reg Posted July 21, 2005 Posted July 21, 2005 coming from the east coast 1st of sept. and wondering how the hike into the cirque is. flatlander in ok shape. how long to destination say from big sandy, lander - suggestions - any info helpful - trip reports, pic's, etc. lookin to do easy 5.2 - 5.5 on pingora. Kelsey's guide the best? Quote
chris_w Posted July 21, 2005 Posted July 21, 2005 I think the hike took us 3-4 hours and something like 5 miles. The first 3-4 miles is pretty flat till you get to a lake and then got steeper. I think the trail tops out at 10 or 11k. It's pretty high up there. We had just come off the grand teton (13K) so we were used to the altitude. I think there were a bunch of routes that were around 5.6 but I don't remember anything around 5.2. I don't have the guide book in front of me so can't be sure. I think the eastiest on Pingora was 5.6. If you do East ridge of wolfs head, be aware that if you pitch it out from top of the ramp, it's something like 12 pitches. We were under the impression that it would only be 4-5 pitches. It ended up taking us 12 hours round trip. We talked to other parties and they didn't think it would take so long either. One party got down at midnight. Here are some picture from my trip http://www.shakingleg.com/Climbing/US/Wyoming/Wyoming.htm Quote
forrest_m Posted July 21, 2005 Posted July 21, 2005 drive to trailhead is about 4-5 hours from jackson, looks like about the same from lander. we did the hike to big sandy lake at night after arriving at the trailhead late, might suit you if you are flying in that day. easy night hike, as it is flat and boring. got up the next morning, hiked the rest of the way in and did the e. ridge of wolfshead. wolf's head is one of the coolest 5.4 routes of all time, but not a great route for total beginners because of all the traversing. looking down 1st ridge pitch of wolfshead, you can see Mark if you look carefully... i think the se buttress on pingora (? standard descent route) is the easiest route on that peak at 5.6. most of the moderate routes in the cirque are at least 5.6-5.8. it's the right skyline in the photo above on pingora. north east face of pingora (the route in 50 Classics) thunderheads over warrior peaks. be prepared for daily lightning spectacular Quote
griz Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 Only thing I'll add is to take a cross country short cut along the western side of Arrowhead Lake. The actual trail/rte on the map around the Jackass Pass area is a pain in the ass, it takes you up higher than needed, through rough terrain and can be hard to follow at points for some. Angle off the trail towards War Bonnet and Warrior 1, hike through the meadow/cool boulder field that's a boulder's dream towards Arrowhead Lk. You might pick up cairns here and there and a social trail near the lake. Go along the western shore until the boulders get huge and difficult. Cut up to the VERY base of Warrior 1 at this point just before the boulders get huge and difficult. Then move across the base and over the steep hill into the cirque. It drops you in a great area for camping about 5 minutes "down the obvious gully" The regular trail drops you down onto Lonesome Lake... and you can't camp within 1/4 of a mile of that... I took my bro there via Arrowhead one time and he didn't like the rte in. On the way out he wanted to do the trail. He hated the trail so much he back tracked and came out via Arrowhead anyway. Engineers... I sat at big sandy lk for like 3 hours waiting for mr. ivy league dipshit boy. Quote
Szyjakowski Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 wolf's head is one of the coolest 5.4 routes of all time, but not a great route for total beginners because of all the traversing. I will second this, as It is easy to get off the actual "5.4 (?) route" and be suckered into harder climbing... (Forrest-I thought the wolfs head classic route was 5.6???) I do believe there is a fairly "easy" route up the pingora spire...I remember people climbing up what we rapped...SE aspect (I think). course it was 6years ago now...the Cirque is very COOL. take goats or llamas to carry more supplies. and definitely watch the weather....afternoon or late-morning lightening/thunder showers are very very very common. Have fun! Quote
Winter Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 I was there several years ago, but I remember the hike from Big Sandy totalling almost 10-12 miles and 4-6k in vertical. I could be totally off base on this, but I know I was whooped after humping a week of food and gear into the Circue. Quote
griz Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 I was there several years ago, but I remember the hike from Big Sandy totalling almost 10-12 miles and 4-6k in vertical. I could be totally off base on this, but I know I was whooped after humping a week of food and gear into the Circue. Damn sea level living wussies... Big Sandy TH is around 9200ft and Arrowhead lake is around 10,400. Jackass Pass is only a couple hundred feet above that... Wow...that's 1400 vertical ft you did in a whole day...fucking animal! Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 shakingleg.com - that's good! thanks so much. great pic's! somebody's havin fun! Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 good stuff! ive read about and dreamed about the east ridge. spectacular. i appreciate the thought about noobs and traverse. ssssh, i'm not exactly a noob but call myself that to keep my ego in chk. don't want to sound to full of myself. i feel pretty good on 5.6 leads and ok up to 5.8 but i have lead only one real traverse to date. help me here: protect against pendulum swings, protect the second, protect at direction change and crux's. advice? i know i'm missing something. thanks again Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 i do appreciate this advice and need to study traverse protection as well as the east ridge route if we do it. kelsey's guide pretty good? thanks for the help Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 i've heard it's a bit of a test goin in through big sandy but maybe "perception becomeing reality" has a bit to do with the precieved effort. and as a dripping wet/sea level flatlandder i'm sure i'll feel every foot of elevation. thanks for your input. Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 I was there several years ago, but I remember the hike from Big Sandy totalling almost 10-12 miles and 4-6k in vertical. I could be totally off base on this, but I know I was whooped after humping a week of food and gear into the Circue. Damn sea level living wussies... Big Sandy TH is around 9200ft and Arrowhead lake is around 10,400. Jackass Pass is only a couple hundred feet above that... Wow...that's 1400 vertical ft you did in a whole day...fucking animal! Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 ok, ok - i'll admit that this stuipd F%#@ing computer is smarter then me! but griz: thanks for the kind words and sage advice. i think your havin your share of fun out there in CO., brother! Quote
iluka Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 I was up in that area in the fall. Big Sandy Lake is only a 5-6 mile hike from the Big Sandy trailhead with minimal elevation gain along the way. Shouldn't take more than 2-3 hours to do, although maybe a bit longer with full packs and gear and if it's hot. Camping there isn't a bad idea because of the altitude issues. The next morning it would take a few hours to get up over Jackass Pass. Someone in an earlier post suggested doing an alternative route to get up over the last pass into the Cirque. While it is certainly an easier route, this area gets so much traffic each year that it's probably best to just stay on the main trail, minor routefinding and minor extra altitude gain issues and all. Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 good idea camping at trailhead but i would feel a need to have minium bivi gear with me. i am not looking forward to packin a ton of stuff over jackass pass so this sounds like the way to do it. thanks Quote
Winter Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 I was there several years ago, but I remember the hike from Big Sandy totalling almost 10-12 miles and 4-6k in vertical. I could be totally off base on this, but I know I was whooped after humping a week of food and gear into the Circue. Damn sea level living wussies... Big Sandy TH is around 9200ft and Arrowhead lake is around 10,400. Jackass Pass is only a couple hundred feet above that... Wow...that's 1400 vertical ft you did in a whole day...fucking animal! Quote
forrest_m Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 good stuff! ive read about and dreamed about the east ridge. spectacular. i appreciate the thought about noobs and traverse. ssssh, i'm not exactly a noob but call myself that to keep my ego in chk. don't want to sound to full of myself. i feel pretty good on 5.6 leads and ok up to 5.8 but i have lead only one real traverse to date. help me here: protect against pendulum swings, protect the second, protect at direction change and crux's. advice? i know i'm missing something. thanks again don't fall. seriously, it's the kind of route where both people on the rope should be comfortable at the grade Quote
Alex Posted July 22, 2005 Posted July 22, 2005 (edited) The approach to the Cirque from Big Sandy is casual, except that most people go in with a weeks worth of food and full rack so packs tend to comparativley heavy. Its very scenic and not particularly strenuous, so just enjoy it. Wolfs Head crux is 2-3 pitches of very narrow ridge at the start of the climb, very enjoyable but very exposed. The rest of it is easy traversing in and out along the ridge, and one shorter section of harder face and crack climbing on the N side of the ridge about midway. The summit is basically at the far end, the descent is fairly casual mostly walk off. Its a fine route and you don't need a super high standard to climb it, but its grade III is very legit, its a full day's endevour from camp. S face Pingora is a really nice "rest-day" climb. The N side of Pingora has much longer routes. Overhanging Tower is also a nice "rest-day" climb, and involves only a pitch or two of roped climbing with a small rack. Some pics: http://www.mountainwerks.org/alexk/climb/windrvrs.htm Edited July 22, 2005 by Alex Quote
reg Posted July 22, 2005 Author Posted July 22, 2005 thanks for the beta. sounds like we can have fun in the cirque. better'n disney! oh by the way getting daily water from cirque lake might be easier if you left the 65' schooner at the dock! nice boat Quote
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