The Sierra Challenge was officially over and everyone with the exception of myself had gone home.
I was one of those guys that was always the last to leave because I couldn't tell when the party
was over.
It was Tuesday morning and I was still in Lone Pine, figuring since I didn't have to go to work and
my family was still vacationing in Florida, I could spend a few more days in the mountains. I
decided to give the North Ridge of Lone Pine another try, a route that had stymied Matthew and I
earlier in the year. We had gotten a late start that first attempt, and ran out of time well before
reaching the summit. Not to underestimate
the route again, I started almost 3hrs earlier, and was heading up the Meysan Lake Trail out of
Whitney Portal at 5:10a. By headlamp as I wandered through the campground towards the trailhead,
it wasn't long before 
sunrise and I only needed the headlamp for a short while.
It took one hour on the trail and a second hour to scramble up the 
Northwest Face to the
North Ridge. I approached it from the same start as last time, but this time I didn't take the
traverse to the left as far east while on the northwest side of the ridge. I took a more
direct route
where I found excellent class 3 rock going more directly up one of the gullies. Aside from being
more direct, it avoided the less-interesting class 2 on the lower part of the ridge as I met up with
the ridge just where the class 3 begins there.
It took a third hour for me to negotiate the 
first notch, the 
leaning slab, and the
rest of the portion of the climb Matthew and I had done the last time, landing me at the second
notch. At this point I put on my rock shoes and 
headed up, staying close to the ridge,
off to the right when blocked (except for one section that had a 
narrow ledge leading around
the left just before the 
third notch).
The climbing was intense at a few points (I would rate it 5.6), but not desperate
(desperate would have been without the rock shoes). The hardest part was where I found an old piton
ring just below a 
steep lieback that gave me the willies.
It took two hours to reach the summit from that second notch, staying
more or less on the ridge, with lots of sustained class 3-4 climbing. There were obvious bailouts
to the right for class 3 climbing to the summit on the NW face, but that seemed like cheating, and
would have deprived me of some fine climbing. Josh poo-pooed the N. Ridge in his
SP summit log entry,
but I think he either got bored with low class 5 climbing or was taking a different route. I found the
route absolutely outstanding - one I would highly recommend. Staying true to 
the ridge
provided over 3hrs of great scrambling, including over 2hrs of more exciting class 4-5.easy climbing.
I had Secor's route description in my pocket, but never took it out. Last time we were constantly
confused by it, wondering what the hell it was talking about. Croft's instructions are much shorter
and far more accurate. I noted several entries in the summit register wished for a better route
description, so I wrote one on the summit while it was still fresh in my mind (it also gave my
nerves a chance to relax and recover). It turned out to be quite a long description, and I suspect
if I ever publish it others will find it as confusing as I found Secor's. And so it goes.
The register and 
ammo box had been placed the previous year by SnowNymph - Kudos to her
and SnowDude for hauling it up there.
While on the summit, Mt. LeConte beckoned to 
the southwest,
only a 1,000ft higher and two miles
distance. A ridge topped with Peak 3985m connects Lone Pine to LeConte. Having already climbed
LeConte, I didn't care too much to do so again, but just to the left of it lies Mt. Corcoran, a
peak I spent 2hrs hunting down 2 years ago, only to climb the wrong towers. To settle the score
on two peaks I'd been rebuffed on in the same day seemed too tempting to pass up. It was only 11:30a
when I left the summit, so off I went towards LeConte thinking it would take 2hrs to get there.
The descent off Lone Pine's 
southwest side was easy,
and it seemed 2hrs might be an overestimation.
Not having planned this beforehand, I had zero beta on the connecting ridge and Peak 3985m. Had I
checked Secor, I would have found the East Ridge going up is class 2-3, the West Ridge going down
is loose class 4, and I probably would have run up and down the ridge (ok, moved carefully down
it). But before I came to the summit, larger and larger blocks made me think of my escapade on
Langley the day before, and I decided prudence suggested I should bypass the summit blocks with a
lower traverse. Coming to a convenient notch that led to some ledges on the South Face, I happily
took off in that direction. This turned out to be some rather unbelievable scrambling across the
South Face, around numerous aretes, looking down some hella steep air in a convoluted traverse
going up and (mostly) down across the face. Secor lists no less than 4 class 5.7 (and higher) routes
going up this face to give you an idea of what I was 
traversing across.
I spent over two hours traversing the
face, never sure I would get off it until the last moment. I considered the Worst Possible Scenario
where I got stymied at the very end and would have to retrace my steps, so I even placed a few
cairns to help should I have to retreat. I was able to finally reach a class 2 chute that climbs
to the gap between LeConte and Peak 3925m, and I 
took this up to the LeConte-Mallory plateau.
By now it was 1p, I'd been at it 8hrs, and I'd last filled my water bottles (1.5qts total) 7hrs ago.
The climb to Lone Pine Peak had taken one of them, and the traverse most of the second. I had about
a quarter of one bottle left, and it was hard to decide to continue on. I was damned tired and
thirsty, but I was even more dogheaded about reaching Corcoran. I struggled on, rewarding myself
with a small sip whenever I climbed about 100ft. I reached the Sierra Crest, dropped 100ft to the
chute on the west side, and climbed up towards LeConte. I got extra water for managing the Waterfall
Pitch without aiding it (the white cheater sling I installed 2yrs ago had an additional blue sling
attached to the end of it). I surmounted LeConte at 2p, signed the register and headed back down
without staying atop (if anyone is wondering why I didn't bypass LeConte's summit and head for
Corcoran directly, they don't understand peakbagger disease).
I recall Eric Lee saying he had added new
ducks to the Corcoran Traverse, so I headed across the West Face of LeConte, happy to see a series
of 4 ducks leading to the next chute over. Then nothing. High and low I looked, but no more ducks.
The correct route at this point heads diagonally down, losing several hundred feet across notches
in two aretes. But I stayed high, hopefully wishing I didn't need to lose all that elevation, even
though I recall Secor in the back of my mind saying that if you stay too high you get "Big Air".
For my trouble, I got Big Air. I climbed up to what I thought was North Notch, but it looked
agonizingly familiar to the wrong route I had taken on my first attempt. I looked across the notch
to what I could see of the east side of the crest. I got out my camera and played back the pictures
I had taken earlier. It was hard to see them with such a small screen and in daylight, and I
tried to shelter the screen in the shade and with my hands as I looked for a photo I'd taken a
few hours ago of the east side. Though the angle was quite different, I believe I was able to
match some large blocks below Corcoran with those I could see through the notch. This turned out
to be the crucial help I needed to convince myself I had not traversed far enough south. I resolved
to struggle on despite my thirst, and went down some loose chutes looking for
the correct traverse path. I was first rewarded with some small snow patches hiding out on the
north sides of the chute I took down. I greedily scooped the top off into my water bottle to let
the warm water help melt the snow. I didn't bother to scrape the top layer with dirt and bugs off
like I normally would because that would mean the snow I got underneath would be colder and melt
less. I stuffed more snow in my mouth and relished the taste of dust and small grains of sand.
My second reward came when I found a duck at a notch in the next arete to the south. Aha!
At this point, I found an excellent series of ducks that lead me across a number of more aretes,
up to the 
North Notch, through a small keyhole, across the west side of Mt. Corcoran and up to
the summit in a broad chute on this side. It was 3p when I summited - and though I knew I was
in for a long day, it all seemed worthwhile at this point. The oldest register in the canister
was placed in 1970 by 
Galen Rowell on the traverse from 
the south,
and I had a moment of connection with Sierra history.
I returned to 
LeConte faster than I had left it, finally sure of the correct route.
I added another
couple of ducks and made some of the existing ones higher so they might stand out better for future
climbers. It was a monumental struggle to climb up those several hundred feet of talus to the top
of the Waterfall Pitch, but the various sips of water I allotted myself kept me going. Unlike last
time, I downclimbed the crucial pitch without aiding it, though I was happy to see that sling
dangling there beside me should I suddenly slip. If this is class 3 as it is rated, it has to be
the hardest class 3 I've ever encountered. A bit more downclimbing, then a last uphill struggle of
another hundred feet.
It was 4p when I was again at the LeConte-Mallory plateau, and I was elated to know the rest of
the journey was downhill. I found a trickling creek on the 
steep slopes leading down to Meysan
Lake, and I slaked my thirst with the cold, delicious water. Now life was good again. It took only
three hours to descend from the Sierra Crest back to the trailhead, making for a 14hr outing -
the longest day yet of 13 days I'd been at it. I drove back to Lone Pine, and stumbled into my
hotel room. The hot shower was good, but it wasn't enough to revive me, nor was dinner a short
while later. Rest was the only thing that was going to help, and by the time I got into bed it
felt long overdue...
Continued...
Following is the route description I penned on the summit of Lone Pine Peak. If you use it, I'd appreciate any feedback on its helpfulness. My guess is most will find it as useless as I found Secor's description. :-)
Secor and others describe the route with two towers, a description I found
misleading both times I was on the route. It seems more accurate to me to
describe it as having four notches, which I will attempt to incorporate here.
Climb 2nd to 3rd class up to the tower before the 1st notch. Downclimb into
the notch (class 3-4), then climb up (5.4) just right of the ridge. Climb up
and back onto the ridge where you can see the large
leaning slab on the left
side. Climb down a nice ramp about 30ft to where you can climb up and around
the leaning slab on the left side. Climb down 15ft, traverse the east side
for about 40ft, then climb a series of 3 grooves/chimneys back up to the
ridge (5.2 on the last one). Follow the ridgeline, airy and knife-edged at
times, to the point above the second notch. Climb down to the notch.
This is a good point to put on climbing shoes if you haven't already. The east
side of the 2nd notch is a steep, difficult chute. The west side has a sandy
ledge that is easy to follow down for several hundred feet, but far off the
route. Your best bet is up the ridge, just to
the right of the centerline.
This section is the crux - off-widths, chimneys, and a 5.6 lieback await you.
There are escape options off to the right a few hundred feet above the 2nd
notch, that look to be class 3 routes to the top on the NW Face. Better
climbing is found by returning to the ridgeline where possible. You should
never have to climb down more than 10-20ft to get around obstacles. Check
your options before committing to a line of attack. There is a fantastically
airy
class 3 ledge that goes around the left side of the ridge and brings
you around obstacles and back to the ridgeline. Here the ridge gets airy and
knife-edged, but only class 3. Follow it to the 3rd notch.
It now
appears you are at the base of the summit blocks (last 400ft), but
there is one more notch above. Climb down into the 3rd notch directly from
the ridgeline, then follow interesting folds of rock up on the left side of
centerline. You may have to climb down about 20ft to avoid obstacles, but
no need to climb down into the sandy chutes. The hardest climbing is over,
but there is much great climbing ahead if you stay close to the ridge.
From the 4th notch, traverse a narrow, sandy ledge about 120ft on the west
side, then climb back up towards the ridge where possible. Better climbing is
found close to the ridge, bail to the right for class 3 routes to the summit.
You should be able to top out right at the summit with class 4-5 climbing
along the very ridge.