LaSalle Col

[alpinemike]

TITLE: LaSalle Col

GENERAL OVERVIEW: This pass leads from the basin North of Merriam Lake to the Vee Lake Basin area.

CLASS/DIFFICULTY: Class 2-3

LOCATION: John Muir Wilderness in Sierra National Forest on the Northeast ridge of Peak 12,502 (Not marked on USGS Map). According to straight line miles it is .4 Miles SW of LaSalle Lake. HST Map

ELEVATION: 11,992

USGS TOPO MAP (7.5'): Mt. Hilgard

ROUTE DESCRIPTION: The South side of this pass is straightforward. After reaching the lakes above Merriam Lake you cross the creek and are on the West side of it. Once you get to the Western edge of the last lake in the basin before LaSalle Lake you start angling up following a drainage and some vegetation. The terrain consists of some talus, grass, and granite slabs. You will then veer a bit to the right where you'll pass through a narrow area where it's larger boulders until topping out at a flat area where there is a small tarn which is indicated on the USGS map. From here the route ascends slabs and boulders up to the saddle. There is no obvious way and most of the boulders are stable.

The North side of this pass possess route finding concerns. I ended up sliding down a Class 5 crack since I picked a bad route. The route can be as easy as class 3 granite slabs and as difficult as being cliffed out and retreating up to find a better route. It is essentially a large cliff face with granite shelfs where one picks his way down avoiding the cliffs. I could not find the best way down and thus this pass should not be attempted unless one is willing to possibly backtrack since cliffs are a major possibility. From the top of the pass one may traverse a bit NE and attempt to follow a lot of unpleasant talus and boulders down in order to avoid some cliffs. Talus and massive boulders are encountered at the bottom where the grade lessens almost all the way to the first lake. It is easy strolling from there to Vee Lake.

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[tomba]

We crossed this pass a couple of years ago from NW to SE. On NW side we angled quite a bit left (E) to avoid what looked possibly difficult. That way was longer, on talus. When we climbed higher and got a better look at the direct route we thought that it was not necessary to go so far left.