Tips for California 14ers

Going to try and knock out all the California 14ers in the summer of 2023. Currently reside outside of Mt. Rainier (summited all big 5 volcanoes of WA+ at least 5 north cascades summits). Any tips/advice would be greatly appreciated ! 

White Mountain can be summited on a bike .The view of the Sierra Nevada & Ancient Bristlecone Pine Groves  are grand . Have a great trip !

Shasta sucks in summer. Do it while there's snow.

unless its a deep snow year or early season, approaching the palisades from bishop pass is way nicer than from glacier lodge.  

How's your rock climbing?

Definitely do White Mountain on a bike! Preferably a full suspension. With an early start you should have the summit to yourself for 20-30 minutes. You’ll also cut hours off the descent. My bike ascent and descent might be the best cycling memory I have. Can’t recommend it enough!

Sam Bedell wrote:

How's your rock climbing?

Not as good as yours! 

climb Whitney NOT during quota season

My opinions….

Thunderbolt summit block: throw rope from east to west then TR. The standing on the shoulders thing kinda hurts

Starlight summit block: kinda scary if you’re not a good climber (I’m not) be prepared, very sketchy if wet and windy

Williamson: long approach since the trail drops 800 feet on the way up. Take 2 days

Tyndall: easiest way, drop down gulley on west side just before summit rather than staying on summit ridge

Split: east side gullies are loose, best avoided

Sill: much easier climbing from west than from east

Middle Pal: bring gps, I couldn’t find the register first time up

Whitney: do any route but the main trail

Russell: fishhook and mithril are awesome, can do east ridge coming down

White: I biked up but found the last 1/2 mile super loose, just walked that

Enjoy

Don't miss the Milk Bottle on Starlight Peak .

Some notes re Tyndall and Williamson: --

The drive to the trailhead varies from year to year. Someone could do it in a year when the road is good and tell you it's fine, but in other years you get wash-outs that you wouldn't want to attempt in a passenger sedan.

For Tyndall, I thought the route that Secor calls the North Rib (class 3) was nice. Looking at it from the ground, we though the actual crest of the rib looked pretty exposed, so we climbed the gully just to its right. Big mistake, especially with lots of pockets of snow. On the descent we did the crest of the rib, and it was super nice, not really exposed at all. There were just a bunch of big steps and ledges. People I've talked to who have done the Northwest Ridge (class 2) say it sucks.

On the same trip, we did Williamson from the bowl, the route that Secor calls West Face and describes as class 3. This is mainly a long slog up a talus chute that is not actually too loose. Then you have to do a short section of more difficult climbing to get out onto the plateau. I think we correctly identified the exit that Secor is describing, but it didn't feel like class 3 to me. It was a series of 8-12-foot walls with big ledges between them, and IIRC some chimneys. Doing it in mountaineering boots without a rope felt quite challenging to me, although all three of us made the moves without taking any falls. If you fell, you wouldn't fall to your death, you'd just fall as much as 12 feet, but you could easily break a bone.

Split Mountain is a pleasant hike from Upper Basin. Supposedly, according to Porcella and Burns--or was it Secor?--there's a Norman Clyde route on the west face. I'm not sure I ever found it, but I found a lot of slabs and ramps up shallow chimneys, sort of like canyon country. Eventually got forced around to the dull and rubbly North Slope, but at least minimized the time I had to spend there. Don't start with the standard North Slope approach from the big lake east of Mather Pass. There are many secluded places to camp farther south, east of the JMT. Skirt the southern shore of the boot-like lake at 12K and head up.

Kevan Hogan wrote:

Not as good as yours! 

Doesn't have to be, but hauling a full rack and rope for things in the Pallisades can feel like a lot. Being confident you can top out with approach shoes and a minimal rack is nice in that regard. Spend some time climbing granite slab, make sure you're comfortable with rope systems... maybe you're already there, if so please ignore.

Definitely avoid Mt Whitney during the quota season, and avoid the main trail. The Mountaineer's Route and the East Face are both much more entertaining.

Ben Crowell wrote:

Some notes re Tyndall and Williamson: --

The drive to the trailhead varies from year to year. Someone could do it in a year when the road is good and tell you it's fine, but in other years you get wash-outs that you wouldn't want to attempt in a passenger sedan.

I was just there, and did not feel comfortable driving the last part (past where they just repaired the Symmes Creek crossing) in a passenger car.  It is definitely rockier than what I remembered from several years ago.

Sam Bedell wrote:

Doesn't have to be, but hauling a full rack and rope for things in the Pallisades can feel like a lot. Being confident you can top out with approach shoes and a minimal rack is nice in that regard. Spend some time climbing granite slab, make sure you're comfortable with rope systems... maybe you're already there, if so please ignore.

That’s good to know as I’m really only well experienced on sandstone. I’ll have to seek out some granite slab !