The next pass west of Rohn?

[Telkwa]

OK, so according to this website, Rohn is the pass directly north of Bighorn Lk.

http://sierrabackpacker.com/IzaakWalton.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone know if there's a name for the next pass west? The one NW of Bighorn Lk., between Pk. 11688 & Izaak Walton?

Anyone gone over that pass, from either direction?

[cgundersen]

Hi Telkwa,
Since no one else tackled this, I can only say that I've looked up at that ridge from the Walton side on a couple occasions and commented to myself that it certainly looked "doable" from that direction, but I've not done it. I guess that's partly because Rohn and Shout-of-Relief are relatively so easy, I've decided not to "look for trouble". My recollection is you'll hit talus the last 500 ft up on the Walton side with plenty of boulder hopping, but with snow levels this year, it may all be white.
Who knows!
cg

[Telkwa]

Thanks, cg -
We're gettin' ready to head into that area end of August. I'm hoping for some more feedback but if not maybe we'll try it out. My wife and I are old & out of shape so if we can do it anyone can.

I'm also hoping the snow's melted back by then, fer cryin out loud.

Maybe this is one of those passes that I shouldn't be talking about. You know, the ones that everyone decides to not advertise...

[cgundersen]

telkwa,
I'm starting a trip with an "old" college buddy this weekend and we'll be going in McGee Creek and up by Grinnell and then into 2nd Recess, so I should be able to give you an idea what snow is like in that area. I'll be curious whether you try "Rohn-adjacent". I'm guessing that if there's still lots of snow, it may be easier than boulder hopping. Or, not?
cg

[Telkwa]

We'll be bringing trekking poles but not real snow-travel gear - ice axes, crampons. I can't afford the extra weight. Have been poring over our old packing lists and trying to load my pack as efficiently as possible but it's getting alarmingly heavy. And I don't even have the accursed bear can in there yet.

Speaking of which, what are your thoughts on bears, bear cans, etc. in that area? Izaak Walton, Mace, Hortense (hope hope)...

By the time we leave Hortense and hit the PCT back towards Edison Reservoir we'll be able to jam everything in the bear can but the first few days out we probly won't. I'd like to leave the can at home entirely but they do encourage cans and I'm thinking good bear trees will be sparse to non-existent at Mott, BigHorn, Mace, and maybe Hortense too?

Anyway, we've crunched thru steep snow before and are willing to do it again. Depending of course on fall exposure!

[cgundersen]

telkwa,
I just got back from the aforementioned trip and the snow conditions in that area were as expected: much more snow than a typical August, but the surface warms up quickly and is very easy to handle by mid-morning. We crossed the Silver Divide via Grinnell Pass (which I found to be much more challenging than Rohn or Shout-of-relief), and from the looks of things on the map, the chute you're considering to reach Izaak Walton should be no more difficult than Grinnell. Snow cups range from moderate to >3 ft deep and get plenty squishy by mid-afternoon. We did Cox col toward the end of the trip and even in the steepest sections the snow was very compliant. The real bonuses are: flowers are great; snowmelt everywhere and mosquitoes were variable but mostly benign; only signs of bear activity were in upper 2nd recess, but we never saw a bear. But, we did have 2 cans, because I'd hate to get wiped out. If you feel confident with your rigging abilities, my recollection is that you can find good trees at Walton, Mace and Hortense (but, not at Bighorn, but bears should not be up there anyway). Should be a great trip!
cg

[Telkwa]

Thanks for the update!
I got some help over at the Food Topix sub-forum. We're bringing the stupid bear can. It's loaded up & ready to hog half of the real estate in my pack.

Thanks very much for the mosquito update. I'd been following the "Skeeter Report" thread and was freakin' out a little. My wife would kick my a** if I lured her up into the mountains while the skeeters were still rampaging.

[cgundersen]

Um, I'd still bring some netting or DEET; although the bugs were largely benign, there were patches where they were ferocious, particularly in the upper reaches of 2nd recess. We used about half of the 4oz of DEET we carried (over 9 days).
Good luck!
cg

[cgundersen]

The TR that I posted today has a link to photos showing recent snow levels in the Silver/Mono divides.
cg

[TehipiteTom]

Buddy of mine got a shot of the north side of the pass (from Izaak Walton) a few days ago, and there's a whole lotta snow on the north side. Looks like a cornice too. Couple of guys were coming down at the time; not sure how they fared.