Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board mammoth area peaks

Has anyone been up there? how far down is the snow level? going up T-day weekend...just need a little elevation on easy peaks, since turkey and wine will be the day before :o)

Haven't been in the area lately but if you're looking for a reasonable dayhike not too far from Mammoth, check out Glass Mountain. It's east of Mammoth, so likely to have less snow on it. You go across 395 and drive over the road that goes around Lake Crowley. It's about 11,000' and probably about 5 miles round-trip, trailhead to summit and back.

For photos, look at the 2001 Mt. Whitney report under the "highpointing" section of my WWW site.

Just watch out for the terminally-stupid free-range Black Angus cattle on the road...

Here's Glass Mountain from west of US-395 above Lake Crowley



Glass Mountain is on the skyline, just left of center. the right skyline is formed by the White Mountains from Montgomery Peak and Queen Mountain to White Mountain.

If you want a larger look (it's a big file to download):

http://dbdimages.smugmug.com/photos/75480023-O.jpg

Dale B. Dalrymple
http://dbdimages.com
http://stores.lulu.com/dbd

Thanx for the info. I will look into it! I was thinking of Bloody and Laurel also. Just hoping won't need crampons (lent them to a friend doing Orizaba for T-day). Hopefully not much snow...????

I've gone up Boundary Peak at Thanksgiving. It's the left end of the ridge of the White Mountains in the picture. The ridge doesn't get or hold a lot of snow, but it's 2000' vertical colder and windier than Glass Mountain so the weather is more important. It shouldn't have as much snow as the peaks in the Sierra.

Dale B. Dalrymple

Which route up boundary peak have you taken, queens mine, or trail canyon? I'm coming out over thanksgiving to do some climbing on whitney, and thought that I could knock off Nevada's high point on the same trip as bit of a warm up. Any recommendation would be greatly appreciated. Do you think ice axe/crampons are necessary this time of year on boundary?
Thanks

My experiences on Boundary have been from Trail Canyon.

In good weather the best route from the Trail Canyon trailhead is up the canyon to the saddle and then up the ridge. The year I went at Thanksgiving there was a light layer of snow on the lee side of the ridge. High wind made an ice ax a good third support. On the way down I dropped below the ridge to get out of the wind. The cold had turned the springs above the trailhead to lumps of ice so there was no water available along the way. There were deer and wild horses on the slopes of the side canyons. Below the trailhead in the canyon there is a small reservoir where I've caught rainbow trout in the summer.

Have fun!

Dale B. Dalrymple

If you're considering Boundary Peak, you might want to read through this thread on the Highpointers Club bulletin board. Interesting discussion of the pros and cons of the Queen Canyon versus Trail Canyon approaches.

(Me, I vote for Queen Canyon...)

Alan's referenced thread is a good one.

I can't compare the two approaches to Boundary as I have only used the Trail Canyon one. People who have found a long talus slog from Trail Canyon have tried to cut up to the ridge without following the canyon to the saddle. It's miserable to go up, it's a fine route if you like to descend scree and it's out of the prevailing wind when rime starts to form on the ridgetop late in the day in November. The conditions at the trailhead have changed since the peak achieved wilderness status. The use road was closed well below the springs. Trying to follow that overgrown road now is not good idea. Skirt the tall brush on either side of the canyon. The road above the reservoir is narrow but not steep or rough. There is a parking area with signage at the trailhead. The road as far as the reservoir is maintained well enough for the stocking trucks from the Nevada fish and game people.

Dale B. Dalrymple