Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board mid pal, switzerland, mt sill

Scott, Jared, and I arrived at the Glacier Lodge trail head at 1:30 am last Friday morning. We set up our bivies in the parking lot and crashed for the night. I set up in front of the Jeep so cars wouldn't run me over, but i was a little close to the bear locker. In the middle of my deep sleep i heard what i thought was a bear rustling with the locker. It woke me from my deep sleep. It freaked me out a little, but at the same time i didn't feel much like moving. I finally heard a car door close and was releived. I wasn't going to be eaten by a bear after all.
After resting for a while i heard Scott's voice. Its time to go guys. We threw our packs together, turned on our headlamps and away we went. I was leading at a leasurely pace. I do this to conserve energy.
The first part of the South Fork trail takes you over a bridge crossing 1st falls the water crashing down the slope and rock bed. From here you travel across what i call a meadow, which is not really meadow, it is huge valley floor. The trail goes for a mile or 2 through this section.
Nearing the end of this my new friend, Jared the eccentric painter architect rock climber who i met at the top of the mozart wall at stoney point, and it was at that moment we spontaneously planned this very trip, and its great when things work out with such great precision. Anyways it was at this point that Jared decided to pull into the lead and he tore into the switch backs up to willow lake. Jared was going so fast i thought he was going to kill us. What a freak of nature. Scott and I just kind of sucked it and went along with him. I had to keep up with the new guy, and besides this would save time. So we buzzed up beside Willow Lake, and up to Brainard Lake. The trail takes you up the right side of Brainard, and up a steep use trail to Finger Lake. We stopped and filled our water containers. We stopped for a moment and just stared at Finger Lake in amazement. Jared commented that this view energized him. I couldn't disagree. At this point you go on the right side of Finger lake up along the tree line. After you pass the lake you go right up a rock gulley and short snow chute, and you end up at a tarn above. We took a break here. Scott and Jared took a nap here. bums. I told Scott i was going to keep moving, and that i would go slow so they could catch up.
At this point you head up some scree to the top of the morraine. I waited for them here. They caught up and we made our way to the bottom of the peak.
Jared and I had a huddle. Scott threw in the towel, the altitude was getting the best of him. We picked the Secor route, and i was adamant about heading left at the very top of the chute, because the peak is very deceptive.
I started left angling up the glacier for 50-100 ft. Jared went on the rock along the mote. To my amazement Scott regained himself and showing much tenacity began to follow my path along the glacier. Scott was making some kind of strange come back like a prize fighter rising from a knock down, and fighting his way back to victory. Scott and I took a chimney up and followed a ramp up to the Secor chute. We stopped and waited for Jared there. He disappeared for a while, as he decided to climb some class 5 climbing and met up with us at the top of the ramp.
We started climbing the chute and I barked out some orders to stay with in 10ft of one another so when we kicked rocks down on one another they wouldn't hurt as much. Off we went up the class 3 section. What a blast. Lots of shelves and chimneys all the way up and its endless, a scramblers dream.
All the way Jared was chatting with Scott. I was concentrating the whole time, and thinking how can they be chatting at a time like this. It was clear to me they were in their glory. Jared was saying how blessed he was, what a freak, hallelujah. i mean freak in a good way. And i am thinking hell, yeh.
At the top Scott wanted to go right, but i was adamant about going left as it is deceptive. We made some class 5 moves and we were on top of the world. The best view in the Sierra's, better than Sill. We celebrated signed the register, and made our way down. Scott practically ran down the mountain a head of us. I didn't see him for the rest of the day. Jared i stuck together for the down climb. Jared was still excitedly talking the whole way down and I told him i was going to ease up a little once we got off the peak and out of harms way.
Half way down the morraine Jared and I celebrated a little more and congratulated each other on an awsome accomplishment. I told him i was going to write a controversial trip report comparing this to Switzerland. Jared replied by pointing to the south profile of Mt. Sill and said " Why did the Swiss have to model the Matterhorn after Mt. Sill?" I looked over at Sill and its true only Sill is better. And we busted out laughing. I looked in the other direction and saw the crack up the thumb and I kept thinking that would be more knarly to climb than the Eiger! Ha! And really Mid Pal has the best view in the Sierra's, a Scramblers Dream.
On the way down we were beginning to hurt a little, and it got worse as time wore on. Jared said he wouldn't have it any other way. We had to work for this one. No chair lift over the morraine. We did it all under our own power.
We reversed the trail and the switch backs seemed twice as long on the way down, but we finally made it back to the Jeep, and once again we revelled in our glory.
Just another day in Paradise, better than Switzerland.

I've heard the route finding is tough on this mountain. It doesn't sound like you guys had a hard time. You didn't mention if you used ropes on this. With class 5 I'm sure you did.

hi gimp. you heard correct the route finding is tough. this is a quick summary of events. if you need beta on the route let me know. no rope on the class 5. Scott is a former rock climber, i like to boulder, and Jared is a 5.8 rock climber.

Soloscrambler, your message makes it sound like a class 5 climb.

If hikers follow the correct route, Middle Palisade is a Class 3 climb. I've climbed it twice, and it is really a fun climb.

steve c. i am not trying to make it sound like a class 5 climb. i wrote that it is a approx. 1000ft of scrambling up a chute. And at the top the route we took had a few class 5 moves.
excuse any misunderstandings.

On the Middle Pal summit block.


I'd have to agree with you. Incredibly fun climbing, although Mike has a tendency to disagree. (He might be biased by the fact that a grapefruit size rock was heading for his head about half-way up the climb.)



Awesome views to the rest of the Palisades! (In spite of the fact that there was a lot of smoke in the air.)


A few minutes after this photo was taken, we saw a pair doing their summit pose on Norman Clyde.

Photos.