Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Anyone want to go to Mt. Williamson ???

I have a permit for four for Shepherds Pass (Mt. Williamson) on July 14 thru 17. Some "friends" had planned to go with me but they all bailed at the last minute - said it was too hard. Going up there solo is probably not the best idea - especially since I have never been that route before. Anyone want to join in?? My plan is to start at the Shepherds Pass trailhed early on the 14th and camp at Shepherd Pass for the night. Up early on the 15th, climb Willie and return to Sheppherd. On the 16th, hike out. If interested, give me a call 408 310-8658 or email at mrnotar@yahoo.com. Thanks, Stan

I'm planning to day hike Williamson and Tyndall on July 7th. I'll report on the conditions as soon as I get home.

My entry date is the seventh. I hope to do both Williamson and Tyndall, leisurely. I don't have to exit until the eleventh.

I probably will spend the first night at Mahogany and the second night in the Bowl, followed by two day hikes. If I make it to Anvil the first day, I might do Tyndall the next day and so be able to exit a day earlier.

I'll be going solo.

kkeating:

I'd really recommend trying to get to Anvil if you can on Day 1. It's not that much further, but you get the HUGE benefits of tree cover (rather than manzanita scrub) and easy access to water at Anvil Camp. It really is a lovely place to spend a night or two.

I'd also recommend any one of the tarns around Shepherd Pass rather than in the Bowl. Quite inhospitible place, that Bowl. Lots of area to spread out around the tarns at the Pass, comfy sand tent sites, etc. Watch out for the marmotelians, though...

*sigh* Shepherds Pass....

-L

Thanks for the suggestions, Moosie. I'll defer to your familiarity with the sites.

I agree with the Moose 100%.

I'm heading up Tuesday morning. If anyone has any more recent snow conditions, I will appreciate knowing what you saw. As I promised above, I'll report when I get home.

Bob:

Here are just the photos you want (and that I wanted), posted last night, it seems, about a five-day hike (June 29-July 3) to both peaks:
Williamson and Tyndall

I also will start up the trail Tuesday morning. Perhaps we'll run into one another on the trail. What time do you expect to head out? (My vehicle is a copper-colored, lifted Wrangler.)

Karl

Karl:

Wow! There is a lot of information in 486 photos! I'll probably study them again before I leave Reno.

It looks like they got up and down Shepherd Pass without using crampons and ice axe. I'm hoping to summit Williamson shortly before noon, and there doesn't appear to be much snow in the couloir. If light boots and instep crampons won't cut it, I think I can climb around the snow. What little snow Tyndall has should be soft when I get there, and climbing around it looks easy.

I'm driving a 1986 red and tan F150 4x4 with a white camper shell and Nevada plates. I plan to get to the trailhead late Monday afternoon. I'll refresh my memory regarding the four stream crossings, go to bed early, and try to be hiking by 3:00 AM on Tuesday. I'll look for you Monday evening and I'll keep an eye out for you at Anvil Camp on the way out.

Bob

Bob and Karl (and others),

The snow is very firm in the morning and softens up by the afternoon, assuming you have similar temperatures to what we had.

There is enough snow in the chute of the West Face of Williammson that I doubt you'll be able to avoid it unless there's a lot of melt off over the next couple of days.

On the North Rib of Tyndall it is possible to avoid snow altogether with good route selection.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask here or send me an email: kurtwedberg@sierramountaineering.com.

All the best,

Kurt

Kurt:

What's your opinion on the need for ice axes (a) going up Shepherd Pass and (b) going up the Williamson chute? I notice your group used axes on portions of the hike, but it wasn't clear to me whether the axes actually were needed or were used more as a training exercise. (I'll have Kahtoola crampons with me.)

Karl

Karl,

I've been to the pass somewhat recently and do recommend the crampons and ax for the pass. That is, unless you plan on traversing it during early afternoon. Don't know about Williamson chute though, I climbed Tyndall last time I went.

Also, I'm thinking of heading up this weekend (July 11-12). If anybody wishes to team up for either a 2 day or 1 day hike of Williamson, please contact me.

Thanks.

The snow is firming up at night and getting very soft by day. On Shepherd Pass you will find a reasonably good kicked in trail and I think most people would feel OK without having an ice axe although a fall would bring you quite a ways down if you couldn't stop.

The chute in the West Face will continue to melt although I don't think you'll be able to completely avoid snow by the time you go. We used ice axes and crampons and were glad we had them for our early morning climb. That wasn't merely a training exercise. We were glad we had brought them along. Kahtoola crampons would probably be sufficient by the time you go up there. Since my Black Diamond Raven Pro ice axe is so light I'd probably take it although I'd be watching the temperatures closely between now and then and make a last minute decision on that. I did run into a couple people who said they had climbed Williamson a couple days before we did and didn't use crampons or an ice axe. Chances are you'd be able to get through it OK without them. They are nice insurance policies to have though given how far back in there you're going.

Kurt:

Thanks for the advice. I too have a Raven Pro, so, inasmuch as you'd take yours, I'll take mine.

Karl

Right on Karl...

I expect a TR and some pics when you and Bob get back from your climbs!

This post was from a different thread...I day-hiked Tyndall on June 27. We did not use crampons or ice axes to get up the pass...

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Just got home from climbing Tyndall...what an adventure. We did it in a day from trailhead to summit and back again. Total time is 19 hours. I would not recommend. We camped last year to climb Willie.

If you hit the the snow field at Shepherd's Pass at the right time, you should not need crampons or an ice axe. We started our accent at 9:00am where the sun had some time to soften the post holes. The hike up was great, just take your time. Also, going down, you must time it right, otherwise you will run into ice, which is no fun. My friend and I planned our timing to make sure to avoid ice at the Pass.

We met a group at Anvil Camp. Only one person got to the top of Willie. They said it was too hard to make it all the way. I took that to mean the endurance factor led them to not go all the way. He did mention there are a lot of snow fields in the bowl, and it was hard to identify the "black stain". The snow is melting fast though. They had all the proper equipment.

A few pics of the Pass...in the first photo, we used a "Z" in the snow field that starts at the rock in the center of the photo next to the edge of the snow field...notice the trail in the lower right of another photo. You will have to negotiate a couple more snow fields further up the trail. It is pretty exposed, but the post holes are good.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595238&l=662a2ba118&id=1174322345

[img]http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595237&l=7d65325814&id=1174322345[/img]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595239&l=8886177997&id=1174322345

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595241&l=d703986bfa&id=1174322345
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595242&l=f37588ca3f&id=1174322345

A couple photos of Tyndall and the bowl (the pic of the bowl is from the peak of Tyndall, so I am sorry for not getting down to the bowl. Time did not permit and frankly, I did it last year and have no desire to do it for a long time.

The route we took up Tyndall was from the North. I would recommend going further West and catching some easier routes. You will be negotiating rocks/boulders for 2,000 feet. Also, we did not go on the snow fields as we assended Tyndall. We worked our way between them. There is a false summit, so I would leave my pack at that point. I have included a photo of this position. You will have to be very careful here. You will be totally exposed! Left or Right is straight down. After getting through this area, stay on the right side of the ridge and travel the last 60 yards to the summit. Good Luck and always error on the side of caution! We had two people not even attempt to get over that false summit.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595245&l=ab83fb7fd5&id=1174322345
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595259&l=8e9a42eefb&id=1174322345
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595263&l=4a2f119160&id=1174322345
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595277&l=66176973ac&id=1174322345
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595283&l=cfc44a4503&id=1174322345
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=595285&l=a1f6b41eb6&id=1174322345

Please do.

I've always wanted to do the Willy/Tyndall day-climb and may just try it Friday if conditions are right.

Good luck tomorrow.

I just got back from climbing Williamson and Tyndall yesterday. 18:39, car to car. That's 21 minutes faster than when I did it 19 years ago. I'm 60 now.

I hit Shepherd Pass just before 9:00 AM. I easily crossed the snow wearing trail runners. It was a little icy when I came back across wearing boots at around 5:30 PM.

Williamson still had a substantial patch of snow in the couloir. I easily passed the lower snow on the rock on right. The upper snow looked difficult to bypass. There were steps in the snow from previous climbers, it was 11:30 AM, and I had hiking boots on by then. It wasn't too hard to climb the snow without crampons or ice axe. If you get there earlier in the day, crampons may be necessary.

Tyndall still has considerable show near the North Rib route. However, it was easy to bypass the snow on the way up and back down.

I'll post more details after I've had a shower, etc.

Thanks Bob and congrats! Impressive!

Since I'm sitting here resting and reading, instead of out doing a mid-week workout (an 07/08/09 summit), I guess I'm going to give it a try on Friday.

Congrats Bob!! Nice going!!