Eye of the Pyramid

Located in the northeastern sector of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the Beartooth mountain range contains the highest peaks in Montana with more than twenty summits soaring to over 12,000 feet elevation.

Pyramid Mountain is a ‘twelver located on the Fishtail Plateau where the images in this feature were captured.  From its distant vantage on the range’s northern fringe, the south-facing views from Pyramid’s slopes offer a unique panorama containing almost all of the range’s highest points, including Montana’s tallest mountain, 12,799-foot Granite Peak.

Click on the image for an expanded view of the Beartooth Range.

Getting to this location is no easy task.  Having climbed most of the peaks pictured in these images myself, I’d have to say that Pyramid was one of the most strenuous I’ve attempted.  This experts-only, off-trail route gains an incredibly steep 6,000 feet elevation over four miles of arduous boulder scrambling and wilderness bushwacking.  Four miles may not sound like a long hike, but the difficult terrain makes it an all-day (or two-day) adventure with no bailout if something goes wrong.  Use extra caution if you go.

Looking across the West Rosebud drainage toward Granite Peak