Champagne Powder and Glass Mountain Dreams

Topics related to peak bagging, rock climbing and bouldering in the foothills and high country of the Sierra Nevada. Be sure to also check out the Information Booth forum category to learn from / see if you can contribute to a profile for High Sierra 13'ers, 14'ers and cross country passes.
Post Reply
User avatar
MooseTracks
Topix Regular
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:29 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Bishop
Contact:

Champagne Powder and Glass Mountain Dreams

Post by MooseTracks »

After plans of heading up Shepherds Pass were thwarted by the rather inclement weather, my bud Paul ventured north to hang for the weekend. Sunday we headed north and east into the Benton Range to explore as much as we could. While snowy and cloudy, the storm was quite lovely, and we were able to hit the whole Glass Mountain Ridge.

Glass Mountain (11,140ft)
Kelty Peak (10,617ft)
Wilfred Peak (10,030ft)
Cone Peak (10,152ft)

Some notes:
1) While the road is well-packed dirt, it was a little soft from the rains and snow. Only light dustings occurred in the vicinity of Sawmill Meadow, where we parked (9200ft).

2) A brand new covering of snow (1-2") was on everything above 9500ft, getting progressively deeper with the climb. Depths near the summits varied from 6-12". The powder was fluff-dry , reminding me of Utah snow. It actually helped a lot with traction on the obsidian scree slopes of all these peaks.

3) The ridge is very straightforward and a nice bit of up and down. Besides Glass, there are no registers or markers, nor are the other peaks named on the topos.

4) I'm sure the views regularly are quite spectacular. We saw, well, clouds . :/ Actually, they parted for a few minutes when we were on Cone to reveal Crowley Lake and parts of the Long Valley Caldera.

Lighting and fog made for a very interesting photo day. Luckily both Paul and I wore bright colors so we could see each other! A few other moments from the day:

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Rest of the pics are here.

-L :cool:
"Why do I climb? Quite simply because the mountains and I had to meet." - Colette Richard

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosepics621
User avatar
Snow Nymph
Founding Member
Posts: 2042
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:43 pm
Experience: Level 4 Explorer
Location: Mammoth Lakes, CA
Contact:

Re: Champagne Powder and Glass Mountain Dreams

Post by Snow Nymph »

Great trip! Wish I could have gone, but had a prior commitment. What are the hats and helmets?
Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free . . . . Jim Morrison


http://snownymph.smugmug.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
MooseTracks
Topix Regular
Posts: 161
Joined: Wed Aug 29, 2007 1:29 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Bishop
Contact:

Re: Champagne Powder and Glass Mountain Dreams

Post by MooseTracks »

We came upon the helmets on Cone Peak, maybe a final resting ground? I think the one on the ground used to be up, but was blown off sometime recently. Wierd!! :confused:

Yeah, I thought of you, would've been fun playing in the snow! Maybe this coming weekend!

-L :cool:
"Why do I climb? Quite simply because the mountains and I had to meet." - Colette Richard

http://www.flickr.com/photos/moosepics621
User avatar
Ranboze
Topix Regular
Posts: 148
Joined: Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:35 pm
Experience: N/A
Location: Long Beach, CA

Re: Champagne Powder and Glass Mountain Dreams

Post by Ranboze »

Looks and sounds like a fun time on the ridge, Laura. Lots of ridge walks for everyone this past weekend!
Walking outside is where I find what's inside.
Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 59 guests