Some time to Climb

So, my work on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" wrapped up in the middle of July and I have decided to take this time between jobs and rectify the mistake that I felt most keenly from last summer. Namely that I did not get out into the mountains enough. I saw pictures of a friend of mine climbing some of the California 14ers (mountains over 14,000' of elevation) as early as May and June in this high snow year, and I decided I had no more excuses.

The thing that most prevented me from getting up into the mountains last summer was a desire to avoid heading up solo. I don't have tons of backcountry partners, and this limited my options. This year I resolved to head out to the peaks regardless, and seeing a friend rapidly knocking off 14ers gave me some inspiration. I decided to do more peak scrambling than just mountain wandering, and not knowing where to start I found a few lists to help me set some goals.

Solo peak scrambling is slightly more dangerous should an accident occur, but having a partner rarely prevents accidents and it would be a rare partner indeed that could move you to a position of safety and go summon help in time to do any good should you be so seriously injured that you could not help yourself. But these types of climbs rarely involve a rope and sometimes loose rock makes your partner even more of a danger than the mountain.

When scrambling solo you can move at your own pace and pick your own path. You have no one to blame or resent should you not make your summit, you can push yourself as hard as you like, rest for as long as you want, change goals, or routes on a whim. You are free. Also you are free of companionship, mental and emotional support, a second set of eyes to find the correct route, and someone to take pictures of you doing something awesome. When you go solo you are alone with all the advantages and disadvantages of that simple state.

From 2011-07-26 Tyndall & Williamson

The first list I used to form some peak scrambling goals is the 14ers. In California, 12 mountains top 14,000 feet, and three other peaks get honorary membership in the club despite not meeting the requirements of being a real independent mountain. Before this summer I had already climbed 5 of those peaks (Langley, Whitney, Muir, Split and North Palisade). My first target peaks for adding check marks to my list were Williamson and Tyndall. These two peaks lie barely a mile apart on the Sierra Crest just west of Independence, CA.

Afterwards, as the weather started to get warmer, I realized that if I were to have a chance at good snow conditions in the Palisade region I needed to get up there as soon as possible. There are 5 14ers located around the Palisade Glacier in the mountains west of Big Pine, CA and my plan was climb to the 4 summits I had not been to before.

My next two posts will be detailed trip reports on my two solo trips to the Sierra to climb 7 of California's 14ers.