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Scree for September, 1999
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This is the EScree - the Electronic version of the Scree newsletter from
the Peak Climbing Section of the Loma Prieta Chapter of the Sierra Club.
It should be viewed or printed with a fixed-pitch font such as Courier.
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This publication may not be posted on any public news group.
September, 1999 Vol. 33 No. 9
Deadline for submissions to the next Scree is Sunday 9/26/99
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This issue of Scree will be on the Official PCS Website at
http://lomaprieta.sierraclub.org/pcs/scree
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Next general meeting (PCS meetings are the second tuesday of each month)
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Date: Tuesday, September 14
Time: 8:00 PM
Program: Nepal
Bruce Bousfield will show slides of his Nepal trip.
Location: Western Mountaineering, Santa Clara
(PDF version has a drawn map here)
Directions: 2344 El Camino Real, Santa
Clara (between San Thomas and Los Padres),
parking in the rear.
From 101: Exit at San Thomas Expressway, Go
South to El Camino Real. Turn left and the Western
Mountaineering will be immediately to your right.
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PCS Trips
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PCS trips must be submitted through the Scheduler (see back
cover for details). Trips not received from the Scheduler will be
listed as PRIVATE, without recourse.
*** Yosemite: Petit, Piute, and Volunteer
Peaks: Petit, Piute, and Volunteer Class 2
Dates: Sep 4-6 (Sat-Mon) Labor Day weekend
Leader: Steve Eckert
A one-way walk through northeastern Yosemite should provide
some of the best early fall scenery available. Hopefully the
mosquitoes will be dead or dying, and hopefully it won't have
snowed yet. The plan is to enter at Saddlebag, exit at Twin Lakes
(requires car shuttle). There is a bit of cross-country travel at the
beginning and some 2nd class near the peaks, but basically it's a
lot of trail walking (15 miles/day) with an average of about 4000' of
gain per day. To avoid a dawn-to-dusk sort of trip we'll need to
move fairly quickly, but skipping one or two of the peaks or adding
a fourth day could provide an easier trip if desired
*** Bagg Gabb
Peak: Mt. Gabb, class 3, 13xxx ft.
Dates: Sept. 4-6 Sat-Mon
Leaders: Kelly Maas maas@idt.com H 408-279-2054, W 408-330-1717
Gabb is a big 13er, set off just a bit from the Sierra crest. It should
have great views of adjacent Abbott, Mills, Dade, Bear Creek
Spire, etc. The real excuse for this trip, however, is to hike up the
second Mono Recess. The west side approach is via ferry across
Thomas Edison Lake, followed by a hike up Mono Creek and then
the second Recess.
*** Mt. Dubois
Peak: Mount Dubois, 13,559', Class 2
Dates: September 25-27, 1999
Map: Boundary Peak 7.5'
Leaders: Bill Kirkpatrick H (408) 293-2447 Wmkirk@earthlink.net
Ahmad Zandi H (408) 255-4233 Zandi@zandi.com
If you've wondered about the White Mountains, join us on this
climb of the second-highest peak in the range. We will hike from
the Fish Lake Valley on the Nevada side, near the Chiatovich
Creek.
*** Kern Peak
Peak: Kern Peak (11510) LIST FINISH!
Dates: Oct 2-3 Sat-Sun
Leader: Steve Eckert
Co-Leader: Erik Siering
Help the leader celebrate finishing the SPS Peaks List in good
style. The 9-mile pack in, over almost-flat terrain with uncrowded
camping, should give rise to a nice party Saturday. A quick 7-mile
romp to the peak on Sunday and we're back in camp for the stroll
back to the cars. Reserve a spot early and pack the good stuff (for
the mother of all happy hours)! Co-listed with the Angeles Chapter
SPS.
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On Guard, Brewer! June 25-27, 1999
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We had perfect weather, with no bugs except a few between 9k
and 10k (especially good since we camped bug-free and frost-free
at 10500'), and we got both destination peaks plus we were home
in time for dinner. I'll just post a few notes on the route and the
climbing, especially since the PCS Mountaineering Committee
had some concerns about allowing 3rd class rated leaders to
attempt North Guard.
Secor's book says to go up the right (west) side of the Sphinx
Creek drainage after crossing the creek on the Avalanche Pass
trail. We went up that way, sloshing through bogs and climbing
boulders in brush, with great slabs to walk on higher up. We
came down entirely on the east side. Except for one boulder field
around 9600', the east route is mostly shaded duff or grassy
slopes that make for a much better walk in the park. On the way
up, you can leave the trail just before entering the wet zone near
the creek (8700') and stay well away from the water.
There are great campsites near the outlet of Lake 10514, and
lesser campsites at the lake above. We were content with 5500' of
gain with packs, and opted for the better view and sheltered
spots, leaving5000' of gain with daypacks for the next day's peak
bagging and a half day of hiking out on the third day.
Don't expect to see obvious "chutes" on North Guard's south face,
despite what the books and various reports say. The notch to
shoot for is about a tenth of a mile west of the summit, and the
slabby "chute" gets tough about at the place where you can cross
left into a 2nd class sandy "chute" that leads directly to the large
notch... which is distinguished by a bulbous projection akin to a
tall mushroom. There was an astonishing view and some ducks
from the notch, and we added a few ducks of our own. The
climbing is third class, with some exposure in places but they can
generally be worked around if you are willing to drop 30 or 40
feet and climb back up.
When you get to the summit, which is claimed to have a thin
20'summit block hanging over the east face at "an embarrassing
angle", you may agree with me that men just can't help
exaggerating the size of such things. It's 10' of 3rd class, not 20' of
4th.It takes two easy friction steps (and I hate friction climbing)
to reach a nice foot ledge, from where I sat on the summit bump
after flipping a sling over it while the others were still fiddling
with the rope. If this is 4th class, Hooper, Tehipite, and others
must be also... and perhaps Bear Creek Spire is 5th. Roper said
there was a 4th class crack to the easy summit area, but my guess
is that there's been some inflation in the rating: the SPS just
raised the peak from class 3 to "3s4" meaning a class 4 summit,
but we all thought a light-weight half rope and two slings would
do just fine, and that the entire climb was really class 3.
Since this was Richard's first climb of the season, he sat out
Brewer while the other three of us stormed up snow and rock to
the summit register... which is on the lowest of three bumps, but
clearly the named point. The register is completely full, with
front and back covers used also, if anyone is heading there soon.
Take another book! We needed ice axes for Brewer, but left them
strapped to our packs everywhere else.
On the way out, we saw one "black" bear (actually brown) out for
an afternoon stroll and several fresh piles of dung, indicating to
me that people don't usually go on the east side of the stream.
The bear ambled along quite unaware of us for close to a minute
while we took pictures and talked about it, then suddenly caught
our scent and wheeled in the opposite direction. Greg's first bear
encounter was a pleasing one!
Participants were Steve Eckert (leader), Richard Vassar
(coleader), Pat Callery, and Greg Johnson.
-- Steve Eckert
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Bolton Didn't Go This Way! (or, How I Climbed Birch Mountain) Aug 1-3, 1999
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From Birch Lake, we hiked into the cirque just west of Birch
Mountain to find towering spires, permanent hard snow attached
to the mountain side, and 45 degree gullies with partially filled
snow, all directly in front of us. Given our time frame, lack of
equipment, energy levels, as well as considering others' opinions
and thoughts, with a tinge of disappointment, we bid arrivederci
to B. Brown. So, with mountaineering aplomb and savoir-faire,
we headed for Birch Mountain at 13, 665'. Attaining the ridgeline
then onto Birch's summit, looking back, we could see the wide
plateau just NE of Bolton, and his eastern edge jostled with
spires and pinnacles. A lovely day with views, once again,
magnificent: Split Mountain, Disappointment Peak, Middle
Palisade, Mt Sill, Polemonium, Winchell, and, Mt Humphries.
Personal Highlights of the Trip:
On the use trail toward Birch Lake, we saw glorious wildflowers
emerging from underground springs and tributaries in this eastern
high dessert; wild rose, Indian Paintbrush, columbine, shooting
star, Ranger's Buttons, Sierra Angelica, and sky pilot, higher up,
near the lake. On the southeast side of Birch Lake, Paul and Will
discovered remnants of a possible airplane crash(?) as they found
a tire and shards of metal. Birch Mountain was a high point for
the Brit on our trip, Jeremy. Congratulations! With more to come,
I'm hoping Elmer discovered a gross mountaineering error in
Robert Ludlum's thriller, 'The Aquitaine Progression', p. 570.
Some of us spotted it:) The only wildlife on our trip was a wild
mouse at campsite! Paul wrangled with the critter inside his bivy
bag (!) for a bit, and, once food was out, so was wild mouse.
Kudos: to Paul who assisted with route finding; to Will who
stopped every time I wanted a water break; to Jeremy who
delighted us with his Euro perspective; and to Elmer who said,
"This isn't a trail!"
By-the-Bye: Birch Mountain was named by Chester Versteeg in
1936. The original Paiute name was Mountain of Stone
(paotkung).
Trip Participants: Debbie Benham, Will Hirst, Elmer Martin,
Paul Penno, and Jeremy Westerman.
-- Debbie Benham
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Mt Sill August 7-8
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This past weekend Max Nachury, Karin Reif, and myself Mike
Rinaldi went on an ambitious trek to climb both Mt Silly and
Polemonium. On the Topo they look fairly doable (even
correcting for the mislabeling of Polemonium where Peak 13796
should be). Our adventure started at Bishop where we had our
traditional pre-trip breakfast at Whiskey Creek. By 9AM we
were on the trail head at South Lake. While hiking to Bishop
Pass we met half a dozen Goretex and cap clad backpackers
coming the other way. They all said that the weather had been
cold and snowy the previous day. We were at the tail end of a
freak August weather front. As we approached the Pass it got
much cooler and windier. We quickly added more layers and
were soon at the Pass.
From here we headed cross-country skirting the base of Mt.
Agasiz. We wanted to stay on the 12000' contour as much as
possible in order to be as close as possible to Thunderbolt Pass
(12300). This turned out to save elevation gain/loss but we
defintely lost much time. It's much more efficient to dropdown to
11700 or so and then back up to T-bolt Pass since the terrain is
much more managable. Once over the Pass we dropped about
300' to a pond.
We set camp here bypassing the lower main Barret Lake. We
thought that we would attempt Sill, the next day, by skirting the
Palisades and going over the high ridge (east of Potluck Pass).
The next day we learned from our previous days mistake. Instead
of trying to save altitude at the expense of harder talis travel we
dropped to near upper Barret Lake and made for the high ridge
east of Potluck Pass. By bypassing Potluck Pass we were able to
drop into the Polemonium - Sill cirque at about the
13000'contour. As we studied the face of Sill for our route we
heard a tremendous explosion and crash. We quickly turned just
in time to see a VW bus size boulder dropping from near the
summit crest of the Palisades down into the Sill snow field. The
boulder dropped some 1000' making only one bounce!
After our knees stopped shaking we composed ourselves and
started up the ridge connecting Polemonium and Sill. Karin
chose to stay at the base since she was not feeling well. Max and
myself quickly gained the summit with only minor class 4'ish
traversing near the top. We could have avoided this by taking a
more direct route. Once on top we enjoyed the tremendous view.
We opted to save the ridge traverse to Polemonium for another
day since it was late (2:30pm) and some clouds were forming
toward the west. On our return trip to camp we decided to take
the Potluck Pass route. This proved to be long and laborius. We
need to descend over two boulder clad moraines before climbing
back up over Potluck Pass. The rest of the hike to camp was
uneventful. Our roundtrip from near T-bolt Pass to Sill and back
went about 10.5 hours. The lessons learned from this trip were
to camp south of Barret Lake toward Potluck Pass. Then climb
up and over the ridge east of Potluck Pass bypassing it to gain the
Sill - Polemonium cirque. Doing this on the return trip as well
will save you much boulder hopping in the Glacier Creek
drainage area. Monday we hiked out and had a late lunch, again,
at Whiskey Creek. During the trip home we were greeted with
rain and a wonderful sunset featuring incredible red hues and
cloud formations on the Old Priest grade bypass road.
Happy Climbing!, Mike
-- Michael A. Rinaldi
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Mt. Warren August 14-15
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On the weekend of August 14 and 15 Noriko Sekikawa and
headed to the east side of Yosemite to climb Warren Mountain
and North Peak. This is a trip report of our ascent of Warren
Mountain.
Friday night Noriko and I drove up to and bivied at Saddlebag
Lake. In the morning back at the car we found Kai Weidman
and Cecil Ann were parked right next to us. Although we had
never met I had seen Kai's slide show at the PCS meeting earlier
that week and recognized him immediately. We were soon
discussing the day's agenda. Kai and Cecil were on their way to
do the West Ridge of Conness.
After breakfast Noriko and I drove to Camp 9 which is at the
mouth of Warren Canyon to begin our trip. Even though I had
Aaron Schuman's and Steve Eckert's 1998 and 1997 reports in
hand I eschewed both. I couldn't see the eastern ridgeline and I
didn't want to bushwhack blindly upslope.
Besides from the map I figured we could find a route from the
upper part of the canyon. We followed a pleasant trail along
Warren Creek up the canyon without bugs and not very muddy. I
eventually lost the trail in a small meadow at the upper end of the
canyon and began heading NE around a spur through trees where
we emerged below a steep W face. We ascended easy talus to the
right of the face and just below the spur. At the top of this slope
we found ourselves on the plateau below Peak 12177.
Contouring N and up we summitted to where we could see that
an easy ridge dropping to a saddle and up to Warren Peak.
On top of Warren we signed the register, took our summit photos
and descended to escape the raging wind. We found a little spot
sheltered enough for us to enjoy our lunch before beginning our
descent. We followed the snow free drainage down talus to the
eastern tributary of Warren Creek.
I was curious as to where this tributary merged with the main
creek so I followed it to a large isolated meadow but eventually
had to diverge from the creek when the terrain became more
steep and the bushwhacking more difficult. Eventually we were
following the main creek and soon crossed and were back on the
main trail.
We ended our day by camping in the campground that can be
found about an 1/8 of mile in from highway 120 at Camp 9 next
to Warren Creek. There was a large group of 10+ people camped
in one of the sites but the sites are sufficiently far apart that we
barely even notice them.
Warren is more or less a pile of rubble, and probably would
better as ski-mountaineering trip, but the views of Mono Lake
and Mt Dana are spectacular.
-- Greg Johnson
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Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne Aug 20-22, 1999
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I'm so used to descending at the end of the summit climb that I
had to admit I was a bit disoriented when we lost altitude and
had just started our trip! From White Wolf, we left, full of a
scrumptious breakfast eaten at the resort's small and cozy
restaurant. While heading down the canyon, a management fire
was underway with a sign strictly forbidding us to go off trail. We
saw reduced flames, smoldering ashes and clouds of smoke that
hurt our eyes and muffled our breathing. This lasted for a little
while, not too long, all in all. Continuing down, we glimpsed the
Sawtooth Range in the distance, it's jagged teeth just visible.
Camping our first night at Pate Valley, a refreshing swim and
splash greeted us before dinner. A fire kept the bugs away and
kept us busy while we debated topical political events, told lewd
jokes, listened to paragraphs from the New Yorker magazine,
and, said what travels were next on our agendas. The following
day was 14 miles to Glen Aulin. Those miles included the Muir
Gorge with fantastic waterfalls carving lovely swirls in granite,
bluegreen pools of water; elevation gain and loss, gain and loss;
swimming to refresh and encourage for the climb up (oh dear!)
ahead; with streaming Waterwheel Falls being one of the many
cascades seen. Our second night, we were about a mile shy of
Glen Aulin in a flat, broad, bush and birch-tree filled arena.
Whew! glad to sit down. Reports had it that a bear was patrolling
the Glen Aulin area. At about 5:30am, our neighboring campers,
just across the way, were heard yelling, pounding rocks, and,
making general helter-skelter to scare the bear. Someone in their
party had left some food in a backpack, and, bears being as smart
as they are in Yosemite, dragged the pack, foraged for the food
only, then quickly departed.
As we headed toward the cars on our third and final day, I was
once again reminded of the grandeur of Yosemite with a view
from Tuolumne Meadows: Unicorn Peak, the Cockscomb,
Cathedral Peak, Echo Peaks, and, of course, our end point,
Lembert Dome. Thank you to all who participated: Marci
Barnett, Debbie Benham (author&leader), Rosalie Frankel, Bob
Goeldner, Bill Kirkpatrick (coleader), Matt Smits, Eddie Sudol,
and, Jeff West.
-- Debbie Benham
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Thunder Peak
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As part of a week-long tour of the Upper Kern Basin, three of us
climbed Thunder Mtn.. While much of the approach was very
nice, and the final bit of 4th class quite excellent, the climb of the
SE face was a rather abysmally loose exercise in class-3 climbing
that pretty much cancels out the "classic" climb assignment for
this mountain. Read on for details.
Introduction
There were three of us: the Cat, der Bergkrabbler, and myself, the
newly rechristened Lame Ape. ("Paraplegic" is too strong a term
to denote my orthopedic limitations, and I don't want to offend
those with more serious disabilities.) We began our sojourn by
way of Shepherd Pass, taking two days to reach the headwaters of
Tyndall Creek. Part of the Shepherd Pass trail has been recently
rebuilt, and the previously heinous climb from Symmes Creek to
the Symmes-Shepherd saddle is now, well, almost pleasant,
featuring a total of 54 moderately graded switchbacks. The new
route, however, has added about 1.5 miles to the trail distance.
There was no water between Symmes Creek and Mahogany Flat.
We camped at Anvil Camp, which is now much cleaner and more
pleasant than it was a decade ago. Fire rings have been removed,
and the campsites are no longer so "beaten out" as was previously
the case. The final part of the trail over Shepherd Pass itself is in
bad repair, with many small rockslides covering portions of the
trail. After descending the west side of the pass, we camped at a
lake by the junction of the Tyndall Creek and Lake South
America trails. We took one more easy day to reach a medium-
size lake (elev about 11000'), located at the mouth of the canyon
leading to Thunder Pass, and this was followed by a rest day that
featured a pleasant solid-rock scramble to the top of nearby crag.
The next day we would attempt Thunder Mtn.
The Climb
I was surprised! This supposedly "classic" climb looked like a
pile of fractured rubbish. I shook my head and denied the obvious
-- perhaps the rock was more stable than it looked. Surely
Moynier and Fiddler wouldn't have included it as a classic for
nothing! Their instructions for reaching the S. summit tower were
not explicit: climb the SE face or E ridge. Ascending the E ridge
looked silly: the jagged structure looked so tenuous as to collapse
upon receiving a good kick. So, I decided to aim for one of the
ugly chutes or rock ribs near the East ridge.
The SE face was precisely as ugly to climb as it had appeared
from below. Stable talus below the face gave way to broken and
unstable rock ribs that drained quantities of small, loose debris
into adjacent gullies. The ascent was an unpleasant alternation of
delicately climbing the unstable rock ribs, and "swimming"
through the steep loose gullies. My compatriots were significantly
dismayed by this effort. The Cat puffed herself up a bit and began
growling about the tedium of this pileish ascent. Der
Bergkrabbler, who was completely new to this kind of blatant
intimacy with dangerous alpine garbage, was basically just scared
out of his wits. "This is too tough for me" he moaned. I thought to
myself: "nonsense, this is just too ugly for anyone with sense!"
But, being a sado-masochist, I did my best to encourage them
onwards, and eventually the horrible rock gave way to the south
summit tower.
I had to break out the rope to get der Bergkrabbler up the final
bit of 3rd class. The rock adjacent to the tower was so fractured
as to make it difficult to set a reliable anchor. Der Bergkrabbler
climbed past me and stood, uncertainly, upon the boulders of the
S summit tower. "Off belay?" I asked hopefully. He looked
scared, then minced his way carefully to the most unexposed part
of the boulder pile, and then quietly allowed himself to go off
belay.
So, now we could see the final "airy" traverse to the N summit. I
was thrilled: it looked like good, solid rock for a welcome
change. Unfortunately, my companions were unimpressed by the
view, and declined to continue.
The Cat professed an interest in preening herself and taking a
nap, while der Bergkrabbler was so petrified that he wouldn't
even consider moving from his boulder burrow, much less begin
an exposed traverse.
So, I had to solo it, and, fortunately, it wasn't particularly
difficult. With careful route finding, there were only two short
bits of 4th class, the first during the descent into the notch, and
the second being a muscular move on the way up the summit
block. which is just large enough to stand upon. This remote
mountain does not get a lot of traffic; ours was the sixth ascent
this year.
We found an easier way down. The western margin of the SE face
has lower angles and broader ledges than toward the E ridge. It
was still ugly, but, at least, not quite as nauseatingly loose. Der
Bergkrabbler had substantially calmed down during my traverse
to the N summit and back, but he most certainly wanted a belay
to begin the descent. Two belays, together with substantial
coaching from the Cat, got him down onto somewhat gentler 3rd-
class terrain that he could handle without a rope. The Cat has a
marvelous way of purring instructions that can alleviate the fears
of all but the most desperate.
The tedious loose ledges finally gave way to screeable gravel,
then firm talus. All that remained now was to reverse the lovely
approach.
Total time for the climb was a leisurely 11.5 hours. We concluded
our climbing day by jumping in the lake.
Denouement
The next day, we continued our leisurely traverse around the
Upper Kern Basin, studiously avoiding use of any trails. We
camped at a small lake just below the saddle where the Lk. South
America trail crosses into the Tyndall Creek drainage. We had
meant to go farther, but couldn't bear to leave this lovely high
country! Instead, we took a quick stroll to view the precipitous
scenery surrounding Harrison Pass. On the morrow, we took a
combination of trail and cross-country walking back to Shepherd
Pass, then descended all the way to Mahogany Flat. There is
really only one campsite here, and, though it was already
occupied by a ranger, she graciously allowed us to share her site.
Anvil Camp is by far the preferable camping when ascending or
descending Shepherd Pass. On our final day, we somewhat
unwillingly covered the 6+ miles from Mahogany Flat to the
trailhead under welcome cloudy skies that allowed us to mostly
avoid the desert heat. On the way up, we had observed the
substantial crop of elderberries near the trailhead (outside the
wilderness), so, coming out, we collected some berries that will
very soon become jam and pie. Yum!
It was raining in Tuolumne Meadows as we made the long drive
home.
-- David Ress
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Tabula Rosa: Red Slate Mountain August 22, 1999
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I'm writing the report for the PCS climb of Red Slate Mountain
and I wasn't even on the trip. Kelly Maas led a group up the peak
on the weekend of August 22, 1999. His party was comprised of
Greg Johnson, John Hossack, Bob Evans and Landa Robillard.
Charles Schafer and I organized the outing but didn't participate,
instead climbing the same peak on our own private trip.
We hiked up the Convict Creek trail. A couple miles up the trail,
we gingerly stepped across the creek on partially submerged
rocks. Charles and I tried this trail once before in June of a heavy
snow year, and were stymied by the crossing. I recommend that
you avoid this route any earlier than August or September. We
walked underneath bizarrely twisted cliffs of red, white and black
metamorphic rock, past Mounts Laurel, Morrison, Bloody and
Baldwin. That evening we made camp at lovely Lake
Witsonopah.
Before the sage grouses bellowed out their belligerent morning
song, Charles and I walked up to the snowfield at the base of the
implausible north couloir of Red Slate Mountain. The PCS group
awoke shortly afterward and scurried up the long scree slope on
the west side of the peak. They summitted at around 9:30 a.m.,
while Charles and I were still hacking and crawling up our ice
chute.
The frozen crystals yielded to the points of our crampons. The
hefty ice tool I borrowed from Kelly sunk into the surface, but my
underweighted dragonfly ice axe tended to bounce off. On the
steepest part, which exceeded forty degrees, we maintained a
running belay protected with pickets. We were also able to
anchor on the side cliffs by slinging horns and chocking cracks.
About 500 feet from the top, the couloir appeared to exhaust
itself, but we turned a corner to the right and found its
continuation. To get back on the ice, we had to cross a stretch of
the loosest, steepest, least defensible rubble I've ever known.
The rock is completely unlike the classic
Sierra granite we love; slate shatters into millions of pointed
shards. We were finally climbing in sunshine, and I was able to
refill my water bottle from a merciful ice drip.
We walked out of the couloir directly onto the summit at 1:30.
Unforecasted clouds were building rapidly, so we hustled down
the west ridge before the lightning storm blew in from Lake
Thomas Edison. We met our carpool partner John at the lake.
He told us the others had evacuated as soon as they saw us attain
the summit.
We three ate, packed, and hiked the down trail. Slowed by our
tiring ascent, we were overtaken by the weather. For twenty
minutes or so, we were pummeled by hailstones so large that I
considered putting on my climbing helmet.
Beyond the stream crossing, we slowed down so much more that
we were enveloped in the blanket of night, and reached the trail's
end under clear skies and the light of the moon.
-- Aaron Schuman
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Merced Beaucoup (Merced Peak Trip Report) August 27-29, 1999
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Fire off Hwy 120 with the road closed 10 miles east of
Groveland; road closure of Hwy 140 from 10:30 at night to
6:30am; a campsite in Yosemite Valley reminiscent of crowded
family picnics in neighborhood parks on Fourth of July; what to
do?? Go climb a mountain, far and away!
First day was long and sleepy what with 12 miles in to Lower
Merced Pass Lake. We pitched our tents and made camp with
vestiges of a bear-bagging rope hanging from a nearby tree. That
evening, we ate dinner followed by songs around the campfire.
Folksongs, French children's songs, Broadway musicals, and a
rousing rendition of 'Yellow Submarine' - you name it, we tried it.
WARNING: do not put your MSR fuel bottle in your bear
canister-all food will be drenched irregardless of baggie
packaging!
The next morning, we arose to a beautiful, cool, summer day's
beginning, and, our hike to the summit. Passing Lower Ottoway
Lake, then off trail, around Upper Ottoway Lake, we caught a full
view of the northeast ridgeline of Merced Peak. Hideous
exposure. Heading toward the saddle between Ottoway Peak and
Merced Peak, called Snow Pass by the by, we crossed snow
bands and meadow grass, and splashy, tiny waterfalls over
granite talus. It is important to note that to attain the Class 2
route, climb directly from the saddle onto the ridgeline;
otherwise, you run into Class 3 climbing (thank you Anouchka!).
Newcomers learned to yell "Rock!" rather than "OH NO watch
out!!". Once on the summit, the sharp fin of Mt Clark engaged
me, with Lyell & McClure, Roger's Peak, and, of course, the rest
of the Clark range in view.
Retracing our steps back to camp, two runners passed us on the
trail. They had come up from the Valley floor and were heading
toward Glacier Point that evening and would probably reach it
past 9pm. Simply amazing! It had been a long day for us (12
hours) and we were pooped. Not too long of a fire that evening,
as we all took to bed as soon as supper was over. Our party
almost lost Linda and Anouchka that night! As they were
retrieving water from the lake standing on an old crumbly log, the
log collapsed, and Linda managed to step off into shallower
water, with Anouchka stepping on a firmer portion of tree.
On the hike out, Sunday, we managed a swim, which, actually,
Arlene had been doing each day! Refreshing, and much needed
for the uphill switchbacks to Glacier Point. Thank you to all who
participated: Debbie Benham (author&leader); Arlene Blum;
Anouchka Gaillard (coleader); Chris Kerr; David McCracken;
Steve Shun; Linda Smith; and Matt Stanton.
-- Debbie Benham
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Private Trips
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Private trips may be submitted directly to the Scree Editor, but
are not insured, sponsored, or supervised by the Sierra Club.
They are listed here because they may be of interest to PCS members.
*** Clarence King & Gardiner
Peaks: Clarence King and Gardiner.
Dates: Sept 3-6
Contact: Rick Booth at 408-354-7291 or rick_booth@worldnet.att.net
Dee Booth, rdbooth@worldnet.att.net
Pack in from Onion Valley over Kearsarge Pass and Glenn Pass
into Rae lakes and eventually into Sixty Lakes Basin. Estimated
distance is 10 miles. This is kind of a chug.
Clarence King has a fifth class summit block requiring a few
moves of about 5.4. Gardiner has a longish fourth-class summit ridge.
Requirements: Both peaks require rope and modest rock climbing
skills. You should know my wife or myself.
*** Middle Pal & Norman Clyde
Peaks: Middle Palisade (14,040'), Norman Clyde (13,920'), Class: 3, 4
Map: Mt. Goddard 15' topo
Dates: Sept. 4-6 (Sat-Mon)
Contact: Bob Suzuki day: 510-657-7555 >8pm: 408-259-0772 bobszk@bigfoot.com
Rich Leiker <2pm: 408-378-9522 >3pm: 408-453-4253 leiker@san-jose.tt.slb.com
This 3 day outing will be tough, but good. Saturday we'll drop our
packs at our basecamp near Finger Lake then tackle the northeast
face of Middle Palisade. We'll take all of Sunday to try our luck
with a class 4 route on the north-northeast ridge or north face of
Norman Clyde Peak. Only fast, strong peak climbers with
previous class 4 and roped climbing experience will be considered
for this outing.
*** Capitol Peak, Colorado
Peak: Capitol Peak, Colorado (14,130'), Class 3-4
Dates: Sept 4-6 (Sat-Mon)
Contact: Bill Isherwood, 925-254-0739 (h)925-423-5058 (w)isherwood2@llnl.gov
This is a class 3-4 climb up one of Colorado's more difficult 14'ers,
noted for its exposed knife-edge ridge. The plan would be to fly to
Denver Friday evening, drive to the mountain and hike in to a high
camp on Saturday, make the climb on Sunday and hike out,
staying overnight in the Aspen area. We would return to the
Denver airport on Monday for return home. Roped climbing
experience required. Contact leader for coordination of travel plans.
*** Needsaw, Hamtooth
Peaks: Needham (12467), Sawtooth (12343) class 2
Dates: Sep 18-19 (Sat-Sun)
Contact: Steve Eckert
Depending on who signs up, we'll do the standard grunt to
Needham over the top of Sawtooth, or we'll skip Monarch Lake
and go directly to Needham (which might involve a bit of class 3
scrambling on an unscouted route). This area is great in the fall,
when the bugs are dead and the marmots have their fill of salt
bush (so your car doesn't look like a buffet). Needham could be
done as a ver
*** Annual Tuolomne Group Camp
Peaks: (Need volunteer to lead day trips)
Dates: September 18-19
Contact: Cecil Ann (408) 395-4525 cecilann@earthlink.net
Join us Friday night through Sunday for the annual PCS group
camping trip. Historically, we've had fabulous dayclimbs/dayhikes
and this year will be no exception. Camping will be at a group site
in Tuolumne campground. Children, seniors, non-climbers, etc.
are welcome.
*** Mt. Dana: Introduction to Peak Climbing
Peak: Mt Dana (13,056') class 1
Date: September 18
Contacts: Bob Bynum (510) 659-1413; rfbynum@aol.com;
Gretchen Luepke
Have you been attending PCS meetings and viewing slide shows
of beautiful places, but never actually climbed a peak? Then
come on this relatively simple climb and experience all aspects of
peak climbing. I will take people to the summit and Gretchenmay
take people back to the trailhead who only want to go to the
11,500' saddle. This trip is being run in conjunction with the
Tuolomne car camp listed above and we will start from there.
*** Mt Thompson 13494'
Peak: Mt Thompson, Class 3
Date: September 17-19
Contact: Peter Maxwell (408) 737 9770
We'll hike in from Lake Sabrina to Sunset Lake on Friday, do the
peak on Saturday and hike out on Sunday. Ice axes and crampons
may be necessary, This is a private trip and participants should
be experienced in class 3 climbing and at ease on steep, hard, icy snow.
*** Whitney the Easy Way
Peak: Mt. Whitney (14,495'), class 1
Dates: Oct 22-24, Fri-Sun
Contact: Nancy Fitzsimmons (408)-957-9683 Pkclimber@aol.com
Co Contact: Adrian Van Gorden 408-779-2320
Climb Mt. Whitney by the regular trail; enough of that
mountaineers stuff. We will spend Friday night at Outpost Camp
at about 10,300', and on Saturday start early and go all the way to
the top. Back to the cars before noon on Sunday. Significant snow
in the days preceding will cancel. Ice Ax and crampons may be
needed.
*** Mt. Clark & Starr King
Date: Sept. 24-26
Peaks: Mt. Clark and Starr King
Contact: George Sinclair 650-941-2160; geosinc@aol.com
Description: Join the leader as he returns to the peak he first
climbed 25 years ago when he first began leading Sierra Club
trips. One peak, and perhaps both will require the use of rope.
Interested people should have some experience doing class 3 and
know how to rappel.
*** Cherry Creek Canyon
Peak: None - Cherry Creek Canyon
Date: October 9-10
Leader: Kai Wiedman (650) 347-5234
Don't miss this adventure backpack into one of the most beautiful
granite canyons near Yosemite. Witness Cherry Creek charge
forcefully through narrow slots. Gaze at granite domes in the
distance. The scenery of this 25-mile loop backpack will dazzle
you as you experience one of the Sierras' best kept secrets.
*** Nepal October 1999
Peak: Chulu West, 20,500Ft
Date: October 1999
Contact: Warren Storkman Phone 650-493-8959 dstorkman@AOL.com
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Mt Gilbert (13106 ft). August 29, 1999
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On Sunday, the 29th of August 1999, Scott Kreider and I, Arun
Mahajan walked up Mt Gilbert. As walks go, it was rather long
and our round trip time was a little over nine hours, five to
summit, an hour of dawdling time at the top and the rest for the
slog back to the car.
Starting at 7:40am at South Lake in Bishop and following the
trail to Treasure Lakes, we were quickly at the top of the lower
Treasure Lakes. The trail gets a little sketchy after the lakes but
is clear enough till it gets lost near a short flat area where we
took our first break to study the route near the right fork of a
small stream. Continuing on further over boulders above this
stream, we were at a tarn at approximately 11300 ft. Johnson was
straight in the front and Treasure Col was to it's right. We
climbed over the tarnon the right over more boulders heading to
the ridge. One way to top this ridge is to do the Treasure Col but
that looked unappealing due to the scree and sand so we picked a
small rut in the rocks (it has a dark brownish color and is
spottable if you look hard enough) to go to the ridgeline. This
was class-3 and surprisingly at the top of this was a cairn. There
are many possible ways to get to this ridgeline and ours was a
nice clean route. There was nothing loose on it.
We could see this ridgeline, now climbing up but we stayed at the
same level, traversing along and then we curved left and started
the climb over sandy and talus-ridden slopes towards the high
point, the summit of Gilbert. It is best to traverse up and left till
the ridge line and then one meets the gentler plateau of Gilbert
that is easier to walk on. At 12:40pm we were at the summit.
Lots of haze in the distance but good views of the nearby peaks.
We departed after spending nearly an hour at the top.
The hike back down to the Treasure lakes was tedious and long
but then it was trail all the way back to the placid waters of South
Lake where the disjointed voices of the fisherfolk in their boats
calling out to each other under the warm sun and the gently
circling birds overhead evoked such strong feelings of
timelessness and somnolent leisure that I did not want to ever
return back to the madding crowd and the hectic life of the Bay
Area.
-- Arun Mahajan
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Mt. Hoffman
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"On no other Yosemite Park mountain are you more likely to
linger." John Muir
According to The Complete Guidebook to Yosemite (Steven P.
Medley, Yosemite Assn., 1991) Mt. Hoffman is the geographical
center of Yosemite National Park. It was named in 1965 for
Charles F. Hoffman, one of the threesome who made the first
ascent the year before.
In between rock climbs of the Tuolomne Meadows area, we
decided to do a little hiking or peakbagging. I pulled out Secor's
High Sierra guide and realized Mt. Hoffman was a Class 2 walk-
up. We stopped at Olmstead Point, took photos, acted like
tourists, and marveled at the sublime view: Tenaya Lake and a
multitude of domes to the East, Yosemite Valley to the West -
dominated by the imposing Half Dome. With binoculars, we
could clearly see folks headed up the cable route.
We drove to the May Lake trailhead, and told my brother (who
would just day hike to May Lake) we could do Hoffman RT in
three hours, even though it seemed to loom so high overhead. We
stuck to our return time of three hours and started hauling ass.
We x-countried to a gully which seemed to offer the only
reasonable approach before reaching May Lake (a little Class 3
scrambling) and sure enough, we hit the "trail". From there it's
totally straight forward to the summit (and the radio repeater !!!!)
on it.
Outstanding views, as concurs Secor. Mt. Hoffman has a virtually
vertical north face for at least 1000 feet straight down to some
lakes (didn't identify). A dizzying view. 360 degree views to
Triple Divide Peak, and many peaks south and East, Minarets,
many others to the North. We leisurely enjoyed the summit alone,
even though Secor says many hike it (the "trail" shows it - damn
cairns every ten feet, even though the "trail" is quite obvious).
Pete Yamagata had placed a brand new register just 2.5 hours
before our arrival. We were the third or fourth entry.
We blazed down, taking a "short-cut" which was kinda the
wrong way. We had to traverse around the half the flank of the
mountain, then pick our way through easy but improbable looking
cliffs (linking up ledges and ramps) and dropping back into the
basin. Still had to cross a creek and find the trail.
Continuing, practically running, we hit the trail and actually
passed three people who passed us on descent while we were still
on the way to the summit. Hit the truck in right around 3 hours
RT. I was impressed with my partner and myself. Never have I
more haphazardly x-countried a Sierra peak and been more right
on. I didn't pull out a compass once, and only looked at the map
one time. We hauled ass on the thing, and looking back at the
peak from the parking lot, it didn't seem possible.
If you're in Yosemite NP, especially on the Tioga corridor, do
yourself a favor and spend a couple of hours to do Hoffman. The
views are sublime.
-- Michael Gordon
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THE BACK PAGE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scree is the monthly journal of the Peak Climbing Section
of the Sierra Club, Loma Prieta Chapter. Visit our website at
http://www.climber.org/pcs/
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Elected Officials
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Chair:
George Van Gorden / pcs-chair@climber.org
408-779-2320 home
830 Alkire Ave, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Vice Chair and Trip Scheduler:
Ron Karpel / pcs-scheduler@climber.org
650 594-0211 home
903 Avon Street, Belmont, CA 94002
Treasurer and Membership Roster (address changes):
Dee Booth / pcs-treasurer@climber.org
408-354-7291 home
237 San Mateo Avenue, Los Gatos, CA 95030
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Publicity Committee Positions
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Scree Editor:
Bob Bynum / pcs-editor@climber.org
510-659-1413 home
761 Towhee Court, Fremont CA 94539-7421
PCS World Wide Web Publisher:
Aaron Schuman / pcs-webmaster@climber.org
650-943-7532 home
223 Horizon Avenue, Mountain View, CA 94043-4718
Publicity Chair:
Steve Eckert / pcs-listmaster@climber.org
650-508-0500 home
1814 Oak Knoll Drive, Belmont, CA 94002-1753
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Subscriptions and Email List Info
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Hard copy subscriptions are $10. Subscription applications and
checks payable to "PCS" should be mailed to the Treasurer so they
arrive before the last Tuesday of the expiration month. If you are
on one of the PCS email lists (either the sierra-nevada@climber.org
discussion list or the california-news@climber.org read-only list,
you have a free EScree subscription. For online info, send Email to
info@climber.org. EScree subscribers should send a subscription form
to the Treasurer to become voting PCS members at no charge. All
subscribers are requested to send a donation of $2/year to cover
operating expenses other than printing the Scree. The Scree is on
the PCS web site (as both plain text and Adobe Acrobat/PDF at
http://www.climber.org/pcs/Scree/index.html
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Rock Climbing Classifications
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The following trip classifications are to assist you in choosing trips for
which you are qualified. No simple rating system can anticipate all
possible conditions.
Class 1: Walking on a trail.
Class 2: Walking cross-country, using hands for balance.
Class 3: Requires use of hands for climbing, rope may be used.
Class 4: Requires rope belays.
Class 5: Technical rock climbing.
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Deadline for submissions to the next Scree is Sunday 9/26/99.
Meetings are the second Tuesday of each month.
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"Vy can't ve chust climb?" - John Salathe
First Class EMail - Dated Material as soon as it's published!