The Evolution Traverse
Day 1 August 28, 2011 into Darwin Bench
Day 2 August 29, 2011 to Summit of Mt. Darwin
Day 3 August 30, 2011 to saddle south of Wallace
Day 4 August 31, 2011 to Huxley and back to Darwin Bench
Day 5 September 1, 2011 OUT!!!

Jed Porter and I climbed the North Ridge of Lone Pine Peak together at the end of June and that went pretty well so we figured we were ready for the Evolution Traverse. After a little more thought we decided some preparation might be prudent. Not being much of a soloist myself, I thought our strategy should include a rope and gear. As long as I've known Jed he's been sneaking some kind of rope into his pack for even the most mellow mountain adventures. Our perspectives on ropes easily aligned (with a little beta we decided on a 30m single and 30m tag line). In mid-August we packed up all our gear and carried it over Mt. Winchell to work out our rope systems and packing plan. A few more last minute adjustments were made, which included leaving the rock shoes in Bishop and REI-ing and then modifying a special sleeping bag.

As we packed up our packs on Friday night actual rain poured out of the Bishop skies. This did not set the mood we were looking for…things got tense. After much debate we settled on a plan and then promptly changed it first thing Saturday morning, delaying a day for a bomber forecast.

We hiked into Darwin bench on Sunday where we planned to cache some food, a sleeping bag, and tent to make the journey out less painful. We started climbing at 7:30 Monday morning far right of the central gully with a combined weight of 45 pounds between our two packs (including rope and rack). Our route finding was eased by Jed’s scouting mission to Mt. Darwin a month prior. Easy scrambling up sandy vegetated ledges brought us quickly, more quickly than we’d hoped, to 5th class climbing. We took out our rope and after some time, found a rhythm that allowed us to move relatively quickly through the terrain. Sometimes the rope was out for belayed climbing or simul-climbing. Often one or both of us carried kiwi coils. Overall, we used terrain features more often than gear for protection. After moving, up, over, down, around, and sometime through the rock, we found ourselves at our planned bivy site on the summit plateau of Mt. Darwin with two very memorable cruxes behind us. Each were about 40 feet in length; the first being beautiful twin hand cracks about 5.7 on section of red rock between Gould and Mendel. The second was a steep 5.8 hand crack also between Gould and Mendel. To add to the fun both of these difficulties involved climbing up. After dropping our packs, finding running water, and scouting the route for the morning, we tagged the summit pinnacle. Being 5’2” this proved the most difficult climbing of the entire traverse for me. I have since learned of a much easier way on the far side of the pinnacle. I guess we were too lazy to walk that far.

After waking up to warming alpenglow, the second day started slowly moving through rock that was uncharacteristically loose compared to the previous day’s climbing. Time moved slowly, more slowly than we were comfortable with, as we completed three rappels and a series of traverses to move down the ridge.

With these difficulties behind us, back on solid rock, our friend Ian, who was soloing the route, snuck up on us. After a quick chat and gear exchange (long story—Ian, I still owe you beer) we continued on keeping an eye on Ian’s ever increasing progress ahead of us. After reaching point 13332, we cruised along easy 2nd and 3rd class until reaching a brief 5th class step before Mt. Haeckel. The ridges leading to the tops of Haeckel and Wallace both provided nice scrambling, and the flat saddle just south of Wallace had nearby snow as we anticipated. We were done for the day with hours of daylight to spare which we used to melt snow. Each night we remarked on the civilized nature of our chosen style. Climbing only in daylight with long nights to relax, our planning seemed to be paying off. Our only mistake was miscalculating our fuel allotment. We ran out of fuel promptly upon filling all our bottles at the second ridge top bivy. This made for a cold morning for our last day on route.


The third day on route we kind of sandbagged ourselves. We found more technical climbing on outstanding rock than we anticipated. We ticked off summit after summit and eventually found ourselves on Mt. Huxley.

A late afternoon exit through the Evolution Basin brought us full circle, literally. We arrived at our gear cache at the start of the route just as the sun set. A quick dinner and a fitful night of sleep have proven to be the beginnings of a long and strange recovery process. Peeling fingers a month later are just one end of the small, yet strange physiological reactions.

It was a journey rather than a singular mountain adventure. The Evolution Traverse has been almost a community endeavor this summer with several friends preparing, attempting, and succeeding http://www.supertopo.com/tr/Evolution-Traverse-How-I-Owe-it-All-to-an-Apple/t11143n.html. It was great to share part of journey with these folks and now to pass along our story to you.