East side into High sierra Alpine routes? May 23-30

I am preparing a list. Get 20 routes or peaks, and do... some of them

What I have done:
5.0-5.7- Temple Crag, Crystal Crag, Emerson, Bear Creek Spire,
harder- PSOM slab, sport stuff in the gorge.

On the list for this trip.
Russel, Whitney 3rd/4th class routes, maybe traverse.
Lone Pine Peak, easy 5th class ridge
Laurel Peak 5.easy
Maybe Crystal Crag again. ~5.7
And maybe hang out at Lover's Leap after May 30th for a couple days before driving home.

Want to do stuff like:
Conness
Matterhorn
Matthes Crest
Cathedral SE

Any recommendations on cool stuff that might be a little lower and snow free? Faster approaches? Or recent Beta on the "want to do" stuff?
It will be my girlfriend and I. I would be leading full time. So I am not exactly looking to get on Positive vibes... yet

Any long alpine routes in the Tahoe area?

Laurel Peak is a choss pile. Don't waste your time.

If you're going to up by Whitney, why not do the East Face or East Buttress? I'd check with the Whitney Portal Store for conditions for the Mountaineer's Route, which is the standard descent. The alternate is the long descent down the trail.

The North Ridge of LPP is great but you'll have to move pretty quickly if plan on belaying any great portion of it. Also suss out the descent. Lots of folks seem to have problems picking the wrong gully to descend, only to have it cliff out and have to trudge back up and try again.

NOAA is predicting up to another 10" of snow this week in the Sierra, so you're likely to hit snow even if it warms up next week.

If Tioga Pass is open, Cathedral is a short approach and S facing. The Matthes approach could be sloggy, but you could scope that out from Cathedral.

Laurel is a NE facing trough with not a lot of pro, so that may not be the best option. You can pretty much scope the route out from the road.

The E Ridge of Russell would be reasonable with snow, and routes like the Mountaineer's route on Whitney and E Chute on Basin are both better with snow. The E Buttress gets more sun and is a better route IMO. Wilson's rents snow gear if you need it.

I know from experience that the crux (crack system) of the N Ridge of Lone Pine holds snow and ice even if the rest is fairly clear.

Another fun peak with a super short approach is Hurd (lots of ways to go, from class 3 on up). It would also allow you to check out conditions around Bishop Pass. If it's not too sloggy around the pass I'd recommend Agassiz for the Palisades views alone.

Awesome info.

I have four axes if we need it. Or want to do something mixed. Two tools, two snow axes and crampons. We can handle some alpine snow and ice, as long as I can protect it. I would rather have snow on Whitney. Agreed. We probably wouldn't pitch out Lone Pine Peak. I was thinking my short rope for crux sections. Thanks for the heads up on the icy cracks and descent.

Thanks for the Recommendations. Agassiz, Basin... Hadn't heard of Hurd!

Any thoughs/guesses on what other Palisades climbing (U-notch, V-notch, Temple Crag) might be like? Not sure if the additional snow would be a good thing for the snow/ice routes, and if the additional snow would be a huge pain for routes like the Swiss Arete or 5.7/5.8 stuff on Temple Crag...

thanks!

Agassiz is a great summit, and a little snow might be nice to alleviate the talus. It's actually hard to recommend much without some knowledge of current conditions, this being a really odd snow year. Ordinarily, something like the North (or West) Ridge of Conness would be a good rec from about mid June/early July onward, but with the snow coverage being so minimal, it's hard to know what's in shape and what isn't, especially with the recent storms, and the one on the horizon.

If you want something comparable to Agassiz, but without the talus, Mt. Dana is a great hike. Starts right at the Tioga Pass entrance station. Great views of the Tuolumne high country, Mono Lake. you can hike to the edge of Dana Canyon and peer down on the glacial lakes below.

Little Lakes Peak-Mt. Morgan traverse is a great 3-4th class but you'll want it free of snow and, again, I don't know what it looks like right now.

Gabriel Pramuk wrote:I am preparing a list. Get 20 routes or peaks, and do... some of them What I have done: 5.0-5.7- Temple Crag, Crystal Crag, Emerson, Bear Creek Spire, harder- PSOM slab, sport stuff in the gorge. On the list for this trip. Russel, Whitney 3rd/4th class routes, maybe traverse. Lone Pine Peak, easy 5th class ridge Laurel Peak 5.easy Maybe Crystal Crag again. ~5.7 And maybe hang out at Lover's Leap after May 30th for a couple days before driving home. Want to do stuff like: Conness Matterhorn Matthes Crest Cathedral SE Any recommendations on cool stuff that might be a little lower and snow free? Faster approaches? Or recent Beta on the "want to do" stuff? It will be my girlfriend and I. I would be leading full time. So I am not exactly looking to get on Positive vibes... yet Any long alpine routes in the Tahoe area?

A little snow might make talus treacherous...those all sound, including the above posters, sound like good options for you, conditions giving. North Peak to N Ridge Conness sounds like a good call if your partner is not leading so that you can move fast. Lots of fun, aesthetic, and great views...plus, no major talus to deal with..but someone else will have to chime in if its even accessible for cars right now. If you do NPeak/Conness traverse, I would return through a notch above WNW side of saddlebag rather than the SupperTopo way...saves a lot of time and energy. LPP, while probably in good condition, sounds like it could be an epic if you're leading everything.

Ryan-G wrote:North Peak to N Ridge Conness sounds like a good call if your partner is not leading so that you can move fast.

They tend to delay the opening of the road to Saddlebag Lake even after after Tioga Pass is open, so check first.

Sorry for the wishy washy answers. It's been a very abnormal year precip-wise.

I know. Odd year for sure. I wouldn't mind some easy mixed routes actually, as long as the snow is reasonably solid. Maybe it will get some spring freeze thaw up high after this next little cycle.

Ski season ended in Utah and it's been raining almost every day since!!

You guys are awesome though. I have some good ideas... If we can get over 108.

fossana wrote: They tend to delay the opening of the road to Saddlebag Lake even after after Tioga Pass is open, so check first.

True, that. Skiers delight, but not climbers..but unfortunately we won't be skiing Conness area this opening, even with this latest unsettled weather. Early alpine...lemons to lemonade!

How about the couloirs on North Peak? I think most guides protect these mostly with rock gear in the side walls, and then there is a few pitches of rock at the top.

or Dana Couloir?

not an ice climber so I shouldn't probably say anything...but I think the couloirs are probably in bad shape, i.e. rock fall. U looked horrendous last year

Why not E Face of Whitney?

Ryan-G wrote:not an ice climber so I shouldn't probably say anything...but I think the couloirs are probably in bad shape, i.e. rock fall. U looked horrendous last year Why not E Face of Whitney?

The couloir is likely a snow climb right now and I don't think it has been warm enough for major freeze/thaw cycles as of late. The last two years are very different in precip patterns given the last month.

Both the E Face and E Buttress are going to be in winterish condition and the E Face will be slower to melt b/c it gets less sun.

any guesses about whether the temple crag routes are "wintery" as well?

The weather has been seriously unsettled for a week+ now. I would guess that everything in the high country will be a little wintery at least.

Saddlebag road was closed as of Sunday 5/17.

I suggest looking at 3rd class scrambling routes that you will be comfortable with if there is snow on route, and plan for approaches with plenty of mud and sloppy snow.

I thought the recent precip didn't impact the the south/central/east sierra as much. might have to change my climbing plans. if it did dump, not sure i would want to climb a colouir anyway since its probably sitting on ice, unconsolidated, and the weather is supposed to warm up nicely next week. Someone post a photo?!

I posted some Sierra pics from yesterday on this thread.