Lion Rock / Triple Divide Peak / Whaleback / Glacier Ridge
Ascents of Lion Rock (West Ridge, class 3), Triple Divide Peak (West Ridge from Lion Lake Pass, class 3), Whaleback (Jonah's Joy / Eckert's Route, class 3), and Glacier Ridge (from Cloud Canyon, class 4), with René Renteria, June 17-21, 2024.
Timeline:
June 17, 2024: Approach from Wolverton Trailhead to Buck Creek Camp. The plan had been to meet René at 16:00 at the Lodgepole campground on the day before our entry date so that we could get an early start on June 17, given the long approach that we faced. But I was unexpectedly delayed and could only leave LA in the late morning of our entry day. This delay would compress our schedule for the rest of the week. I met René at the Wolverton parking lot, where we had agreed to start our approach. This was a bit shorter, but involved significantly more elevation gain, than starting on the High Sierra Trail at Crescent Meadow, something we had both already done (in my case twice). We wanted to experience a different approach, but we would come to regret this decision, especially on the last day of the trip. Indeed, on the trail we met the ranger who had delivered our permit to René the day before, and upon describing our plans to her she seemed puzzled by our choice of trailhead. We would later understand why – the Wolverton start involves about 1,500 feet of extra elevation gain compared to the HST, which stays flat for practically the entire 15 miles that separate Crescent Meadow from Bearpaw Meadow. At any rate, off we went at 16:43, up to Panther Gap, down the Sevenmile Trail to its junction with the HST, and on to the hikers’ camp at Buck Creek. This was almost a 10 mile hike, and with our heavy packs it took us a bit over four hours, the last of these by headlamp. There were a couple of tents, their occupants already in bed, but we found a good site not far from the bear box and had dinner before calling it a day. (A 4:14 hour day, 4:00 hours moving, 9.76 miles, 2,145 feet of elevation gain).
June 18, 2024: Approach to Tamarack Lake and ascent of Lion Rock. The next morning saw us leave camp at 8:02. We anticipated a long day, because our amended plan called not only for finishing our approach that day, but also for an ascent of Lion Rock. We hiked to Bearpaw Meadow a short distance away, where we caught the trail to Tamarack Lake. This gave us great views of Hamilton Dome and the High Sierra Trail. The trail petered out in some swampy meadows before Tamarack Lake. We skirted the lake on its left (north) side, up granite slabs, to a wooded area and flat meadow just above, with convenient streams for water. This seemed like a good place to set up camp, close enough to the base of the West Ridge of Lion Rock. So after over four hours of hiking, we pitched our tent and then set out for our climb after a quick lunch, at 12:29. Secor advertises an abandoned trail between Tamarack Lake and Lion Lake, but its vestiges are faint at best. We went up endless steep and swampy chutes and ledges till we caught a convenient snowfield in the bowl between the twin west ridges of Lion Rock (on this hike it is best to stick to the climber’s right side of the drainage). The going was easier on the snow, and we were soon able to crest the right-side ridge to begin the climb in earnest. This consisted mostly of class 2 talus, not too steep, until the final portion where a few class 3 moves brought us to the summit of Lion Rock at 17:42. We enjoyed the evening light on the Kaweah Range and the Great Western Divide. We descended the same way but chose a line closer to the center of the main drainage in the lower portion above camp, which was not a good idea as it was steep, wet, and slippery. The last bit had to be done by headlamp, and we had to rely on my GPS trace to find our camp in the trees. We finally stumbled into camp at 20:46. After another late dinner, we went to bed. (A 12:36 hour day, 10:53 hours moving, 9.21 miles, 5,683 feet of elevation gain).
June 19, 2024: Approach to Lion Lake and ascent of Triple Divide Peak. At breakfast we were greeted in camp by a female deer, unconcerned by our presence. We packed up camp and left at 9:19 to move as high as we could in range of the three peaks that we planned to climb over the next few days – Triple Divide Peak, Whaleback and Glacier Ridge. With full packs, re-ascending the drainage between Tamarack Lake and Lion Lake took about three hours. To give us enough time to climb Triple Divide Peak this day, we decided to make Lion Lake our base for the next three days, despite the obvious drawback that we were camped on the southern side of Lion Lake Pass, and therefore not in Cloud Canyon proper. This would greatly lengthen our following two days. But the basecamp would at least provide a convenient starting point for Triple Divide Peak (for Whaleback and Glacier Ridge, it would have been better to be camped somewhere in upper Cloud Canyon). We dropped our packs at Lion Lake, had lunch, and headed in a diagonal traversing line for Lion Lake Pass. There was a steep snowfield near the top that gave us food for thought but that turned out not to be a big hindrance. We reached the base of the West Ridge of Triple Divide Peak at 13:50, and started up the climb. Descriptions of this route call for climbing the ridge, bypassing difficulties on its left (north) side. But the northern aspect of Triple Divide Peak was still full of snow, covering the easier bits that bypass the steep portions of the ridge, so the climb turned out to be a bit harder than advertised (a few class 4 moves). The view from the summit, though, did not disappoint, spanning from the Brewer Group to the Kaweah Range, with magnificent views of Cloud Canyon below and of the Kern-Kaweah drainage to the east. To descend, we retraced our steps down the ridge but, at a critical point, moved to the southern side of the ridge rather than the northern side as the book advises. This afforded a much easier bypass of the difficulties, down loose class 2 terrain, until we could regain the ridge proper and then Lion Lake Pass. We were back at our packs at 19:00 and found a nice campsite (though a little exposed to the wind) west of the lake, near its outlet. We had a big dinner, played cards, and drank some Tennessee whiskey that had recently been gifted to me - a bottle of Jacob's Pardon that really packed a punch and sweetened our evenings during the whole trip. (A 9:49 hour day, 8:08 hours moving, 2.76 miles, 2,236 feet of elevation gain).
June 20, 2024: Ascent of Whaleback. This day was the highlight of the trip. We left camp at 7:17 and hiked back up to Lion Lake Pass. We then descended for about 1,500 feet on the northern side of the pass, into Cloud Canyon. This is a perfectly U--shaped glacial valley, remote, wild and untouched. We tried to stay high to approach the base of the West Face of Whaleback. This was a mistake as steep slabs forced us down toward the bottom of the canyon (where we left our crampons and ice axes) before we could climb back up, on grassy slopes, toward the start of the climb. We closely followed Steve Eckert's description of the route, which proved helpful. The route is nothing short of miraculous as it seems at many junctures that some obstacle will stop progress, but there is always a way around these obstacles. The route goes up cracks in some granite slabs that create convenient ledges to make progress on steep terrain. One then reaches a sort of bowl that needs to be traversed right toward a cirque, but a steep cliff seems to block access. However, a diagonal ascending ledge provides an easy way to surmount the cliff. Once at the top, a steep class 3 step drops the climber into the broad and loose class 2 cirque that leads, on the left, to the famous "blowhole", a sort of tunnel in the cliff leading to a series of steep chutes. One then climbs these chutes in succession, bypassing the occasional chockstone by climbing class 3 rock on either side. The last obstacle is a big chockstone that is bypassed on the right up steep rock (this is rated class 3, but seemed on the stiff side for class 3). A short and easy scramble leads to Whaleback's summit from there. Since the peak was carved by a glacier on two sides - much like Matthes Crest - the summit has an airy feel and offers great views. The view east toward the Great Western Divide is particularly spectacular, as Whaleback lies just at the base of this great escarpment. We reached the summit at 13:55 but did not linger long as we expected a long return to camp, since we had to re-ascend Lion Lake Pass. We greatly enjoyed hiking through upper Cloud Canyon, spectacular with waterfalls, water-carved canyons, and general Sierra gorgeousness. It took a while to get back to camp, which was reached at 19:57 (A 12:40 hour day, 10:49 hours moving, 7.60 miles, 4,164 feet of elevation gain).
June 21, 2024: Ascent of Glacier Ridge. By the fifth day we were rather tired, and the prospect of having to go back over the pass, down on the other side, and up Glacier Ridge, as contemplated from the comfort of camp, did not appeal to either of us. But the notion that I would have to do this long and arduous approach again, just to climb a single isolated peak, was even less appealing. René was kind to indulge in this peakbagging disease of mine. So off we went, at 8:11, to return to Cloud Canyon and climb Glacier Ridge. As we got moving, we found a second wind, and the day went by without the expected degree of suffering - in fact it turned out to be a very nice day of mountaineering. It helps that the route up the peak starts on granite slabs and ledges that are quite user-friendly and straightforward. This leads, near the top, to a chute with some fun class 3 rock and finally to a summit block that is steep on all sides (rated 4th class by its easiest side). Unlike the previous three days, I was first to arrive on the summit area, and eager to put the ascent of the summit block behind me, so I barely waited for René to arrive before launching up. The block is steep but not that exposed, and the holds are excellent - easier than I had expected. After I came down, René went up, and we then sat in the shade of the summit block to have a nice lunch and sign the summit register, which dates back to 1984. The peak is infrequently climbed - about once per year: it is indeed very remote. The views are outstanding, with Mount Goddard and the Palisades to the north, the Great Western Divide to the northeast, the Whitney-Russell-Langley group to the southeast, the Kaweah Range to the south, and Alta Peak to the west. And right below the peak to the west we could see a good portion of Deadman Canyon, a place I would really like to visit someday. We stayed on top for a good while, and then retraced our steps down to Cloud Canyon, over Lion Lake Pass, reaching camp at 19:31. We enjoyed a quiet evening in camp, finishing some of our food, playing cards, and getting ready for the arduous return to the trailhead the following day. (A 11:18 hour day, 9:54 hours moving, 7.39 miles, 3,823 feet of elevation gain).
June 22, 2024: Return to Wolverton Trailhead. This day would involve 18 miles of hiking and 3,000 feet of elevation gain: while the day would take us from our camp at 10,800 feet to the trailhead at 7,200 feet, there were several uphill bits in between, not least the final ascent from the High Sierra Trail to Panther Gap. We left camp at 8:03 and were slow descending toward Tamarack Lake. There, the cross-country portion ended and trail hiking went faster. We stopped for lunch at Bearpaw Meadow around 13:00 - first trying the vicinity of the ranger station, which was crowded and without shade, then finding a shady and quiet spot at the campground. On we went for the remaining 11 miles to Wolverton, first along the High Sierra Trail, then up the Sevenmile Trail to Panther Gap, and on to the parking lot. There was a commotion there because some visitors had seen a mother bear with its cub (we saw the bear furtively walking away as we arrived at the trailhead) - a reminder to store food away in the bear lockers. We reached the cars at 18:57, just three minutes from the closing time of the grill at Lodgepole, so we missed that. We bought snacks instead, sorted our gear, and each went on our ways. This was not the end of the day for me, however. Ronald was supposed to show up in Mammoth the next day for our adventure in the Evolution region, so I had to go back to the eastside and try to get some rest. I drove to the Wuksachi Lodge to find wifi and inform the family that all was well, then drove to Fresno, on to the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, across Yosemite Valley and then east along Highway 120. At about 2:00 the next morning, I was too exhausted to continue the long drive. I stopped near Tenaya Lake, set up my bed in the back of the 4Runner, and got a few hours of sleep before completing my long journey early the next morning. René, meanwhile, was passed out in a motel room next to the highway interchange in Bakersfield, having had “the best burger ever!”, which he says every year about the first meal in civilization after nearly a week climbing peaks in the wilderness and eating candy, Pop-Tarts, freeze-dried dinners, and talus. (A 10:52 hour day, 9:21 hours moving, 18 miles, 2,964 feet of elevation gain).
Trip totals: 61:29 hours elapsed, 53:05 hours moving, 54.72 miles, 21,015 feet of elevation gain.