Palisades Traverse, CA
Mt. Sill (via Swiss Arete) à
Polemonium Peak à
N. Palisade Peak à
Starlight Peak à
Thunderbolt Peak
From Colorado, we flew to Reno and met Laura’s father for
dinner. We were soon to his home near Tahoe and looking for a good nights rest.
Awake the next morning and out the door by 8 am, we drove south toward Bishop
to pick up our permit. Most opt to approach the Palisade glacier from the North
Fork of the Big Pine Creek but we had to settle for a bit of a roundabout way
to approach the Palisades Traverse. We
were only able to obtain a permit for the South Fork of the Big Bine, so we
decided to make the 8 mile hike in to Elinor Lake and set up camp there. From
the lake we would go over a pass between Mt. Jepson and Mt. Sill and do the
traverse from Sill to Thunderbolt rather than the more common Thunderbolt to
Sill.
We parked at the upper trailhead and began hiking around 2
pm. It was a long haul up and over passes with about half of the approach hike
being off trail. We bush wacked and boulder hopped for 6 hours before reaching
Elinor Lake and setting up camp in a small meadow. Time passed quickly though as
the Palisade Mountains are jagged, sheer and spectacular. Without any doubt,
the views were distracting and the hike went quickly.
 |
| One of many stream crossings on the hike in |
Knowing that we were in for a huge day, we set an alarm for
2 am the following morning. Our approach to Mt Sill from camp would take about 3 hours and then we would have the 5 peaks plus a return trip across Palisade
glacier, back over the passes and down to camp once again.
 |
| Camping near Elinore Lake |
 |
| Sunrise from the Swiss Arete |
Reaching Mt Sill, we opted for the 5 pitch Swiss Arete,
rated 5.7. We ascended the L shaped snowfield to the lower pitches of the
climbing route and got onto the rock. Roping up, we climbed together with just
running protection for several hundred feet until we came to the more
challenging technical pitches of the climb. I took the lead and with a very
light set of protection, made my way carefully up the cracks and seams,
eventually leading to the famous step around move above 1000’ of air. Making
the move and protecting with a stuck cam, I moved through the remainder of the
difficult terrain and set a belay. Laura quickly followed and agreed that the
rock was amazing and the climbing fun. We un roped and worked our way up easier
terrain, reaching the summit of Mt Sill at 8:30 am.
 |
| Climbing on the Swiss Arete on Mt. Sill |
 |
| Climbing near the summit of Polemonium |
We met a group who had been on the same traverse we were doing
for 2 ½ days and had run out of food and water. They asked about our plans.
When I told them we were going for all of them in a day; they chose to make
smart remarks and head down a descent gulley toward the glacier. Spending just
a few minutes atop the mountain, we headed across the ridge toward Polemonium
Peak. Interestingly enough, we caught the smart talkers and quickly passed
them. They were moving extremely slowly and with out any sense of urgency, I
wondered if they would even get off the mountain that day.
 |
| Summit of Polemonium looking toward North Palisade |
We continued on to a challenging Polemonium Peak, climbing just 2 roped sections for safety and were on
the summit just 2 hours after leaving Mt. Sill.
 |
| Climb out of the U Notch toward North Palisade |
Rappelling off of Polemonium, we knew the hardest part was
next and we needed to move efficiently to make it through the U notch and to
the summit of N Palisade before our set turnaround time. Across more ridgeline
and to a stopping point at the top of the U notch, we made 3 long rappels down
to the bottom of the notch and found what would be my favorite section of the
entire traverse. A long, steep gulley leads out of the u notch and the easiest
way is roughly 5.7 climbing. I took the lead and roped up and lead an entire
rope length 200’ pitch with a few pieces of placed protection and several fixed
pieces along the way. Reaching the exit with just 10 feet of rope left, I built
an anchor and belayed while Laura climbed the very enjoyable rock. Within
minutes she was out of the notch and we were headed up a snowfield toward the
summit of N. Palisade. It was now 12:30 pm and we were what we considered more
than half way through the traverse. We spent some time on N Palisade eating and
drinking but were once again quickly off as we knew that we would be racing
daylight before long.
 |
| Rappelling off of North Palisade |
 |
| Checking out summit block of Starlight |
Rappelling off of N Palisade, we moved to a very exposed and
loose traverse and were soon climbing our way to the summit of Starlight Peak.
Not and official 14er, but still cool, Starlight has a 5.9 summit block that
needs to be lassoed and then climbed. Laura and I tossed the rope around and I
made the summit at 2:15. Laura quickly followed, took some pictures and we
boogied out toward our final peak for the day.
Upon reaching our intended descent gulley, I left my pack
and we headed to the summit of Thunderbolt. When we got there, I used Laura’s
climbing shoes and moved carefully up the friction 5.9 pitch to the summit of
the peak at 5 pm. Lowering off, we swapped shoes and Laura climbed the
challenging rock to its peak. Pictures and celebration followed as we knew we
were done…almost.
 |
| Successful summits of all 5 14ers |
 |
| Rappelling the Underhill Couloir |
We made our way to the Underhill Couloir and began our long
descent back to the Palisade Glacier. 7, 8, 9 rappels later, we reached the
glacier. We walked across the glacier and made our way over several passes and
back to the boulder field that led to camp.
 |
| Heading down the Palisade glacier |
Somehow, in the darkness and exhaustion we lost our way and
ended up rappelling to a meadow where we thought camp was around 9 pm. We
wandered aimlessly, looking at maps with dim headlights for the next hour
before finding our camp. Exhausted, we climbed into the tent as I devoured a
block of sausage and cheese before passing completing a 20 hour day.
The following morning we sat and enjoyed a hot breakfast and
coffee. Admiring the surrounding peaks and wondering when we would be back, we
made plans to climb more in this pristine area. We made the 8 mile hike out and
celebrated one more accomplishment – one that won’t be soon forgotten!
No comments:
Post a Comment