Butte, making it one of the classic high-country 4×4 routes in the area. Despite already hiking Castle Peak and Conundrum earlier in the day, I still had the motivation to snag Oyster Peak and Pearl Mountain, two 13ers just off Pearl Pass Road. I also tacked on Greg Mace Peak, a 12er on my way back. Honestly, my motivation came mostly from not wanting to drive this way again. It’s a surprisingly busy area for somewhere so remote, and the somewhat rugged road is fairly lengthy. I try to be efficient with my hikes near Aspen because the fancy town with its fancy shops give me the “ick”, and finding a place to camp nearby is a huge pain in the ass.
Pearl Pass Road (39.0291568, -106.8078706) was in better shape than I expected, and my crossover SUV had no trouble. A creek crossing (39.01508, -106.81657) gave me pause, but despite what previous reports said, I had no trouble, maybe thanks to the low snow year. The last few switchbacks up to the junction with Montezuma Road (the approach for Castle and Conundrum) get noticeably steeper and rockier, and I kind of wished I’d just parked at the last pull-out (39.00481, -106.83527). The trailhead at the junction only has room for a few cars, so I was glad to grab a spot rather than get have to retreat back down the hill.
Unless you have an ATV or a Jeep, I don’t recommend continuing up Pearl Pass Road past that point. The road walk that followed was beautiful, and I was genuinely impressed by the vehicles crawling past me, with just a tinge of jealousy that I had to hoof it. In fairness, they weren’t moving much faster than I was. At around 12,100 feet, I left the road and headed south across lumpy tundra toward the base of Oyster Peak. This is an unofficial name for this otherwise unnamed peak.
My ascent line was fine, though things might be friendlier farther west. The talus was the usual small boulders, but on that steep of a slope they weren’t very solid, so I tested each hold before committing so as not to dislodge a rock and send its friends tumbling onto me. Above that initial slope, it was an easy hike to the summit.
From there I continued east along the ridge to Pearl Mountain. There were a couple of Class 2 obstacles near the saddle, but otherwise it was a tundra stroll with a few lightly rocky sections. Rather than descend directly north off Pearl, which looked particularly steep, I backtracked a bit and took a spur ridge on the peak’s northwest side. This worked out great and turned into a mostly grassy stroll down.
Greg Mace Peak, just to the north, had been lurking in the back of my mind, and since I still had some energy, I figured it couldn’t hurt to tack on a 12er so close to the road. I followed its southwest ridge, which was a bit rocky but not even really Class 2. I hadn’t researched this one at all and was expecting a simple walk-up. Surprise! I topped out on a grassy false summit and found myself staring at a substantial pinnacle marking the actual high point. I continued toward its base, staying right of an outcropping on the ridge crest, then kept left once I reached the pinnacle and hugged it until a Class 2 slope brought me onto the northeast ridge. The pinnacle was totally rotten from every other angle, so I was relieved it ultimately went pretty easily and I didn’t have to go poking around on the sketchier sides.