[TR] Temple Crag, Mt Sill - Moon Goddess Arete, Swiss Arete 9/3/2008

[tvashtarkatena]

Trip: Temple Crag, Mt Sill - Moon Goddess Arete, Swiss Arete

 

Date: 9/3/2008

 

Trip Report:

TR: Temple Crag and Mount Sill

 

 

Mt. Sill approach

 

 

“It’s 4:00 am. Why are you getting up?”

 

“Orion’s setting. There’s light to the east. That means it’s time to get up.”

 

“Orion’s rising. That’s the town of Bishop.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“That’s the last time I let you take a four hour afternoon nap.”

 

You can’t be right about everything. But, as my friend Jens would say, no one ever got screwed by getting up too early.

 

It was just getting light as we stepped onto the moraine to retrieve the rope, rack, crampons and ice axes we’d stashed there the day before during a recon hike and aborted attempt at the less-than-enticing scramble route on Thunderbolt. We got separated: Kevin took the wrong gulley up and I took a trailside nap in the cool grass until the ants discovered me.

 

Mount Sill’s Swiss Arete is one of the most popular alpine rock routes in the Southern Sierras, and for good reason. It’s superb. Grabby white granite flakes, wonderful exposure, and a finish with stunning views of the barren, Martian landscape that is the Southern Sierra. The first half of the route can be scrambled before climbing the six full pitches directly to the summit.

 

 

The Swiss Arete on Mt. Sill

 

 

 

“Dude, it is WAY too early.”

 

 

The approach is a little tedious, but interesting. A traverse of the talus moraine is followed by an ascent of the Middle Palisade Glacier, or what’s left of it, now hard ice studded with truck size blocks top to bottom from some catastrophic collapse of the North Palisade’s East Face. Despite being relatively inactive, the glacier made a lot of noise during our crossing. As I tromped over the rock hard bridge spanning the bergschrund it gave out a rifle report that shot right through my spine and damn near into my undies.

 

 

Mt Agassiz (left) from the Middle Palisade Moraine

 

 

 

Rock fall on the Middle Palisade Glacier. The ice axe center frame was included for scale

 

 

From there we climbed the steep, unstable gulley to the notch; a short bit of suffering that didn’t really live up to its notorious reputation. After caching our glacier gear it was a short boulder hop to the base of the climb and a few short hours of nirvana.

 

 

The upper Swiss Arete

 

 

 

Topping out on Mt. Sill

 

 

 

Mt. Sill summit. North Palisade in the background

 

 

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Mt Sill summit Panorama

 

 

 

Descending the Starr Route on Mt. Sill

 

 

Two day’s before Kevin and I had climbed the Moon Goddess Arete on Temple Crag, an enormous, foreboding massif that could double for the Walls of Mordor. This monster lords 2500 feet over the Seven Lakes basin on more than a dozen well-fanged flying buttresses of dark granite. After leaving our axes and crampons at the base (not needed; we scrambled around the small snowfield) we scrambled the first half the climb, a project interrupted only by me dropping my camera 200 feet and retrieving what was left of it.

 

 

Temple Crag. Moon Goddess Arete is just left of the left-most snowfield

 

 

From there, we negotiated a meandering route of mostly short pitches and two full ones punctuated by airy perches from which I couldn’t take any photos. Pure torture. The images I couldn’t take still taunt me.

 

We displaced a ruffled raven on the summit, and quickly found the 1940 Sierra Club register box (complete with the peak’s name cast onto it) containing photocopies of the earliest entries. Norman Clyde was an early repeat early offender.

 

 

Temple Crag from Third Lake. The left skyline (in shadow) is Moon Goddess Arete

 

 

 

Desert mountain mahogany (cercocarpus ledifolius)

 

 

This trip can perhaps be done more efficiently from the same trailhead by approaching via the drainage south of Temple Crag rather than the Seven Lakes Basin, then camping at one of the high lakes just below Mt. Sill. From there, a short hop over Contact Pass takes you to the base of Temple Crag, and a short ascent up slabs takes you to the Sill. No crampons or ax required.

 

 

Temple Crag from my sleeping bag at First Lake

 

 

We hiked out hungry. During breakfast in Lone Pine, Kevin got news of a possible family emergency, so we decided to head back to Washington.

 

We took a route straight through Nevada to Ontario OR, then up 84, 82, and 90 back to Seattle: 50 miles longer, but faster, easier, and more enjoyable. Recommended. Sights along the way include Boundary Peak (Nevada’s highest point), the 80 square mile ammunition depot in Hawthorne, the Wildcat Inn and KittyKat Inns (Luning and Winnemucca, respectively), and lots of old mines, ghost towns, and dust devils.

 

 

Herzog inspired? It was open for business, but what kind of business? Luning, NV

 

 

 

Bomb pinwheel (Hawthorne, NV).

 

 

 

Gear Notes:

Crampons if taking the Middle Palisade Glacier approach, none if not.

Edited September 19, 2008 by tvashtarkatena

[sweatinoutliquor]

Schweet... What a beautiful area, huh!? Bummer about your camera though. Nice writeup and I hope Kevin's Dad is okay.

[chris]

Tvash,

Not to be picky, but are you sure you accessed Mt Sill from the Middle Palisade Gl.? See, most people approach Sill from the Palisade Gl. through Glacier Notch. The Middle Palisade Glacier is south of Sill, across several deep valleys, and at the foot of the Middle Palisade. The Palisade Glacier rests underneath Sill and N.Palisade.

Just curious

Chris

[tvashtarkatena]

How should I know? I can't navigate my way out of a paper bag. For all I know, especially at that altitude, we accessed the climb from Mars.

 

I'm sure you're probably right, cuz I just pulled the 'Middle' part out of my ass.