Mineral King (MK) Epiphany: Comparing Amphitheater (Amp) Lake Loops

[cgundersen]

After finally posting a TR for a visit to the MK environs last year, I had the nagging feeling that there may have been photos from my original encounter with MK’s Amp Lake. I unexpectedly came across the pack of prints (from 2003), so in the spirit of making bold observations from old photos, here are a few comments:

The 2003 trip to Amp Lake started with a memorable afternoon thunderstorm that prevented us (a work pal and me) from getting over the ridge from Crystal Lake to Amp Lake. A photo of this ridge taken before the rain (from the Crystal side) is below (not great resolution, but it looked remarkably similar in 2021):

Ridge between Crystal and Amp Lakes

I’m still not 100% certain where we climbed the Crystal-Amp ridge in 2003 (I’m guessing one of the right to left-trending cracks). All I know is that last year that same ridge was impassable for my buddy and me. Go figure? Is it age? Changing terrain? Wisdom? Self-preservation?

After that day 1 storm in 2003, we had great weather, and once we reached the Crystal-Amp ridge, there are photos back toward Crystal Lake , along the ridgeline, and several looking down at Amp Lake (including Soda Canyon, Lake 10479, and Sawtooth Peak). The rest of the 2003 trip’s photos were unremarkable with the exception of the marvelous view of the “stepping-stone” lakes visible from “Black Rock Pass adjacent”. The photo from 2003 is very similar to the one in the TR from 2021 (Spring, Cyclamen and Columbine Lakes).

Crystal Lake from ridge to Amp lake

At the Crystal-Amp ridge

Amp Lake and Soda Canyon

Amp Lake closeup from Crystal ridge

Amp Lake and Sawtooth peak

Spring, Cyclamen and Columbine lakes from Black Rock pass adjacent

One other thing I noted is that there was appreciably more residual snow in 2003 (the 2003 photos were developed in August and looking back were probably from the first week in August). I think the conclusion there is self-evident. My other conclusion is that the little digital scanner I used does a decent job, so now I have gobs of photos to digitize. Lucky me!
Cameron

[Shawn]

I was in the area with a friend in June of 2004. we got chased off of Mineral Peak by lightning with our ice axes buzzing. There was quite a lot of snow there during our visit. We descended to the upper Monarch Lake and down to the trail and out from there. The "trail" was completely covered in snow and was a slip, trip and avy danger for a mile or more (fun times, lol).

I recall snapping a few photos of amp lake but really haven't examined what I have to see if it's amp lake or another below us. Had thought I'd be back there doing another loop this year but it seems time has run out.

crystal ridge.jpg (143.9 KiB) Viewed 145 times

[cgundersen]

Hi Shawn,
Well, talk about differences in snow levels; impressive!

Yes, I'm with you on the view captured in your first image (Crystal ridge), because it sure looks familiar and the background peak is exactly the same as the one in my posted shot of Amp Lake and Soda Canyon (that has Lake 10479, too).
Your second shot looks more like upper Monarch Lake to me. I could be wrong, but since the top of Mineral Peak is separated from the Amp Lake basin by the ridges either side of the un-named peak that tops out at about 11,600 ft, it seems unlikely to me that you'd have gotten the perspective shown in your photo. At the same time, you would have been looking directly down on the Monarch Lakes (for part of your climb).
And I'm pretty confident the side-by-side lakes in your last two shots are Crystal lake and its upper tarn/lakelet (compare to my second photo).

With the heat we're getting in LA, I'd sure rather be up there right now! Cameron

[Shawn]

Yes, you are correct about the extra photos. After I posted them I couldn't delete them to save my life and was hoping they were just stuck in my local cache, but obviously not. Sorry for the confusion.

And indeed, I'd sure rather be up there too!