Mount Winchell / Starlight Peak / Mount Gayley
Ascents of Mount Winchell (East Ridge, class 3), Mount Gayley (Northwest Ridge, a.k.a Yellow Brick Road, class 3), and failed ascent of Starlight Peak (Starlight Buttress, III, 5.5), June 15-18, 2016.
Timeline:
June 15, 2016. We set out on the North Fork of Big Pine Creek trail from the overnight parking lot at 10:30, hiking at a moderate pace toward Sam Mack Meadow. There were heavy winds blowing from the North and we crossed several parties who had not been able to climb due to high winds. We reached camp at the far end of Sam Mack at 16:30. That night was very windy, but the wind gradually died down as the dawn came (a 6 hour day).
June 16, 2016. We left camp at 6:30 intent on climbing Mount Winchell via its East Arête. We proceeded up to Sam Mack Lake and contoured the Thunderbolt Glacier to approach the route. We were at the base of the arête at 9:45. This is a nice class 3 arête, with an easier gully to its left. The gully was snow-filled so we stayed on the rock on the arête proper. Toward the top one is forced into the gully, which gets quite steep and exposed. A quick lateral traverse on steep terrain took us to a knife-edged ridge to the summit, which we reached at 11:20. After lunch we departed at noon, were off the arête at 13:45 and, after much glissading, reached camp at 15:18 (an 8:48 hour day).
June 17, 2016. The day's objective was Starlight Buttress but from the start we were not favorably disposed. We left camp at 6:00, made it to the base of the route at 9:00 and proceeded up what turned out to be the wrong start, not going high enough past the bergschrund into the Clyde Couloir. We really were not thinking straight, roped up too late, and did not think to look at a picture I was carrying that showed the proper start. As I said, we were just not that into it that day. After a pitch of loose 4th class in mixed snow / rock terrain (every ledge being covered in snow), we decided to bail and after two short rappels were down at the bergschrund. We proceeded to climb Mount Gayley instead of Starlight Peak. We climbed up to Glacier Notch, which we reached at 12:50. After a lunch break we started up the Yellow Brick Road up Gayley at 13:20. This is a short but enjoyable class 3 scramble on very solid rock. We were on the summit at 14:10, back at the top of the gully leading down from Glacier Notch at 15:30, and after a long glissade down the length of the glacier, reached the glacial tarn at glacier's toe at 16:25. We were back in camp at Sam Mack Meadow at 18:23, disappointed but happy to have at least reached the top of Gayley and to have spent a magnificent day on the glacier (a 12:23 hour day).
June 18, 2016. We left camp at 9:01, took a detour to see Fourth Lake, a long lunch break at Lon Chaney's old cabin, took our time enjoying the wildflowers on the lower portion of the trail, and were back at the car at 13:38 (a 4:37 hour day).