| 2007 Sierra Challenge
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| 2007 Sierra Challenge
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| Details and Pictures | Challenges: 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 |
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Warmup - Pettit Peak /
Leavitt Peak
I took two days to warm up, with the first day an extreme outing to Pettit Peak.
This peak is located deep in the heart of Northern Yosemite, first dayhiked by
Matthew Holliman several years earlier. I chose a route out of Tuolumne Meadows
via Return Creek that turned out to be a good deal harder than I expected. Ryan
Spaulding joined me on this outing, paying for it with an unplanned bivy when
he got lost somewhere north of Glen Aulin. He didn't return to the trailhead
until nearly noon the following day. The second day I was pretty beat, so made
a short outing to Leavitt Peak out of Sonora Pass. On the summit I met Chris
Testa, a Challenge participant who would be joining us the next day.
Day 1: The Doodad
There were around a dozen at Twin Lakes north of Yosemite for the first day of
the Challenge. Five of the group went to The Doodad with the remainder heading
for Whorl Mtn and Matterhorn Peak via Horsecreek Pass.
The party split up shortly after leaving the maintained trail in the hanging
valley above Twin Lakes. We scrambled up interminable boulder fields, across
moraines, and finally up snow-filled Polemonium Pass before reaching the Sierra
crest. From here we traversed around to the south side and then up to the
famous Doodad, an oddly-shaped block standing some 40 feet high atop the crest.
Using ropes, all five made it to the summit with a fine lead by Glenn.
Afterwards, three of us headed to Matterhorn Peak with the other two tagging
the nearby Dragtooth first. On our way off Matterhorn we met up with other
participants on their way over from Whorl. Most everyone got to the summit they
had planned for.
Day 2: Rodgers Peak
Almost two dozen participants met for a very early start at 5am. While most were
prepared for a long day, some had little idea just how difficult this peak is
as a dayhike due to the long mileage.
By headlamp we started up from the Silver Lake TH, hiking past Agnew, Gem, and
Waugh Lakes on our way to Mt. Rodgers. Most of those going to the summit took
the class 3 NE Ridge which had some fine scrambling along the serrated
ridgeline. Chris (from Leavitt Peak) led the way,
outpacing everyone for a blistering 6.5hr time to the summit. Chris and another
participant were also the first to return to the TH, though they had to run some
to stay ahead of Michael and I close on their heels. In all, more than
a dozen made it to the summit, though the last groups didn't return to the
trailhead until after dark - a very long day!
Day 3: Mt. Goethe
Another large group of 20 were at the North Lake TH for a climb of Mt. Goethe.
Though not many miles distance, the shortest route includes the class 4 NE
Ridge that a few were unable to negotiate. A tenacious few dropped down over
Alpine Col and climbed Goethe from the class 2 southeast side. Others included
nearby Mt. Muriel as a bonus peak. A few even made a loop of it, returning via
Darwin Canyon and tagging Mt. Lamarck as well.
I was alone in heading for Pilot Knob in Humphreys Basin that day. Having
already climbed Goethe and missing Pilot Knob on an earlier Challenge, I took
the opportunity to finally tag this one. It was a pleasant walk across the
basin and there were fine views to be had from the summit. On the way back I
encountered rangers out on a Search and Rescue call. An elderly lady had gotten
lost from her group in the area and had failed to reach the trailhead the
previous evening. Her body was later found among the boulders that line one of
the lakes just north of Mt. Goethe.
Day 4: The Hermit
The Hermit lies in the heart of the Evolution region, a good distance west of
the Sierra crest. This long distance, combined with a class 5 summit block,
conspired to dissuade all but three from attempting it. Others went to peaks
near Lamarck Col, including Mts. Darwin, Mendel, and Lamarck. Rick, Brice, and
myself spent six and half hours to reach the summit block, having first climbed
to Lamarck Col (higher than The Hermit's summit!), descended Darwin Canyon and
Bench to the JMT, and then traversed and climbed The Hermit from the east. We
roped up to climb the summit block by two different routes (Rick climbed both
routes), taking an hour all told to get three of us up there one at a time.
After descending from The Hermit, I left the others to return at a faster pace.
While climbing back up through Darwin Canyon, I decided to climb Mt. Goethe as
well, a strategic move to garner me sole possession of the Yellow jersey. It
was a huge effort after climbing The Hermit, and I managed to mistake Goethe's
summit for a false one and wasted an hour climbing a lower subsidiary peak (this
despite the fact I had already been to the summit before!). It was dark before
I returned to the trailhead via Piute Pass, making for a very long, 15hr day.
Day 5: Gendarme Peak
Gendarme Peak was designed to be an easy day between two harder days of this
year's Challenge. For some of the 17 that participated this was the case - for
others less so. A large group of 8 or 9 had trouble finding Jigsaw Pass,
ascending what seems the more obvious choice, a chute south of Aperture Peak.
For some this was discouragement enough and they returned to the trailhead
without summiting, while others continued undaunted by descending one chute,
then the correct one. Many of those that went to Gendarme also climbed nearby
Aperture Peak (a better climb by most opinions), and a few also climbed
Picture Puzzle or Hurd Peak. It was also possible, as Ryan S and I found out,
to descend the wrong way at Jigsaw Pass
even when you start from the correct point atop the
saddle. We had a bit of a hairy descent down an alternate chute to the north
of the correct one before finding our way to easier ground. When we met up with
David W in the same chute, he was happy to see he wasn't the only hapless one
to the mark.
Day 6: Cardinal Mtn.
Cardinal Mtn is most easily accessed by the Taboose Pass Trail, but it is no
easy trail. A low starting elevation, few trees, and exposure to the sun can
make this no picnic for the 6,000-foot climb to the pass. Rick K led a group
of nine, making it first to the pass in just over 3hrs. He and Mike S were
the first to reach the summit of Cardinal. Not far behind, Ryan S and myself
headed off to the wrong peak, wasting valuable time and energy before realizing
the mistake. Meanwhile, Michael G beat us to Cardinal, chuckling when he heard
our story of woe. The three of us then went after Rick and Mike who were already
on their way to Goodale Mtn. Without being discovered we found a shorter and
quicker route to the summit, beating them out by only minutes. The look on
Rick's face was priceless.
Day 7: West Vidette
Lying well west of the Sierra crest, West Vidette made for another tough day.
Starting from Onion Valley and travelling over Kearsarge Pass, nine of us made
our way at various rates over the pass and down to Bubbs Creek on the other
side. We split up into smaller groups as we approached the base of the peak,
and the seven that made it to the summit all managed to take a different
variation up the East Face. Ron H, who had been left in the dust at Kearsarge
Pass, was the first one on the summit much to the surprise of everyone. Ron was
unstoppable this day. Several others made it out to the basin between East and
West Vidette but turned back due to lateness of the day. Still others chose
closer goals such as University Peak, Dragon Peak, or Mt. Gould. Jeff D turned
in a notable performance by climbing both West and East Vidette in a long 13hr
day while Bill P had an even longer day by climbing Mt. Bago as a bonus
following West Vidette.
Day 8: Mt. Bradley
Mt. Bradley is not a particularly interesting mountain and probably a better
climb in the spring with snow instead of talus to wade through. This was not
lost on most of the participants, only three of whom actually bothered to
attempt it. Of greater interest was the bonus summit of Center Peak, and so
five of us headed there initially after a (very) crappy talus scramble over the
snow-free University Pass. We unintentionally split up into three different
parties on the west side of the pass, eventually climbing Center Peak by three
different routes. The short class 4 summit block was easily enough overcome. We
met a pair of ladies at the summit who were camping somewhere in Center Basin,
tagging a number of the peaks in the area over several days. Michael G and I
were the only two to head for Bradley from Center Peak, meeting up with Bill P
halfway up Bradley's West Face. Rather than reascending University Pass,
Michael and I chose to continue from Bradley's summit along the east side of
the Sierra Crest, eventually closing the loop when we reached the top of
University Pass (where we met up with Ryan S who had just come back from
University Peak) before returning to Robinson Lake and Onion Valley.
Day 9: Mt. Hale
Having climbed almost all of the peaks around the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek
in the Whitney area on previous Challenges, We set our sight further afield
with a trek to Mts. Hale and Young a few miles west of the Sierra crest. Michael
G and I were the only two of the starting group heading for Mt. Hale (others
choosing to climb previous Challenge peaks such as Russell and Whitney), though
there were four others we met along the way that had started earlier. We met
Tom and Rachel at Lower Boy Scout Lake before continuing up to Iceberg Lake and
over the Whitney-Russell col. Evan R left us at the col in order to
climb the North Face of Whitney, while Michael and I continued to Arctic Lake
(where we came across Mike M and Richard P) before heading up to Mt. Hale. We
chose different chutes along the South Face, both leading to the summit plateau
where we met up again. After summiting we continued west to Mt. Young before
returning back to the col. We descended the north side route that led down to
Upper Boy Scout Lake before taking us back to Whitney Portal. Meanwhile, Rick
K was in strong form again, climbing first Carillon before continuing to
Russell, Whitney, McAdie, Irving, and six other named peaks along the crest in
an 18hr day - more than enough to move him into first place for the King of
the Mountain jersey.
Day 10: Mt. Newcomb
The final day of the Challenge was a long one, had few participants, and a last
minute change of plans. Initially we planned to hike to Mt. Newcomb out of
Horseshoe Meadow, but I had become convince during the week that Whitney Portal
would offer a faster route. Michael G and I were able to secure dayhike permits
from the ranger station the day before to keep things legal. Further, Michael
planned to climb McAdie on his way to Newcomb, so we split up shortly before
reaching Trail Camp along the Whitney Trail. Though my route over Whitney Pass
was shorter than the route over McAdie, I lost a good deal of time trying to
climb to Newcomb along the ridgeline from Crabtree Pass, and in the end Michael
was only a few minutes behind me in reaching Newcomb's summit. Michael then
had found Rick's register entry from the previous day on McAdie and had guessed
correctly what Rick had climbed to take the KotM jersey lead. In order to
recapture the lead, Michael went on from Newcomb to climb five of the peaks
along the Sierra crest that Rick had done the day before. Out of the hunt for
that honor, I continued west to Mt. Chamberlain before returning to finish on
Mt. Whitney and descend it via the Mountaineers Route back to Whitney Portal.