Possible Winter Climbs
Some knar routes:
The Northeast Ridge of Williamson. Would undoubtedly be an epic ordeal. I have heard it could be Grade VI in winter. Checks in with Himalayan proportions:
Trail Head to Summit: 8000 feet
Total climbing vertical: 11,000 feet
Round Trip: 25 miles
Darkstar, Temple Crag, Grade V, 5.10c. My sick and devilish obsession.
Other possibilities:
East Face of Whitney, Grade III, 5.6
Full Northeast Ridge of Lone Pine Peak, Grade V, 5.6
East Arete of Mount Humphreys, Grade III, 5.4
Training:
Tahquitz would be a good place to start working on winter climbing techniques.
Cardinal Pinnacle has an easy route that goes at 5.6 for five or so pitches that apparently makes for a nice mixed route under winter conditions.
Climbing Techniques:
Coming up with hauling sytems and quick aiding techniques will enable some of the bigger routes to go. The key to success is to climb at much as possible in boots and gloves which is not easy. Often, the second may jug difficult sections to avoid changing footwear. All of this takes time to get your systems running smooth. Learning in the mountains is not going to be the best idea. Working on some of this stuff locally will be essential.
Posted in Winter Club | 8 Comments
Share
Good post Charles…
The northeast ridge of Williamson is a sick proposition.
Doing some of the “easier” ridge climbs like the north-east ridge of LPP first is obviously a good idea.
Yes, good post charles. However I am afraid I am a sport climber now.
Your tufa pinching friend,
Shay
Shay: Welcome to the dark side.
Why don’t you guys commit and get some spandex and stop being posers.
Yeah, changing shoes is a huge time-waster.
I’m very slowly getting psyched for dark star in winter…
Kostas and I will be attempting the Northeast Ridge of Williamson between January 11th and 21th. Going to try and get it done in under 48 hours. According to climatological data, mid-January will offer the coldest temperatures of the year!
P=G
Got this from a summitpost.com thread (posted by Alois):
Possible winter climbs:
Whitney- East Face, East Buttress.
Humphrey’s East Ridge, Regular Route
Ski to Toulumne, climb Cathedral Peak and many others (late winter)
Several possibilities on Lone Pine Peak
Mallory, Irvine, LeConte, several routes
Williamson via George Creek (on skis) about 10,000 feet gain
Swiss Arete on Sill
East Ridge of Russell
South Face of Charlotte Dome (great ski in)
Regular route on North Palisade
Underhill Couloirs on Thunderbolt
Regular route on Split
If it’s a summer mid 5th class ridge, it can be done in the winter.
Anybody heard of this trick? 100mg’s of Niacin forces blood out of your core and into your extremities….. keep your fingers and feet warm to facilitate free-climbing in cold and wind?
Leave a Reply