Alpine climbing in Tahoe

This past weekend Newton and I decided to do an alpine climb that wasn't so far from home. We returned to the Emerald Bay area at Tahoe to climb a route called Section 20 that is purported to be the longest rock route in the Tahoe Basin. We started the approach around 6:30 or 7 am as is tradition. This time around it was especially important to get an early start as the weather was calling for late afternoon thunderstorms. The route that we chose was called Section 20 in the Falcon Guidebook and ascends the face northwest of 90 foot wall. We knew that the challenge would be routefinding on this route, which proved to be true. In fact, we never really found the Section 20 route at all and instead followed our own route the entire way. I think that it totalled about 7 or 8 pitches, however in typical alpine fashion some of the pitches had to be cut short and others we could do a running belay. There was even a section near the top that we could unrope and hike about a quarter mile. The real challenge proved to be the rock quality, which was poor, especially in the middle of the route. However, despite getting off route and despite the poor rock quality we were able to put together a good climb without any hangups. We were cut a little short by storm clouds that were brewing over the lake, so upon reaching the summit ridge we decided to head down rather than to become lightning fodder. We also didn't have good information on the descent which proved to be extremely brushy. All in all the climb proved to be a good one. Hopefully I can get a photo or two from Newton to post on this blog.

Yosemite bound

The weekend following our Desolation Wilderness trip we took the opportunity to go somewhere that we've always wanted to go, Yosemite! Being a climber, naturally, I've always wanted to go to Yosemite. By any climber's standards it is an ueber-Mecca. Despite the multitude of rock this trip was to be, however, a trip to see the sites. Holly and I had three days, and with three days one can barely scratch the surface of a park as varied and beautiful as Yosemite. We stayed at Tuolumne Meadows campground, which is closest to the eastern entrance of the park near Tioga Pass. Despite staying at Tuolumne we spent most of our time down in the Valley. One thing about Yosemite is that probably every tourist who goes there has already seen countless images of the place. So you'd think that the seeing that many images would detract from the whole experience. On this note, I'd have to strongly disagree. Driving into Yosemite that first night was nothing short of amazing, and it is little wonder that people like Muir and Adams devoted their lives to documenting and saving this sacred place. The first evening we arrived just in time to see the sites of Yosemite Valley.

The second day we decided to go on a hike. We picked a trail that started at Olmsted Point just down from Tenaya Lake and descended down into the valley. We figured that this was sort of the ultimate trail where we could enjoy the best of both the high country and the valley. As it turned out the trail was absolutely spectacular with straight-on views of Half Dome. However, the moment it reached the edge of Yosemite Valley it dropped down 3,000 feet of switchbacks. We ended up underestimating the rigor of going downhill, which was especially hard on Holly's knees. Trying to hike as fast as we could we just barely missed the bus back to Tuolumne by 10 minutes. Now we were stranded and we needed to get back to our car and campsite. Our only option was to hitchhike so we caught the shuttle to Camp 4 and stuck our thumbs out. It took about half an hour before a car pulled over. Most surprisingly it turned out that that car was a taxi. In a near state of disbelief we walked over to the taxi expecting the taxi driver to charge $100 for the ride, but as it turned out two hikers on the John Muir Trail had bailed out early and had hired the taxi for the day to bring them back to their cars at Tuolumne. We enjoyed the ride back up to the car and gave the backpackers $20 to help cover our part of the trip. The final day we spent looking at the falls and swimming in the Merced River, before leaving the park in the midst if a major rainstorm.

Holly's first backpacking trip

I know that a blog is supposed to be chronological, but every once in a while I get out of sync. This posting goes all the way back to 4th of July weekend when Holly, Chester, and I went into the Desolation Wilderness. Most of you hard core wilderness types know that Desolation Wilderness is not desolate. In fact, it is probably the most crowded wilderness area in the Sierra., but it is also extremely beautiful. Given the crowds at Tahoe that weekend, we were happy to be in wilderness enjoying part of nature. This was also Holly's first backpacking trip, as well as Chester's. Holly got a new backpack that she was testing out, ans we got Chester dog panniers.

Our trip started off at the Bayview trailhead near Emerald Bay and led us up to the peaceful Lower Velma Lake. Holly did very well carrying a heavy pack, but unfortunately she ended up with blisters. The following day we did the short hike to Middle Velma Lake where we found a great camp spot alongside the lake. We took the day easy, went for a swim, and by the evening the smoke had almost already completely cleared. At this point in time northern California and northern Nevada were experiencing large wildfires that led to many hazy days during the months of June and July. The final day involved an extra loop that went up past Dicks Lake. This was probably the scenic highlight of the trip although it is difficult to compare one amazing vista to the next. We hiked back down to Eagle Lake where we went for a brief swim before returning to civilization.

Matterhorn Peak: First High Sierra Rock Climb

The Sierra Nevada has some of the finest alpine rock climbs around. Naturally, I've been dying to get out climb long routes, and finally I got my chance. This past weekend Newton Debardeleben and I set out to climb Matterhorn Peak, the high point of the Sawtooth Range located just outside of Bridgeport, California. The Sawtooths are steep jagged spine of mountains that extend along the Sierra crest and are considered by many to be the northernmost of the High Sierra.

We decided to make the trip in two days, which meant that we needed to set up a high camp the first day and then make the climb, hike back to camp, descend to the car, and drive back to Reno the second day. This was all quite doable, although it amounted to a good workout. On Saturday we arrived at US Forest Service Ranger Station in Bridgeport at 7:15 am just in time to snag the last permit for the Horse Creek unit. We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then headed up Horse Creek Trail from Twin Lakes. We arrived with plenty of time at an awesome campsite next to a small lake with beautiful views of the mountain and decided to scout the route. Hiking up 2,000 feet of scree proved to be slower than we expected, however, it gave us the opportunity to re-calibrate our expectations for the next day's demands.

At 4:30 am we woke, packed up quickly, and started the hike to the base of the peak. The route that we had our sights set on was the North Arete of Matterhorn Peak, which is the most prominent route as seen from Bridgeport or Twin Lakes area. At 7:00 am we got on the first pitch which consisted of mostly loose blocks of rock. The route totalled six pitches according to the guidebook, although the last two pitches we split into two to reduce rope drag and there was a third pitch of 3rd class scrambling along a knife-edge ridge. the weather proved to be cold, with a steady wind blowing, and most of the route being in the shade. The few sunny wind free spots felt like a godsend. The climbing proved to be enjoyable with no single move greater than 5.7. In classic alpine style there was some routefinding to be had and all but one pitch featured loose rock. At 1 pm we topped out and were greeted with gorgeous views of the northern part of Yosemite Park as well as extensive views into the Great Basin to the east.

Photos 1) View of the Sawtooth Range from east of Twin Lakes 2) Closeup view of Matterhorn Peak. The north arete is the prominent route in the foreground. 3) View of Matterhorn Peak from camp 4) Newton at the bottom of the third pitch 5) Sunrise on the Sawtooth Range