snow creek route

[stolidroog]

does anyone here ever do trips up the snow creek route. i have wanted to do this hike for quite some time, but it seems like you have to break the law in order to go this way? for anyone who has done it, is the winter usually the only time to do it, or can it be done in dryer weather?

i would love to do this trip with someone who has done it before, the route seems pretty confusing, especially the first few thousand feet of the climb. any additional info would be greatly appreciated, and anyone who is going up this route in the near future, i would love to come along. thanks.

ryan

[Perry]

It's not a "hike" unless you are referring to the PCT. Going straight up the mountain requires 10 or 12-point crampons and ice axe. After a snowstorm, there is high risk for avalanches on the upper north face, so it's better to wait for it to settle, melt, and re-freeze. But definitely not while it's melting. Timing is everything. Around 6,000 feet there is a short 5th-class rock climb, with an alternate 4th-class variation. In the fall and late summer it may be dry, but then you have the issue of loose soil and falling rocks. It's doable by some, but not for everybody.

[TRumble24]

Perry - Just curious do you know how many people actually try the North Face? Have you done it yourself? Seems like insanity to me, but I'm big and clumsy.

[Perry]

Very few people. I was planning to do it tomorrow, but it snowed recently. I'll have to wait until it settles and then is cold enough to stay solid in the morning. Maybe next year. I've scrambled around the north face, dry and with snow (ice axe and 10-pointers). Also climbed Hood, Rainier, Shasta, Whitney MR. I've read stuff and talked to people about Snow Creek. If you don't want to climb the chalkstone, you can backtrack and take a less technical variation. Also, some people get close to the peak and veer left where it's not as steep.

[Perry]

The hardest part is climbing the nose.

[Cy Kaicener]

A friend of mine who is a professional guide in the High Sierra - Kurt Wedberg has done it before in two days and wants to do it in one long day.
http://www.sierramountaineering.com
http://info@sierramountaineering.com
Also keep your eyes on the http://summitpost.org message board/forum in the California section. Three guys called Dave Daly, Kevin Trieu and Miguel Forjan were thinking of doing it soon. There is a third class route but it is easy to get off route and get into serious rock climbing requiring pietons.

[AlanK]

Here is Rick Graham and Rick Kent's Snow Creek day hike epic from a year ago.

www.mt-whitney.info/viewtopic.php?t=128 ... ek+jacinto

[Jim Renn]

Great pictures of Snow Creek 5-20-06.I did Snow Creek by myself(I was stupid then) on July 4, 1991. I think it was a light snow year, but I walked on snow over all waterfalls! Just axe,no crampons, but if it was icy, they would be good to carry. I think this trip has adventure memories for anyone who's done it. I didn't have an altimeter and got off route once trying to make sure I didn't get up on Folly. Had to bivi at about 9000'. Then the motor scooter I stashed at Marion Mt. camp conked out and I wound up coasting all the way down the Black Mt Rd. and took a Cabazon taxi back to Snow Creek village.
I'm driving by May 4, and am checking out snow conditions for a possible climb May 7,8. Two of us from San diego, so far. Anybody else interested?

[hillbasher]

Been there.Done that. 3 times as a matter of fact. All 3 were over nighters, and trying it as a one dayer is out of the question for me, even though the thought of trying it pops up every now and again. Then I have a couple of beers, and it's back to, "Been there,Done that." Have a good climb, because that is what it is. Not a "trip", nor a "hike", but a full blown climb. It's all yours.

[stolidroog]

i might be down for the climb. because its a weekday, i cant say for sure right now, but i would love to do the climb, especially with someone who has done it previously.