This has been one heck of a spring in the Sierra. One day is a perfect spring day; the next four are full on winter. The snow pack is still not melting and we have had to cancel trips because of the quantity of snow. But we have been lucky on Mount Whitney and managed [...]
Eric was outstanding. I’d trust him with my life—and did. His knowledge/experience is wide, but doesn’t let his student feel this gap in knowledge and skill, which is considerable! I appreciated his patience, flexibility in tailoring the trip to our needs/desires, and his generosity in offering to drive up to Mammoth Lakes that last day [...]
Overall how would you rate the trip with us. It was awesome. My first trip and I couldn't have hoped for more. Did the pre-trip information and the office adequately help you prepare for the trip? Yes. Especially considering the last minute circumstances I think the office did a terrific job of scrambling resources to make [...]
Challenging but not overly so. Eric was terrific! The weather was fantastic, with lots of snow to practice on and the location is as good as it gets. Eric picked a great peak for day three - Petit Griffon. One of the most beautiful and not just a marathon summit or a fitness test - [...]
I would rate our feb. attempt of mt. Whitney a 10 .I met all my primary goals for the trip even though we were not able to summit.I used the gear list you provided to guide me in my purchases and all my stuff worked well.You did a great job of supplying me with the [...]
just wanted to take the time to Thank You very much for having put the basic snow travel class together for us; although, the class was not commonly scheduled for Mondays. I will tell you that Tim Villanueva was a great instructor to have. He did not pull punches when it came to conveying the [...]
20-22 MAY 2011 Headed up Whitney for the first, but not the last, time this season with three great clients: Heather Krauss, Regina Froemmiling and Aaron Howell. The forecast looked more like winter than a mid-May spring trip. I think that we all dressed a little too heavily for the warm sunny weather that [...]
Seems like this year spring comes and goes, with a day of spring followed by a day of winter. But it is ski tour season so Sp and Chris set off with John Miller, His son Rob, Pascal Poignard, Chrixx Finne and Dan Silverberg on May 6th from Keasarge Pass. Our route took us over [...]
At this point in life one would think that I would take days off at a beach somewhere with drinks in tall glasses and little umbrellas in them. But no, have to go skiing. Friend Jen Giraud and I had talked for years about skiing Mt Ritter the prominent peak visible from Mammoth. A fantastic [...]
A lot of people think that winter is the time to learn ice axe and crampon skills. Not so; when the snow is deep and soft ice axe and crampons will not add a lot of safety and security and it is better to be on skis. But now that we have hard snow, cold [...]
Charlotte Dome is one of the finest climbs in the Sierra backcountry. Every single pitch is excellent and the climbing challenging, but not too hard. if only it was not such along walk..... The approach is about 12 miles one way and makes for a long day. But the campsite is at one of the [...]
If you have been around skiing for a while you have seen photos of Glen Plake. The guy with the multicolored mohawk and who skis on 210cm skis with no sidecut - and looks better on them than the rest of us put together. SMC worked with Julbo (the sunglasses people) to put on a [...]
My personal speed was quite slow - much slower than last time! What a difference two years and a new spine makes! BUT that being said, I did it - and Andrew was was wonderful. He stuck right by me in all the right spots and I never felt unsafe. He inspired absolute confidence. Thank [...]
Hi Sierra Mountain Center, On behalf of my brother and I, I wanted to email you and tell you how amazing of a time we had climbing Whitney this past weekend! It was one of the most exciting things I have ever done, and I am so glad we had the opportunity to experience such [...]
Dave Meyers put together a custom trip with his sons Grant and Nick after climbing Whitney via the Trail Route a little earlier. The boys were tired after all of that exertion and after a day of rock climbing at Benton Crags Nick decided that his body and feet were sore so SP, SMC's 2010 [...]
One of the most classic multi-day ski tours in the country is the Sierra High Route. Stretching across one of the widest points of the range, the tour consistently stays above 10,000 feet and travels through some of the most impressive alpine terrain anywhere. Jeff, Michael, and SMC's new intern Aaron joined me for a [...]
The Monarch Divide is SMC's favorite ski tour. More difficult than the high route is takes one into little visited areas of Sequoia Kings National Park, has great down skiing and fantastic scenery. Over the last decade or so this has become our signature tour and we are the only guides to guide this trip. [...]
We have done lots of trips with Joe over the years and Dan was on the Mini Mountain Camp with Eric earlier in the year. Both guys were in great shape and knew what they were up for so guide SP PArker and apprentice Gonzalo Montenegro were happy to be able to move quickly and [...]
Some trips with Sierra Mountain Center seem to have seasonal popularity: I remember doing trips into the west access of the Palisades 3-4 times a summer when I first started. A few years ago I did a huge number of summer ice climbing trips, hiking in and out of Mt. Thompson often enough that I [...]
Charlotte Dome is one of the finest climbs in the Sierra backcountry. Every single pitch is excellent and the climbing challenging, but not too hard. if only it was not such along walk..... The approach is about 12 miles one way and makes for a long day. But the campsite is at one of the [...]
20090803: Day 3 After yesterday's adventure on Walker Tower, we had a late breakfast at the Base Camp Cafe before taking a more mellow day - the North Arete on Crystal Crag. This is a classic II 5.6 route outside of Mammoth, featuring three pitches of steady 5.6 and another 600' or so of 4th [...]
This condition report uses direct observation from the Palisade Range to make some general predictions for the current conditions in the High Sierra. Don't use this as your sole source of information to trip plan! This photo shows the Palisade Range from Polemonium to Thunderbolt Peaks. Clearly in view are the V-Notch Couloir, U-Notch Couloir, [...]
20090802: DAY 2! In R.J. Secor's book, a multi-pitch climb is mentioned to exist in Bloody Canyon, just north of June Lake. The first tower on the left supposedly had a route following the right side of a larger corner on the prow of the tower, up to 5.6. The whole description took up three [...]
Jay and Heimei joined me again this year for a few days of rock climbing. August 1st was day one, so we took it mellow and went to a sector of Big Springs that's new to me: The Stumps. Big Springs is better known for Clark Canyon, but the stumps featured 60-150' trad climbs up [...]
July 26-31: One of the more relaxed trips that Sierra Mountain Center offers is a horse-pack supported, five-day long, hiking trip to the summit of Mt. Whitney via Horseshoe Meadows and Cottonwood Pass. Don't be fooled by my casual discription of the trip - we hiked 8-13 miles per day, every day. But for me, [...]
Somehow we seem to have become the "go to" guide service for Devils Crag. The peak is probably the most difficult on the Sierra Peaks list. This list comprises 248 peaks and only 66 people have done it and Corrine has only 15 left to go and has a trip to the Great Western Divide [...]
Jason was the "last man standing" for an Extended Mountain Camp from Sierra Mountain Center - the other two clients had canceled for one reason or another. So we met one early Sunday morning, with a climate dilema. Thunderstorms had been hitting us with clockwork precision every afternoon, making a lot of the taller alpine [...]
Linda has done a lot of trips with us over the years and keeps coming back for more climb. This time was Tyndall and Williamson and we had to do the trip before the area is closed for protection of the Sierra bighorn sheep. Guiding the trip was SP and SMC intern, Andrew Soloman, who [...]
20090714-16. David and Carolyn joined me for a three day trip up the East Buttress of Mt. Whitney. We had beautiful weather and easy hiking to Iceberg Lake on the first day. We had a fantastic climb up the East Buttress, with a beautiful sunrise and warm temperatures - We reached the summit in our [...]
Temple Crag / Dark Star is the massive buttress immediately right of the summit / Sun Ribbon Arete is the prominent knife-edge ridge immediately to the left of the summit / Moon Goddess Arete is the next distinct ridge, starting immediately above the pine tree top in the left of the photo / Venusian Blind [...]
