White Mountains Hike 6.11
The White Mountains of California are truly fantastic. This unique range became wilderness only two years ago. It is high alpine desert and this year was marked by a profusion of flowers with fragrant phlox scenting the air. This year we had only one client, Robyn from Monaco (she hiked the JMT with us last year) but three guides, SP, Luke and Ryan. We start slowly up Cottonwood Creek. This is a totally unexpected oasis of trees and meadows at above 10,000 feet on the crest of the range. We camped here one night and then stopped to visit friend Dori at Barcroft Station where she cooks (she even came over in the evening with fresh chocolate chip cookies). From there we camped on a wide open flat below White Mountain Peak.
Next day took us up to 14,000 on White Mountain Peak, along a tricky 3rd class rock section (but only 1/4 mile of it and on to the wide open spaces of the crest. Hiking along above 13,000 feet we saw a mama bighorn sheep and her lamb, both totally unconcerned about us. We camped at Cabin and Birch Creeks where the streams start 100 yards apart and then one flows east and one west.
Next day took us over more fantastic meadows in Chiadovich Flats and down Indian Creek to our pick up with beer, watermelon and the drive back to Bishop.
This is true wilderness and everyone should do this hike! It is simply the best and we cannot rave enough about it.
For more info look at our White Mountain Crest Hike page on the website.
2 Day Mountaineers Route on Whitney
This week I was lucky enough to get to do our most popular trip in a two-day mega push with Luc Peltier.
SMC Trip coming down the ledges.
On our first day, climbing a little higher than usual, we made it to about 12,000 ft. At one of my favorite spots we set up camp: a set of rock ledges with snow melt for water and a great view of both the North Fork drainage and Mt. Whitney.
During the day the weather was warm, and the snow felt soft under our feet. Expecting a change in weather that evening and for the next day we weren’t surprised when the temperature started dropping with the sun. That night the mercury stooped into the single digits, wind blasted our tent, and snowfall accumulated into a couple of inches of cold fluffy powder.
Creek crossing on the way up.
Creek crossing on the way down.
Morning came much too early, at 3:30 a.m. I was up to start melting the ice block that was going to be hot water for our breakfast. Two hours later, after a slow cup of coffee, we headed out to see if we would get lucky in the inclement weather. The snow was now firm from the night’s freeze, and we made it to Iceberg Lake in less than an hour. Still not knowing if the precipitation and wind would stop us from making the summit, we started up the Mountaineers’ Gully with one solo climber ahead of us. The farther we climbed, the better the weather seemed to get. It was still cold and windy, but the snow had stopped and we were making good time. At the notch we had clear skies and there was no doubt now that we were going to make it.
Starting to look good for the climb up.
At the summit for the second time this season, we were again huddled inside the stone shelter to warm up and refuel. Going back down always feels fast after the long push up steep slopes. We were back in camp by 1 p.m. after leaving the summit at 10 a.m. By this time, snow had started to fall again, temperatures were cold and the wind had picked back up. We climbed inside the tent, lit the stove and waited to make soup and coffee to power us for the 4000-ft descent back to the cars. The hike out was relatively uneventful despite tired legs and the relentless snowfall that kept up all the way down to the portal.
Grateful to be back at the cars, we decided to support Doug and the Portal Store by grabbing a beer in a warm environment.
Getting a little power for the way down.
Nice work, Luc, on your two-day Mountaineers’ trip. Thanks for a fantastic time!
Mount Whitney with a group from Japan
This has been one heck of a spring in the Sierra. One day is a perfect spring day; the next four are full on winter. The snow pack is still not melting and we have had to cancel trips because of the quantity of snow.
But we have been lucky on Mount Whitney and managed to get to the summit on all of our trips including this one. We have worked with Katsuhiro Yamashita, a Japanese IFMGA guide, before and this year he brought a group of five women and one man to climb Whitney in a quick one week trip from Japan. All of the group was older with the youngest being 59 and the oldest 69. One woman had also climbed all of the Seven Summits as well as a host of other peaks.
We left Whitney Portal on June 26th. This spring has been typified by strong winds and this trip was no exception and was with us all of this trip. Above Lower Boy Scout Lake it is solid snow, but we were lucky to find bare ground for camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake..
Overnight we had cloud and sprinkles and were not sure about the 27th. We left early and made good time with easy cramponing on firm snow. Travel up the Mountaineers Gully went well with the snow but the final section to the summit was definitely hard than without snow. We were on top by midday in a very strong wind but with fantastically clear skies. We were able to be able to see all the way tot he Coast Range, the San Bernadinos and barely, San Jacinto above Pal Springs. These days there are few times you can do this!
The snow had softened a lot by the time we headed down so it was hard work back to camp. But all went well and by midday on the 28th we were back at the Portal enjoying Doug’s burgers and fries.
It was great to work with this group and in particular the ladies were tough. No one was taller than 5 foot six inches, were not used to carrying a big backcountry pack and had to adapt to the carry out your own waste system. Some had not been to four thousand meters before, but everyone smiled, had a great time and was happy to be in the mountains of California.
The First Mountaineers Trip of 2011
Aaron, Heather, Regina, and SMC Guide Aaron
Happy climbers as the alpine glow warms the surrounding peaks.
Beautiful! Moving into the mountaineers gully we were slowed to a snail’s pace by knee-deep snow blown in from a recent storm. But we slogged on…
Descending down, down, down...
12,000' Kitchen and Camp Site
Clarence King and Gardiner Basin Ski Tour
Seems like this year spring comes and goes, with a day of spring followed by a day of winter. But it is ski tour season so Sp and Chris set off with John Miller, His son Rob, Pascal Poignard, Chrixx Finne and Dan Silverberg on May 6th from Keasarge Pass.
Our route took us over the Pass the first day and down towards Charlotte Lake where we camped the first night. The next day we ascended to Glenn Pass and then dropped to the Rae Lakes drainage. From here three passes (we called them small ridge crossings before we did them and passes afterwards) and into Gardiner Basin to a camp below Mt Gardiner.
All was great up to then, and then the snow started. So we spent two days in the tents eating, drinking and chatting. Finally after nearly a foot of new powder things cleared up and we managed to get out and ski the slopes of Mt Gardiner. We needed to shift camp so some of us took the low road to upper Rae Lakes, and others took the hard way carrying packs part way up Mt Cotter and skiing off below the west summit. We all regrouped for the night below Painted Lady and the next day headed for Dragon Pass. Now the pass is not too bad in summer but in winter (which it was rather than spring) it is a different proposition. It involved scrambling and a series of two roped lowers to get to the snow above Golden Trout Lakes. Finally we could ski and got back to the cars late on the evening of the 6th day.
Overall it was a great trip, despite the poor weather and variable snow, taking us into an area where few people go during the winter. Just wish we had been able to do the skiing we wanted. But then that is life in the mountains!
A Guides Day Off; Skiing Mt Ritter
At this point in life one would think that I would take days off at a beach somewhere with drinks in tall glasses and little umbrellas in them. But no, have to go skiing.
Friend Jen Giraud and I had talked for years about skiing Mt Ritter the prominent peak visible from Mammoth. A fantastic peak with the history of John Muir’s first ascent and a ski from the very top.
So we took snowmobiles ( have learned a few things) to Agnew Meadows, camped there and climbed and skied the next day. About 6000 vertical and about 17 miles.
Snow was pretty good, but up high still wet winter powder and down lower corn mixed with mush.
But a perfect day with not a breath of wind on top and a warm day.
So much snow back there it is hard to believe that it will ever melt.
A long, but a great day and highly recommended to anyone who wants a classic ski in a wilderness setting. If this was in Europe there would be dozens a day. But no, this is the USA and too much work.
SP
Snowskills with SMC
A lot of people think that winter is the time to learn ice axe and crampon skills. Not so; when the snow is deep and soft ice axe and crampons will not add a lot of safety and security and it is better to be on skis.
But now that we have hard snow, cold nights and good cramponing conditions spring is the time to pick up these skills.
We did our first skills course up at Rock Creek Lake on Sunday April 30th and conditions were perfect.
We covered, cramponing, ice axe work, step kicking, belaying, self arrest and talked about a host of other things – such as why glissading is generally a bad idea.
So come join us on a course this spring.
Skiing with Julbo and Glen Plake
If you have been around skiing for a while you have seen photos of Glen Plake. The guy with the multicolored mohawk and who skis on 210cm skis with no sidecut – and looks better on them than the rest of us put together.
SMC worked with Julbo (the sunglasses people) to put on a three day program with the Julbo contest winner judy Wu and folks from a bunch of media outlets – skiing, Powder, Backcountry, Backcountry.com etc. The idea was to have Glen show people his home turf in his indomitable style and sleep out under the stars for the full backcountry experience.
We went in and camped up high on Peaklet, below Mt Humphreys. Weather was not spring like with cold temps, new snow and howling winds.
But was it ever pretty with huge Sierra wave cloud arching across the sky at nights.
Skiing was not bad either.
Mini Mountain Camp June 27-29
Dave Meyers put together a custom trip with his sons Grant and Nick after climbing Whitney via the Trail Route a little earlier.
The boys were tired after all of that exertion and after a day of rock climbing at Benton Crags Nick decided that his body and feet were sore so SP, SMC’s 2010 intern Aaron, Dave and headed up Rock Creek Canyon to camp at Mills Lake.
Summer really hit the Sierra over the last few days and temperatures were hot.
We spent the afternoon of Day 2 working on snow skills above Mills Lake.
Still lots of snow out there and the uppper lakes ares till frozen.
But the increasing temps gave a cycle of wet avalanches. A group climbing Abbot late in the day had a slide come down over their tracks while they were onthe summit.
So we avoided this by getting an early start and were hiking before 6.00am.
The snow was pretty good and we all made fast time and were onthe top by 10.00 and then back in camp by 1.00pm.
A fast time.
The view from the top looked more like May then the end of June with snow covering most slopes and lakes frozen.
We packed up and headed out getting back to the parking lot in two hours from camp.
A great trip and a great team to work with.
Skiing the Sierra High Route, 9-15 May
One of the most classic multi-day ski tours in the country is the Sierra High Route. Stretching across one of the widest points of the range, the tour consistently stays above 10,000 feet and travels through some of the most impressive alpine terrain anywhere. Jeff, Michael, and SMC’s new intern Aaron joined me for a trip that seemed daunting at first, but became absolutely sublime by the finish.
SMC adds mileage, terrain, impressive scenery, and fewer people (we saw none this year for the whole tour) by starting in Onion Valley and crossing Kearsarge Pass. This is a higher start – indeed, we were able to skin almost immediately upon leaving the car – and avoids the slogging up to Shepherd Pass that the traditional start normally involves.
We had blustery weather for the first few days, with light snow and high winds that buffeted us every evening in camp. But each day it blew out in the night and left us with clear skies the next morning. By the time we reached the half-way mark at Milestone Pass (Day 3), the weather had improved to what the Sierra Nevada is famous for: warm and sunny during the day, clear and crisp at night.
The only disturbance we had later in the trip was a thunderstorm that caught us just a few hundred feet below Fin Pass (or Horn Col), so we hunkered down for 45 minutes before making it into camp. The weather cleared up as we were eating dinner, and we were able to ski several laps on nearby peaks in the sunset and alpenglow. In the morning we were able to climb up and ski off another peak on our way to Lodgepole, and we reached our planned campsite so early (12:30am!), that the team voted to continue on and reach the trailhead the same day, rather than have a morning run out.
When this trip runs above the minimum, SMC typically charters a plane to return us to Bishop and fly-over the terrain we had spent 6 or 7 days crossing. But with only the four of us, SP drove across to pick us up and bring us back. Dinner and beer at the Whisky Creek was a great way to finish the trip.
Thanks to Jeff and Michael for taking on the challenge – you guys were fantastic!
Chris
A longer, 3 part trip report can be found on my personal blog, at climbskirun.blogspot.com. It includes a slideshow and maps.
More photos – including an impressive sunset on our last night on the tour – can be found at my Picasa account: picasaweb.google.com/mtnfreak
Sierra Mountain Center 