Tram to Summit, Saturday 3/22/08

[Dave G]

John M~ Don't know about the conditions at Wellman's Divide. There were several boot tracks heading to Round Valley. Once we got there, we headed pretty much due west, traversing Jean Peak below the summit, over to San J. All moderate terrain, just beware of ice and hard snow. If someone was very careful and kicked in good, the whole route could be done without crampons (at least on the day I was there), but I was glad to be wearing them as an extra margin of safety. Have a great hike!

Dave

[simonov]

So you went up via Jean Mountain and then north along the ridge to the summit. How did you get back?

[NormaR]

Siminov,

we followed our boot tracks back.

norma

p.s. Cy, i saw Sara yesterday. correction to my time on their ascent of Snow Creek. 11 hours. she said she felt they had better conditions than what Rick Kent had. plus better weather.

[lipbiter]

I really wish you people would STOP encouraging and congratulating people climbing Snow Creek. This is an ILLEGAL and SELFISH act. I hope the next climber ends up in JAIL and not a BODY BAG!!!

(Note: The opinions expressed herein represent only those of Lipbiter, and not the views of any organization he/she may be affiliated with. Thank you.)

I reread this post and realized it seemed a bit strong/borderline maniacal. If you knew the kind of weekend I had, you would understand my frustration. Regarding Snow Creek, someone told me "It's a free country." But that's not true. This little slice of country is considered "off limits" by the Body that controls it. I simply wish people would respect that and stay the HE## out of there. Thank you. Love and Hugs to all.

Addendum: My last post. Lipbiter out.

[asabat]

I don't think Snow Creek per se is illegal, just what is probably the easiest approach at the bottom. I'm sure it is possible, although harder, to do it without trespassing on private land. It may also be that somone works for the water agency and has permission to access. But, this route is not something I ever plan to do anyway, so what do I know.

[lipbiter]

At minimum, a permit is required once you enter State Parks territory . I encourage all hikers, including Snow Creek hikers, to obtain the necessary permits from the State Parks Ranger BEFORE their hike. The permits are free The citations are not.

[simonov]

we followed our boot tracks back.

Thanks.

I am planning to do this hike in a week and a half. Can you tell me why you went up Jean Mountain? Is it easier? Better views? Something different? I was looking at this route on a map and it does appear to be somewhat easier than heading straight for the summit from Round Valley.

[NormaR]

Simonov,

The nice thing about snow is that sometimes you may be able to take a more direct route. Since this was our first time to summit, i can't comment about it being easier, but the elevation gain was comfortable. Plus, once we got up high we knew we would use a visual with our GPS reading to help decide our next direction.

I had originally mapped the trail with a route heading north after we passed Round Valley and using the switchbacks south of Miller. We never made that sharp right you see on maps. We did choose to stay a bit north of that family of 5 that was heading on the trail toward Wellman's, since we did not want to go that far south. We then gained elevation by heading up Jean and traversing as needed. We never gained the true summit of Jean, we came up a bit north of it, but we were close enough and at that point followed the ridgeline north (up & down a few bumps) to San Jacinto summit.

Quite often we had boot tracks that we were following, especially as we followed the ridgeline.

Hope this make sense. Have a great time out there! I'd be tempted to go back, except that $21.95 tram fee will probably send me elsewhere for more snow hiking.

[simonov]

Hope this make sense. Have a great time out there! I'd be tempted to go back, except that $21.95 tram fee will probably send me elsewhere for more snow hiking.

Thank you for the note.

From your comments and looking at the map, I am thinking about using your route up. When we get to the top we can decide whether we want to retrace our steps back to Round Valley or maybe try to glissade directly down a little.

We are heading to San Jack because we are about to run out of snow on Baldy. The photos you and Dave G posted show a lot more snow than on Baldy.