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.
Wife and I played hooky from work on Thursday and climbed Phipps peak from the Eagle Falls/Lake trailhead. We took the "direct" route up through the drainage SE of the peak proper and then descended directly to Middle Velma. From there took the very pleasant trail back to the TH. A kind of strange peak in the middle of such beautiful wilderness - anybody know why Phipps is a named summit whereas the nearby (and more impressive) Pk 9310' is not??
Fall is the most beautiful time to climb
Also found my 4th stranded hiking pole this year!! As well as an old ALPS blow-up sleeping mat. Unfortunately, found these early on so I had to pack'em up and haul for the whole hike in my relatively tiny daypack.
Sorry for the spastic report and for the lack of pictures
Nice climb! How long would you guess that it took? And how gnarly does that steep section in the drainage get, exposure and bushwhacking-wise? That section NNE of Lower Velma looks like it could get a little hairy.
No exposure to speak of other than large boulder hopping. There was one place where we cliffed out a bit above Velma but it wasn't more than 15'.
Bushwhacking was worse than expected from the SummitPost description. Take a small pack with minimal straps and it probably wouldn't be quite as bad.
It has been a bit, so I can't remember how long it took. I do recall thinking that it wasn't much of a time-saver vs. the circuitous established trail route.
Excellent. Thanks for the reply. Still sounds like a fun off-the-beaten trek for that area. I've been wanting to climb Phipps for a while now, and maybe even throw a line in Phipps Lake while I'm in the area. Thanks again!
