High Sierra Topix

Can anyone give me a link to a trip description of a climb up Williamson? I remember Snow Nymph had one some time back, but I'm too inept to search. Given the relative lack of snow this year, I figured it was ideal year to do it before the July 15 cutoff date.

http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... amson.html

http://www.summitpost.org/object_list.p ... williamson

Bob Burd has some really good info on his site:

http://www.snwburd.com/bob/trip_reports ... son_2.html

Thanks. I've looked at some of Bob Burd's hikes before. What an animal -- Williamson as a day hike!

You are certainly right that this is a good year to do Williamson (and avoid snow in the chute). I did Williamson by the "standard" route in 1978 (and was fortunate to get to sign in on the original 1919 register). Both the Roper guide and Secor say the route is very confusing and hard to describe, but I found the Roper description (Secor's is pretty much the same) to be spot on and unambiguous. There are a few things to keep in mind: First is that you cannot see the key chute until you are directly beneath it because it is so narrow and steep-sided. Second, remember that this chute will just barely miss the edge of the summit plateau (and I mean just barely). Another impression I had from the climb was that, although the last crack up to the plateau is indeed class 3 and listed as such, there is the tendency for one's mind to get into a class 2 mode while climbing the class 2 scree and talus chute. In that state of mind the final crack (60' high as described by Secor, 75' as described by Roper) looked much worse to me than it really was--it is actually easy class 3, not nearly as steep as it first appears, and it is configured so that one is pretty well protected from a fall. As for locating the final part of the route, I recall that was pretty obvious--it appeared to be the only feasible means of ascent once we reached the top of the chute. We climbed a few days after a snowstorm and the view down the north face from the notch at the head of chute was awe inspiring--a very alpine feel. Adding to this effect was the icy wind that blasted up the chute. In fact everywhere seemed to be brutally windy that weekend except for one very limited place--right at the summit. Williamson is certainly one of my very favorite peaks and I think the standard route is kind of cool, too.

Thanks GB, particularly for the input about the chimney. I had been proceeding under the assumption that it wasn't bad for class 3, but some pictures make it look pretty scary. (My pictures will, of course, make it look absolutely terrifying!)

I agree the Chimney isn't bad at all. It's the long approach that makes Williamson difficult.