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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Original Post - Oct 7, 2006 - 12:03am PT
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Trip Report, Norman Clyde Peak, Twilight Pillar, 9/2/06
I went up the south fork to Finger Lake the first year I started climbing. I had signed up for a trip to climb North Palisade, Mt Sill and Thunderbolt. The trip leader noticed I had no mountain climbing experience but he said I could come on the trip if I got over 13,000 feet three times before the trip in early September. My first peak was to be Mt. Shasta. It seemed like just a big snow hike so I decided to carry my downhill skis so I could ski down. That year on the Clear Creek route the snow ended at 13,000 feet and the scree began. Cramponing in ski boots is OK but climbing scree in them isn’t. I found out a couple of things on that first trip. These mountains are huge. Hey, who knew! Also that my body usually gives me a choice on summit day, I can climb or I can eat but not both. Skiing from 13,000 on Mt Shasta is still a pretty good day. We hike out to the nearest café. I ordered what looked on the menu like the biggest burger they had. I must have been a little out of it- it was vegitarian!
My second trip was the East Ridge of Mt. Humphreys. My partner and I had together taught ourselves to lead over the previous six months. It took us all day to climb the initial class 4 knife-edge ridge. 17 pitches. By 6 PM we had reached the notch just before the class five started. We retreated. We did manage to get over 13,000 feet while climbing the tower on the ridge.
Finally on Middle Palisade I got to the top of something. No crampons, ice axes or ropes. Just fun cruising on class three rock. I was looking forward to returning to the scene of my first success. I remembered it as a spectacular area.
We picked up two of the last three permits on Saturday morning and started hiking near midday. Here is a picture looking up canyon after crossing the river at Glacier Lodge.
Some cool trees at the top of the first big rise.
Looking up at Middle Palisade and it’s glacier.
Brainard Lake is just a beautiful lake. I took a million pictures of this lake and they are all good .You can just see the Twilight Pillar in this picture.
We camped with a few other parties at the end of Finger Lake. We woke up around 5:00 and were hiking by 6:00. Bob has this cool Jetboil stove. Man, the thing can boil water quickly.
The route goes around the left side of Finger Lake and then climbs class 2/3 for 1,500 feet. Here’s Norman Clyde Peak and Middle Palisade during the approach.
Here is Norman Clyde Peak. The route goes up the pillar that drops straight from the summit.
The standard route goes across the glacier and climbs a 5.7 pitch. We didn’t bring snow gear so we crossed to the Firebird Ridge far to the right where the snow was narrowest. The climb to the ridge is fun fourth class. I took this picture of the Palisade Crest as we made our way along the ridge.
As we crossed below the snow field and started up toward the pillar I was really feeling the altitude.
Parts of me, I think it was my heart and lungs, was thinking, “You are really crappy at altitude. You are going to move too slow and have to bivy on the descent.”
Other parts of me, I think it was my brain and legs, was answering them, “You pathetic wimps. It’s not even 9:00. You are strolling this thing!”
Sometimes there are way too many voices in here.
Anyway, the approach was steepening as we neared the rope up spot. Pretty continuous and exposed class four. Maybe not quite Eichorn class four, but steep. I got to a section that was a little more serious but I was in the groove so I started up it just as Bob called down. “Hey, I missed the start of the climb.” He had climbed the first 25 feet before noticing. He was in the groove too. He threw down the rope and I tied a bowline, for the second time ever, and climbed up to join him. Don’t do what we did. The start is from a big platform. We had to change shoes, put on our harnesses and sort gear on this little ledge. We started the roped climbing at 10:00.
We brought 3- #2, 3-#1, 3-#.75 and 3-#,5 Camelots. We had one each of the five smallest Aliens and a set and a half of stoppers. We had a 60 meter x 9.2 rope. I used a cordalet and Bob used a big tied sling for the belays. This rack was pretty good. Maybe it could have been smaller but I climb faster when I have enough gear. I took the first pitch, which turned out to be the crux of the climb. You stem and jamb a corner until it runs out and then climb the crux 35 feet of 5.8+ cracks to a nice ledge with a fixed pin. I used up most of the rack. About half way up I realized I was moving slow enough that my lungs had caught up with the altitude. I shouted out my appreciation for the day and Bob smiled up. Here’s a picture from half way up the first pitch.
Looking down from the P1 belay.
The supposed 5.8 crux traverse goes right around the corner from the belay. It just didn’t seem that hard compared to P1.
Here’s a posed shot from the P2 belay trying to look like the photo in the Sierra Classics Guidebook.
There is one more hard move on the climb which is mentioned in Secor. Bob led up that way. I climbed a few feet to the right, which was much easier. More pics of the route.
We summated at 1:45. It was a outstanding day. Here’s a view toward Mt. Sill and North Palisade from the summit
Yours truly with the cool summit register
Bob, smiling as usual
The last party before us to summit were Dingus Milktoast, Brutus of Whyde and Nurse Ratchet. Hi Guys.
The descent felt really long. We descended the North-Northeast Ridge route, which is the recommended descent. It’s a little hard to figure out the best way. I think we could have stayed a bit closer to the ridge. We kept getting coaxed out onto the face. This goes but the route line in Secor shows the best path as closer and more parallel to the ridge. Bob found a bunch of booty. A hat, a pair of rain pants and a sixty foot piece of 8 mil. rope. We got back to camp at 7:00. I was pretty beat and lay down for a while to rest before dinner. A couple of guys, who we had met on the approach came over to talk about the day. They had retreated off of the East Face of Middle Palisade, from altitude problems mostly. Bob made his dinner and chatted with the guys while I lay there like a lump. Later I heard him tell someone “it was the first time with Zander when I did most of the talking”. Hmm, what is he trying to say?
Eventually, I just went to sleep without eating. We had a great day for the hike out. Here is a picture of this beautiful little lake that I particularly like.
We feasted at Jacks in Bishop.
See ya on the rock,
Zander
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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Thanks for the report Zander.. great pictures of a wonderful section of the Sierra... I just love that place, need to get back! Hopefully next year..
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Nice trip report and pics. It's a striking line from a distance fur sure. When Big Al Bartlett and I did it a few years back, we thought it was a heck of a lot of hiking for 2 pitches of good climbing. That being said, it is a nice part of the Sierra.
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Crimpergirl
Sport climber
St. Louis
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Thanks - great TR. Yet one more place to dream of...
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Gary Carpenter
climber
SF Bay Area
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Another great TR. Thanks for posting Zander.
Gary
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alpine410
Mountain climber
Big Trees California
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Did you use a rope on Middle Pal? I found that route scary, and wanted a rope but did not bring one. I guess it would have knowcked down all the loose stuff anyway. Bad ass report, strong work!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Zander,
Your Steck Salathe TR plus this one make a nice pair.
We climbed the Thunderbird Wall as kids (when we were kids).
It is in the cleft to the left of Twighlight Pillar, but it's ugly so we trended left into some clean 5.7/8 cracks.
Berg Heil!
Tarbousier
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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I know this is going to blow the width wide open, but it is about one of the most spectacular sections of the Sierra.
Finaly got Middle this year but screwed up the photos. This is from a previous attempt.
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Zander
Trad climber
Berkeley
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Topic Author's Reply - Oct 8, 2006 - 01:58am PT
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Glad you all liked the TR.
Can't say,
It is a long way to go for a few pitches. That is if it's judged as a rock climb. Judged
as an adventure the long aproach is part of the spice. I've read that one can make
the climbing harder by going staight up the pillar instead of traversing. Every pitch 5.9.
Alpine 410,
We didn't use a rope on Middle Palisade. I wish I taken a helmet though.
TGT,
Can you reduce your super cool picture to the same width as mine are. Then put a
link under it that jumps to a new thread with the full size picture. That way you can
both read my report and see your picture. As it is this thread is not really readable
and my Mom hasn't read it yet.
thanks,
Zander
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LuckyPink
Mountain climber
north bay today/someplace else tomorrow
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nice tr.. think I'll take a hop down there. thanks for the post. L
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Here's some fun history concerning these routes:
Page 215 of the old green Sierra Club Totebook of the High Sierra by Roper lists Thunderbird Wall, 5.7
In the back, under FA's:
T Bird Wall, Hank Abrons and Pete Carmen, 1965.
The Twilight Pillar was by Don Jensen and Frank Sarnquist, 1966.
What's fun for me, if I have this right (as I was into making rucksacks and stuff in the 70's), is that we have Peter Carmen - of The Chouinard Carmen Supergater, and Don Jensen - of Rivendell Mtn Works & The Jensen Pack & Bombshelter tent...
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SamRoberts
climber
Bay Area
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I still own- and use- a Rivendell Jensen pack. It's 30+ years old now and, unlike its' owner, still going strong. Great ski pack.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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I found one at a yard sale in boulder; the interior coating was badly flaked so I pulled all the seams for the pattern.
It awaits a rebuild & phoenix flight...
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can't say
Social climber
Pasadena CA
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Zander, you're right in that distances can add spice to good climbs, but if you experienced the approach to NCP like we did, you might have come away with a similar feeling.
Unfortunately for us, we forgot the deet and decieded to sample a certain kind of spore that makes one's head light and errr, spacy, yeah that's it, spacy, for the hike in.
So on the approach in, after ingesting said spores, we run into the most god-awful cloud of skeeters. They tormented us all the way to camp. OMG, it was the only bad trip I've had on those rigs.
Anyway, the climb was fun but the approach sucked big time for us.
As for the climb, I was wondering why your shots didn't look anything like what we climbed. We did two steller pitches of 5.9 and 10a, with the 10a being some really nice and spicy face climbing.
Again good tr and report
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Flex
Trad climber
Flagstaff, AZ
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A friend and I hiked in to do some glacier practice below Middle Pal in 99 and were chased out by the skeeters. 2 of us and a dog spent a night out (no tent) and were eaten alive! 3 warm bodies for 3 trillion bugs to munch on in the whole S Fork of Lone Pine Creek. Bring full-on Canadian-style bug battling gear!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Same here.
As it was the 70's and we knew no better, we climbed TBird in full mountain boots, while the second followed carrying 2 pair crampons and two axes, which made free climbing kinda pumpy.
We descended the N Face, got to camp totally spent, having planned to hike out the same day, which was sunday afternoon of a weekend blitz from LA. We stayed in camp because we couldn't budge and the skeeters where horrendous.
The next day, a scheduled work day in LA, we hiked out under supplemental assistance, got to the car and played a track from Jimi Hendrix' Loose Ends over & over...
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TYeary
Mountain climber
Calif.
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Very nice Zander. Thanks for a great TR.
Tony
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TGT
Social climber
So Cal
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Strange that the jensen packs came up. I think my Jensen pack has been to the top of every Teener except one.
That is still the most comfortable summit pack ever made.
A super light Spectra and Polarguard version might not be commercially viable for the masses, but I'd pop for one.
Good clean looking route. Think I'll have to go back and get it.
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goatboy smellz
climber
boulder county
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Stellar TR!
That Brainard Lake kid must have gotten around, we have one in our outbackyard.
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426
Sport climber
Buzzard Point, TN
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Nice TR, good pix...best way to do the descent is very "zig-zaggy" IMO.
Zander, I'm curious, is Chris Brown's stuff still there? It was on the N/NE/Firebird ridge this summer, right near a clearly "circuitous" section on the ridge where it flattes ~800 yards below where the routes split.(?) Trek poles, prescrip glasses, some other swag. Duffel looked kinda faded...
I love the 'last move' on NCP (from the "easy" side). Thought about Norm doing it-a bunch of times.
Sweet shot of the Crest...
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