While summer rock climbing means a tee shirt, rock shoes and a chalk bag the same route under winter conditions coated in snow and ice calls for a totally different approach. Bulky clothing, heavy boots and gloved hands turns easy pitches into a much more difficult ascent.
But it is fun! The weather is not quite as bad as it seems from the comfort of home and we like to view this style of climbing as just another aspect of the whole mountaineering experience. And if you are thinking of honing
your skills and taking them to Alaska or the greater ranges of the world we have just out of Bishop a great fun climb. Cardinal Pinnacle sits above the small cluster of houses at Aspendel and the Cardinal Village Resort and is barely a quarter mile above the winter road closure. A thumb of erosion resistant granite, the pinnacle projects from
the hillside and is cleaved by many fine crack systems and corners.

Itinerary

We take the Regular Route that is rated 5.6 and is some five pitches in length. We hike up the snow covered North Lake Road a short distance before cutting up the hillside some five hundred feet to the start of the climbing. A couple of lower angle pitches with a few tricky steps lead to the main feature; a big corner that rises behind a tower, choked
with snow and finishing in a chockstone that is often glazed in icicles. The descent is straightforward down a snowy gully and then a fine glissade back to the cars.