BETA PHOTO: The Y Couloir the approach trail on 7/7/02. You ca...
Description
One of the most beautiful mountains in the park. the SE face of Ypsilon Mountain is one of the only steep faces in the Mummy Range and is guaranteed to be an escape from the crowds. This 2000 ft face is bordered by ridges on either side forming its own awesome cirque. The left side of the cirque is Donner Ridge, a nice 4th-class hike. The right side is the classic Blitzen Ridge. 5.4 to 5.7? The center of the cirque, the Y Couloirs are reserved for the alpinists. These couloirs hold the remote RMNP alpine experience.
Descent for all Ypsilon routes- either run down the backside to the trail head on Fall River Road (provided it's open). 2nd choice, descend Donner Ridge, or into the cirque between Ypsilon and Chiquita and back to Ypsilon Lake.
Getting There
Approach- find the Lawn Lake trail head and trudge on up to Ypsilon Lake. From there take a less obvious trail NW and try to find Spectacle Lakes (a great place to be!). From here the Y Couloirs are straight ahead in the middle of the face. Donner is to the left and Blitzen is to the right.
Thanks to its beautiful rock and wild position in a wilderness setting, Blitzen Ridge is perhaps the best ridge climb in the Park.Don't be fooled by the 5.4 rating. When planning for this route, keep in mind that you'll be climbing a rather commiting, lightning prone ridge which is blind to approaching storms. Soloists in good alpine shape should find themselves on top of Ypsilon by late morning. Roped parties must take extra care to move fast a...[more]
Ypsilon Mountain
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