Mount Gilbert / Mount Johnson
Ascents of Mount Gilbert (Southeast Slope, class 2) and Mount Johnson (North Ridge, class 3), July 18, 2019.
Timeline:
July 18, 2019. I woke up later than planned (6:30) and left the house at 7:36. I started hiking from South Lake at 8:53, making excellent time to the main Treasure Lake (9:52). Maybe the abundant mosquitos provided the incentives to speed up. I then continued on to the higher Treasure Lakes, which were still mostly frozen (one stream crossing required that I take off my shoes). The climb to Treasure Col was easy, helped by fresh steps that someone had been kind enough to make earlier that day. I was there at 11:49. After that things got quite a bit slower. I tried to stay high after the col to avoid losing elevation on the way to the SE slope of Mount Gilbert. That turned out to be a bad idea, as it cliffs out. It is best to come down about 400 feet and aim for grassy benches at the start of the route. I found the Southeast Slope of Mount Gilbert to be quite tedious, but that was more than made up for by the views, which were outstanding (especially toward the Black Divide, to the SW). I was on the summit at 13:30, had lunch, and departed at 14:00.
Fueled by a smoked turkey sandwich, the descent went better. I was back at Treasure Col at 15:09, and then the real fun began. The North Ridge (or Northwest Ridge, depending on who you ask) of Mount Johnson is a fun class 3 scramble. It begins on steep blocky talus (class 3, some loose blocks) and gets better and better as one goes up. At one point a steep gendarme blocks the way and it is necessary to contour it to the right (west) – with big exposure. After that, the upper portion of the climb is superb – solid rock, a narrow, exposed ridge, and even a catwalk just before the summit. The ridge is steep but the movement is easy, leading to a neat summit with a narrow summit block. I was on the summit of Mount Johnson at 16:11. To my surprise, two other people had been there the same day – I never saw them, maybe because I started late or maybe because I went up Mount Gilbert first. I spent a bit of time on top, and left after about 20 minutes. The descent is a steep chute on the SE side of the mountain. The chute was filled with snow, so I descended the class 3 rock on the (skier's) left side. This was uneventful, I was back at the uppermost Treasure Lake at 17:34, and took a break there. After that, it was an easy hike back to the car, although the mosquitos made it at times very unpleasant (thankfully, I had brought the Deet). I was back at the car at 19:39 and back home in Mammoth at 20:50. (A 10:46 hour day, 11.6 miles, 5,500 feet of elevation gain).