Bloody Mountain / Red Slate Mountain
Ascents of Bloody Mountain (Northeast Ridge, class 2) and Red Slate Mountain (West slopes from Gemini Pass, class 2), June 10-11, 2016
Timeline:
June 10, 2016. I started driving up the rough road to Laurel Lakes at 9:00 am. The drive was uneventful. I stopped shortly before a snow drift blocking the road a few hundred feet before the trailhead, and started hiking at 10:07 am. I reached the saddle between Laurel Mountain and Bloody Mountain at 11:11 am, dropped my pack and started up the Northeast Ridge. This is a long ridge but a very easy climb – barely class 2 in my view. There is a use trail, mostly on the right (north) side of the ridge, almost all the way to the top. Lots of false summits. After a lunch stop on the way, I arrived on the summit at 13:14, under very heavy winds and iffy weather moving in. I was back at the saddle at 14:28, and proceeded toward Lake Dorothy, which I reached at 17:21. There was pretty continuous snow coverage above that, and the lake was still half frozen. But I sought a higher camp, so made my way painfully toward Bighorn Lake, where I set up camp at 18:30 (an 8:23 hour day).
June 11, 2016. Weather looked mixed from the start on this day, but I went anyway. I departed camp at 8:00 am seeking to make my way up to Gemini Pass over North facing snow slopes that lead there (this makes this climb class 2). Conditions were perfect for crampons, with hard packed frozen snow. I reached the west slopes of Red Slate Mountain at 9:55 under worsening weather. It was very windy, with heavy clouds gathering over neighboring peaks. Red Slate seemed spared for now, and there was no sign of thunder, so I continued, reaching the summit at 10:45. It started to snow as I reached the summit. The very top was still covered by a snow drift, and I did not dig around for the summit register. After taking a few pictures, I started my descent under a full-blown blizzard, with limited visibility at times. I was back at Lake Wit-So-Nah-Pah at 12:50, and after a short lunch break, back in camp at 13:26 under pouring rain. I had to spend the entire afternoon in the tent, on account of the weather. Rain turned to hail, sleet and, during that long night, finally to snow (a 5:26 hour day).
June 12, 2016. I woke up in the middle of winter, with about 3 inches of accumulation on the ground and my tent bent into a strange shape by the weight of the wet snow. Fearing that it would continue to snow and that I would have to posthole my way back without being able to discern the trail, I decided to depart early. I got up at 5:25 and after a cup of coffee left camp at 6:25. Most of what I packed was wet. It continued to snow continuously for much of the morning. I reached the stream crossing at the far end of Lake Genevieve at 8:50 and cautiously crawled over the snow-covered logs spanning the outlet. I then proceeded up the slopes leading to the dry lakebed Northeast of Bloody Mountain. This is quite a unique location – a high desert two days before, now a winter landscape. I paused for a cereal bar and pushed on to the Laurel-Bloody saddle, which I reached at 11:05 am. From there the descent back to the road was quick, and I reached my car at 11:45, finding that my tires were still inflated (a relief). The road was wet but free of snow, although my windshield was snow covered. By then the temps had risen and the snow started to melt fast. I don’t think this storm’s accumulation will remain for much more than a couple of days. I was back at Sherwin Creek road at 12:55 and back home in Mammoth moments later (a 5:20 hour day).