7/5/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 7/5/2023, By: Chrisfish25 Info: Went up south slopes from Killpacker. No snow until up in the basin about 4.5 miles in. Several big patches up snow going up to the ridge. You can get onto rock about half way up if you want to avoid the snow, just loose class 3. There was a couple patches below the Organ Pipes (nothing like winter thank god) Once up on the ridge in the notch before the summit we went ridge proper to the summit instead of wrapping around the north face. A couple of steep snow patches we would rather not deal with and ridge proper is fun. We didnt traverse to Wilson, long story. But I went across the Organ Pipes and up and over the low class 5 Gendarme to scout the sections for record attempt soon. Organ Pipes are fast, I think traversing below the Gendarme face is probably faster than up and over it. Below the gendarme (lower traverse than ridge proper) are a couple of snow patches still. From what I could see past that, the rest of the traverse is dry. Wilson Peak looked completely dry in the distance. Good day! |
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6/24/2023 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 6/25/2023, By: Brandon0135 Info: Snow starts becoming a factor about 4.5 miles in. I brought snow shoes but didn't ever put them on. On the way down there was some post holing. Ice axe and crampons are an absolute necessity. The traverse along the ridge was pretty sketcy with steep snow slopes over cliffs. After the cross over is where it got really bad. I highly recomend climbing up on the true ridge shortly after the cross over. It's technically off route but was way safer and faster than traversing the snow walls. |
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5/9/2023 Route: Luttrell Line Posted On: 5/10/2023, By: Kya Cav Info: El Diente Luttrell Line: 5/9/23. Drivable to about 9,700 feet then started skinning about 1/4 mile further. Will likely be melted out up to 10,000 ft road intersection within a week. Skied pow off the summit around 9:45 and crossed the Fox soon after. Perfect timing for that upper section. Bottom half of the NW couloir was still very frozen. Would have take a few more hours to soften up. Great coverage throughout the route. |
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2/20/2023 Route: Mt. Wilson and El Diente Traverse Posted On: 2/22/2023, By: Chrisfish25 Info: I went in from rock of ages. Up the Mt Wilson north slopes. The final scramble to the summit wasn't horrible. Although there was a good bit of snow. From there I traversed over to El Diente. The traverse had a ton of snow & was a lot of work to get across. It took me 4.5 hours. Staying ridge proper the entire way would've been a better solution to how much work I put in. I carried a 30 m rope in case I needed to rappel. I didn't. But had I stayed ridge proper I would've. I skied the north face of el Diente down & back over rock of ages & out. Great day up high. |
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10/4/2022 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 10/6/2022, By: Sail3733 Info: Very muddy and wet below 11k. Bring change of socks/boots bc a fair amount of snow above 11k and toes can freeze. freeze-thaw conditions bw the high & low temps. After 11.5k post-holing up to the trail junction at 12.6k b/w Mt. Wilson and ED. South side of ED appeared pretty clear above 13k but I turned back. Posts from a few weeks ago say the snow and ice on the North side of the ridge route are "bullet proof" and need crampons and ax. |
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9/25/2022 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 9/25/2022, By: ryansunshine20 Info: Clear of snow until going over the the north side where we ran into bulletproof snow/ice that turned us around. Couldn't get any purchase with our spikes and we knew clouds were rolling in around 1 so decided to not wait and see if it would soften up any. I think crampons would have worked to cross that section. |
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9/18/2022 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 9/20/2022, By: carlycaprio Info: South slopes are dry, north slopes are iced and snowed out. We were going for the North Buttress but decided against it and packed over to Kilpacker. South slopes were dry, steep, and confusing at times but overall doable. Only sketchy part was when we reached the saddle and switched over to the north (snowy) side for the remaining 300 ft pitch to the summit. With no traction or ice axe, we held tightly to good hand holds. We made it through but I don't recommend it without snow gear. Traverse was in good shape - no snow except on the north side sections. |
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9/17/2022 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 9/18/2022, By: scvaughn Info: Dry conditions on most of the route, but there is some snow and ice above 13,700'. I summited with microspikes, but decided against the traverse. Much of the ice was avoidable, but not all of it. |
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9/4/2022 Route: North Buttress Posted On: 9/6/2022, By: E_A_Marcus_949 Info: North Buttress is a great route. Mostly solid rock, though check holds per usual in this basin. Great alternative to standard and fairly straight forward, just know the route as cairns are sparse. |
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7/22/2022 Route: North Slopes Posted On: 7/24/2022, By: Dignus Info: I climbed the North Buttress but this is just to emphasize that the North Slopes should not be climbed now. Several large rockslides occurred from climbers above as I neared the ridge and a hit would likely be fatal, even with a helmet. As for the buttress, super fun and fairly straight forward. If anyone is up for a scavenger hunt I lost the bite valve to my camelbak about 2/3rds of the way up. Happy hunting! |
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7/16/2022 Route: North Buttress Posted On: 7/17/2022, By: van_w Info: North buttress and traverse to Mt. Wilson are dry as can be. |
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7/9/2022 Route: North Buttress Posted On: 7/10/2022, By: b_esker Info: N Buttress and traverse to Mt. Wilson both snow free. Full summer conditions. Very buggy down at camp (Navajo lake). |
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7/2/2022 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 7/4/2022, By: durkan Info: Avoidable snow from Kilpacker TH; traction not needed. Ripe for the picking. Had some bigger looser rocks shift so be cautious. Weather prevented a traverse attempt with our party. |
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6/17/2022 Route: Mt. Wilson and El Diente Traverse Posted On: 6/18/2022, By: goldenrad Info: Agree with jlohmann's report. There was a snow field before the red rib that I used crampons, just for comfort, but it wasn't necessary. I brought them because of the traverse. The traverse is dry! The descent down Mt. Wilson's Southwest slopes still has snow which provided a quick glissade down with some questionable weather moving in. |
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6/16/2022 Route: South Slopes Posted On: 6/17/2022, By: jlohmann Info: Summer conditions. A few snow patches. Easily crossed. While I did not cross the traverse to Mt Wilson, both looked dry. |
