Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Williamson

Hi folks,

Wondering if anyone out there has climbed Mt. Williamson and if so, how does the upper cleft section compare with the route up Mt. Muir, as that is the last peak I climbed this past summer. Are there plenty of hand and foot holds avaliable?
Is a rope necessary? I'm fairly comfortable on class 3 rock.

Also, looking for a climbing partner for this trip. Might as well do Tydall as well while were up there!

Thanks,


Phil

Which route and time of the year are you planning to do the two? I assume the long slog up to Shepherd Pass? Winter climb of both would be fun!

If you mean the west side route, the top portion isn't that bad. Good hand-holds and foot holds. Climbed up and down without a rope.

Yes, it would be the West Face, probably in june or early july.
Sorry about that, should have mentioned that I was planning a summer climb. Probably be by way of Shepherd Pass. I have heard
the George Creek route involves a lot of bushwacking.

Thanks for the pictures, gives me a better idea of what it's like. What month of the year were you up there?


Phil

Hiya, Phil! Here's a link to my pics from our trip up Big Willie last Memorial Day. Remember, it was a REALLY low snow year. It was by far one of the most memorable and beautiful trips of the year. Except for a little ice on the initial move into the final chimney, and traversing a relatively small snowfield just under the lip of Shepherd's Pass, it wasn't bad. Toughest part was perhaps crossing the Williamson Bowl.

My trip report is here.

Good luck!!
-Laura

Hey Phil,

I've secured a permit for 6 people for this exact trip. I will be posting the hike on outdoorsclub.org. I have planned your exact idea of summiting both Williamson and Tyndall. Let me know if you want to be added to the list. It's over the July 4th weekend.....

Jeff,

What is the entry and exit date of your permit so I can check my school schedule?


Phil

Thanks for the info and great pictures Moosie!


phil

Hi Phil.

I climbed Williamson via the West Face route on the summer solstice in 1991. That year the chute was completely filled with HARD packed snow making it a slow climb up the right hand margin of the chute. No axe or crampons made the climb a little more exciting. The 3rd. class section at the top, IMHO, was easier with a little snow on it than the 3rd. class section on Muir, which was dry when I climbed it.
Hope this helps and hope you have a nice climb.

BTW- I thought the decent of the NW Rib on Mt. Tyndall the following day was more difficult than both routes mentioned above but it was the conditions that made it so; wet, gravelly and some loose snow.

David Trujillo

Hi Phil,

I'll post the response tomorrow. Permit is at home on my frig, and i'm in my dungeon at work right now. I'm almost positive it's from July 3rd to July 6th.

Kevin good idea! Are you going to lead us? Sounds like you are thinking of guiding us!!!

Bullet, did you ski the Bairs Creek Cirque on your descent? The few Williamson ski tr's I've read involve ascending and descending the Bairs Creek drainage. The West face route over Shep's pass seems like it would be an easier ascent, despite having to cross the bowl. I guess you would have to arrange for a vehicle shuttle. Did you post a TR for this trip?

End of May 05 was when I did that trip. We camped up in the sunlight on the Tyndall plateau.

While I scraped caked on skin glue off of my bases, Dave skied the upper step of the Giant's Steps Coulior. Then he and I climbed on to the summit.

Once there, we skied off the summit over to the North Couloir. We were thinking of skiing it down into Williamson creek but the upper section was melted out.

We climbed back up to the West side notch and skied down the West side route into Williamson Bowl. It was really, really good skiing.

This first pic was up in the west route chute.



The next pic was lower down in the bowl. We came down the finger of snow going diagonally to the left of the frame.


The next day we skied Tyndall's East Couloir.

Yes, I posted a TR on another site - but I had a smugmug account that I let lapse. All my pictures were erased. I just uploaded these two to a photobucket account to answer Phil's question.

Ah, it's not so bad..........





We didn't get much past the last picture. We had a member of the party develop severe leg cramps and called it a day.

Ah ... George Creek ... no one should miss this pleasurable route.

Gives me an excuse to carry a machete...

Hey BobR, Williamson via Bair's Creek & East Ridge is probably one of my favorite winter climbs in the Sierra.

Here we are approaching the Headwall.


Camp around 10K


On the East Ridge with Summit in the background


View of Owen Valley & the Whites during sunset

I've attempted Williamson twice, once from George Cr., and once from Bair's Cr.

George is a wonderful climb above the brush, which is bad but navigable. Truly remote and isolated. Missed the summit by 500 or so feet, hit my turnaround time. Partner made it, though.

Bair's is a magical place. I knew nothing about it, until a read a TR of Bob R's trip! It really captured my imagination. Lost the summit this time due to a heavy snowfall hitting us. Got stuck in a tent for a day, watching the slopes above us, with my partners Renat and Jim Clement (owner of Vermillion Valley Resort). This route is an amazing area for xc skiing. I could not believe that there were no tracks up there. Isolated, remote, feels like 100 years ago.

I've noticed that since Bob's trip, there has been a lot more interest in the route the last 10 years, whereas before, I think it was a "local's secret"
http://angeles.sierraclub.org/sps/archives/sps00098.htm

Your photo brings back memories, Kevin!

Beautiful stuff. It's now on the list.