Where to go for a Sept - Oct climbing trip?

[wfinley]

I posted sometime back asking for Nepal suggestions for next fall and got lots of great feedback from many helpful people. My fiancee and I are still tentatively planning on Nepal for Sept / Oct but given the current political climate we're starting to get cold feet and have begun looking elsewhere. We have begun tossing around the possibilities of a 2 month Canada / US road trip with a focus on alpine routes.

 

However - we're wondering what conditions will be like in Sept / Oct as the only times I've climbed in Canada and the NW is in July / August. In short - we'd like input as to where to go for those months. Specifically we're interested in moderate alpine routes (5.4-5.8 alpine rock or III/IV snow / ice routes). The one thing we are not interested in is long glacier slogs or ski ascents - we'll be returning to AK in November for that.

 

Note - we are not limiting ourselves to North America but are leaning that way b/c we'll be able to climb more and it will be a little cheaper.

 

If you were taking off Sept and Oct where would you go?

[Alpinfox]

I can't think of very many good alpine snow/ice options in Sept/Oct. But there is plenty of great rock.

 

Tetons in early Sept aren't usually too cold. Alpine Rock. Climb The Grand if you haven't already. It's..... grand.

 

Maybe Wind River Range for more alpine rock? I dunno about the season. I've never been there. But it looks like a great place to spend a week or two.

 

City of Rocks, Moab, Indian Creek. Craggin' rock.

 

Lots of stuff in the Cascades and Sierra, though by October you'll probably get some occasional snow flurries.

 

The larch season (usually mid October) in the North Cascades/Enchantments is pretty special.

 

 

 

[W]

On that note, Wind Rivers could also be good in early September.

 

Early September might still be good for the Bugaboos, but any weather that does come in is likely to result in snow. If it's an Indian Summer, the Canadian Rockies can be good also- meaning dry and cold, resulting in less rockfall on the faces.

[wfinley]

Sounds like early September is good everywhere... I guess the thing to do would be to start in Canada and keep working our way south as it gets colder.

 

How late are people climbing routes on peaks like Forbidden Peak or Mt Whitney?

 

PS -what is the "larch" season?

[Alpinfox]

PS -what is the "larch" season?

 

Larches are deciduous "evergreen" trees whose needles turn a brilliant yellow for about two weeks in the autumn before falling off for the winter.

 

I don't know about Whitney, but Forbidden definitely gets climbed in the late fall though if you do the WR the approach gully would be melted out and a bit more difficult that time of year. The ER is quite popular and good too.

[wfinley]

Wow... that's a beautiful photo!

[Alpinfox]

Wow... that's a beautiful photo!

 

Thanks! It looked even better in person.

[sobo]

I'd echo the comments on the Grand Tit, the Winds, and City of Rocks. Consider also Elephant's Perch for a few days.

 

Consider also the seldom-visited granite of the Selkirks in the Idaho panhandle (way north), and around McCall, further south.

 

You asked: "...where would you go?" If I had that kinda time and wanted to do this "on the cheap", I'd stick to Idaho and start in the Selkirks north of Sandpoint for moderate alpine cragging, then head south and do some sporto routes along the way in Post Falls, CDA, Spokane (maybe). Then on to Grangeville for a few days (for alpine craggin' on the sweet granite of the Lightning Dome and environs), and then head on down to Riggins for some more sporto routes on the limestone near Hell's Canyon Dam and in the Salmon River canyon. Then head further south to McCall for some more alpine craggin' on more sweet granite in the Payette NF. Then hit some stuff in the Sawtooths near Stanley, picking up the Elephant's Perch as you move toward Ketchum/Sun Valley, and finish up in the City of Rocks. I would take about a month. If I had that kinda time...

[iluka]

I would second the comments about the Wind River Range... beautiful place with loads of good granite. I was there a few Septembers ago and when I was planning I was told the first two weeks of September are best. It's post-Labor day so the crowds are way down, especially mid-week. The weather has also cooled a bit so the late afternoon thunderstorm phenomenon that happens a lot in summer is no more. Much later than mid-September, though, I'm told can be be pushing it a bit as the weather gets a bit more unstable and if there' precip, it's often snow as the bulk of the range is at pretty high elevations.

[W]

Sounds like early September is good everywhere... I guess the thing to do would be to start in Canada and keep working our way south as it gets colder.

 

How late are people climbing routes on peaks like Forbidden Peak or Mt Whitney?

 

 

If the weather is good, your above plan would be excellent.

 

Forbidden gets climbed into October some years- expect the glacier to be bare ice and the shrunds to be tricky.

 

The High Sierra is often excellent in September and into early October- crowds are gone, t-storms are usually done for the season, weather is usually sunny. Just be prepared for brisk days and VERY cold nights above 8000 feet! Picking east and south facing routes will keep you happy.

[wfinley]

Hi W - thanks for the info. One quick question --how cold is "very cold"?

[Johnny_Tuff]

Colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra?

[Weekend_Climberz]

Colder than a witch's tit in a brass bra?

 

...on the windy side of an iceberg in the blustery month of May...

[W]

Hi W - thanks for the info. One quick question --how cold is "very cold"?

 

I climbed Whitney in mid September one time, and slept on the summit- in the morning it was probably about 0 F.

Colin and I climbed the Incredible Hulk in early September a few years ago; the base of the route is at about 9000 feet, I would guess it was about 15F when we started the route. Neither of us have ever been so cold while climbing. The party below us bailed because of it. The wind was the big problem.

More or less, around 9000 feet in Sept. you should expect lows in the teens to 20's. High temps are usually comfortable enough once the sun gets up a little.

[layton]

sierras will be perfect

[Off_White]

Particularly the ice gullies in the Sierras. Pleasantly angled water ice gullies usually with solid belays on the rock, I've seen nothing in the NW like it. Mendel, Darwin, Goethe, Checkered Demon, Red Slate, Bloody Mountain, U Notch, V Notch, are all really fun.

 

[wfinley]

Pleasantly angled water ice gullies usually with solid belays on the rock.

Now that looks FUN! Only place I've climbed in CA is JT. I need to check out those mountains!

[Off_White]

I can assure you that Yvon Chouinard, who once flatly stated "there is no rockfall in Sierra gullies in September," is wrong. Do bring a helmet, and be prepared for cold nights, but I made any number of trips into the Sierras for years and never owned a tent.

[Toast]

The Needles, maybe. I've never climbed there, but I hear it's good for alpine rock. You could make your rounds through the Sierras that way.

[iluka]

The Sierras are, in fact, a great early fall spot. One word of caution... if you're planning on doing things in the Yosemite high country, there is a point in October after which they don't allow overnight parking on Tioga Pass Road so you'll want to call and find out when that is. Also, if you go to the east side -- which has tons of great access points to a lot of good routes -- be aware that with the first big snow dump (which can come in October) they'll close Tioga Pass road and you can be left with a long drive back to the west side if that's where you're going at the end of the trip.

[corvallisclimb]

sawtooths in idaho could be good in sept. i was there in early sept this past year and had great conditions.

[Distel32]

if you get stuck on the east side after tioga closes you can just go spend a few days in bishop.....

[genepires]

wind rivers would probably be too cold in october but would be doable in early (very early) september. Might still get snow even then too.

 

Bugaboos in september, be ready for snow. It probably will snow on ya.

 

The longer you wait into the fall, the more important it is to travel south and west. So for a cheaper trip, I would reccomend that you just travel straight to where the conditions would be good like start here in the cascades and then go to the sierras or just stay down there. so many options.

 

lovers leap near tahoe and joshua tree would be great if it seems too cold in the alpine. (which is likely in mid october)