TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

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quentinc
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TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by quentinc »

Since it seems there haven't been any climbing trip reports this year, I thought I'd post a few pictures of my trip up Mt. Williamson the weekend before last. I thought it was quite a feat to do it in 2 days, but then I discovered a scad of trip reports on Summitpost, etc., of people who do it as a day hike. And they throw in Tyndall since it would be too easy just to do Williamson in a day.

I've had it with Webshots so I tried Photobucket. It doesn't work -- the pictures are too big to reproduce here, so everything is cut off. I love technology.
:puke:

OK, thanks to Copeg and Maverick, I think I've fixed it...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Although there are a few agonizing switchbacks between Mahogany Flat and Anvil Camp that add close to a mile with virtually no gain :mad: (why why why???), the 11 miles and 6,000 feet up to Shepherd Pass never feels bad. My favorite sign in the Sierra:

Image

I camped at the lake closest to the peak and had a nice morning jaunt to the top, with no one in sight. Part way up the infamous scree chute:

Image

Looking back:

Image

Nearing the top of the chute, it looks quite regal:

Image

Then there's the Class 3 chimney. The last time I did this, there were tons of people -- I had to figure it out by myself this time. It's hard to capture it from the bottom, so here's a view back down from the top of the chimney. Santa Claus ain't getting down this any time soon:

Image

A view toward Mt. Tyndall:

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There was a small cairn at the peak this time:

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A zoom of Whitney and Russell from the top:

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And a dedication in the register to my father (I meant to say "your spirit is with me" -- maybe it's just as good as it is):

Image
Last edited by quentinc on Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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gary c.
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by gary c. »

Congratulations, it looks like a lot of work but very cool.
"On this proud and beautiful mountain we have lived hours of fraternal, warm and exalting nobility. Here for a few days we have ceased to be slaves and have really been men. It is hard to return to servitude."
-- Lionel Terray
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maverick
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by maverick »

Very nice Q! Happy to see you got your pic's up, really like the steepness in the
shot looking back down the chute. Also good to hear you got up/down without
getting injured this time. :unibrow:
Someone had extra time when on the summit to build that cairn or they were trying
to get the peaks summit from 14375 to 14378.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by giantbrookie »

Nice report. Your photos really capture the essence of that climb. That is indeed a nice peak.
Since my fishing (etc.) website is still down, you can be distracted by geology stuff at: http://www.fresnostate.edu/csm/ees/facu ... ayshi.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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toejam
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by toejam »

Cool TR! I'm amazed at people who do Big Willie in a day. Heck, two days is quite a feat. If you consider the 11 miles & 6000' to Shepherd Pass, two miles of hopping from one loose boulder to another in the Bowl, 1600' of loose crap in the gully, and climbing a 100' crack at the top, it's the toughest mountain I've climbed.

I was there a week before you. I use Picasa:

https://picasaweb.google.com/toejamhike ... directlink" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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STRETCHMAN
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by STRETCHMAN »

Great report and photos. The class 3 looks scary! :)
quentinc
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by quentinc »

toejam wrote: I was there a week before you. I use Picasa:

https://picasaweb.google.com/toejamhike ... directlink" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
TJ, I particularly like the summit celebration photo.
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Re: TR -- Mt. Williamson 7/7 - 7/8

Post by toejam »

Learned that from an army colonel on Mt. Rainier. It's so goofy I can't help myself.


The class 3 part isn't bad since it's there's not much exposure. In fact it's a relief compared to the loose crap in the gully. The worst part was that I first tried to avoid the bottom of the crack going up the left side but got to a slick spot with nothing to hold on to.
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