If you've been searching for the best source of information and stimulating discussion related to Spring/Summer/Fall backpacking, hiking and camping in the Sierra Nevada...look no further!
Shawn, Great report! You'll get it next time. Some peaks are just harder than others. It took 3 tries for Dubois, 2 for Montgomery, and there's others. I used to try Snowburd's trips, then realized those guys hike 3 mph "uphill" (and I don't).
We did Banner from Ediza in Oct (snowed the day before), went past our turnaround time (we were so close), then got stuck (icy), hiked out on a moonless night/morning (22 hr hike for us). :retard:
You did great getting to where you did. It'll be there for you next time.
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
Shawn, that is a great report! You have a better attitude than I do about such things. I have had to turn around on one mountain and I am still mad about it to this day! It was about 4 years ago.
Banner is a great summit. It seemed to be a lot easier from the Catherine side though.
Better luck next time...you will have a long mountaineering career if you keep using your head and not your heart to make decisions in the mountains.
Shawn wrote:Maybe I should change my name to "Summitless Shawn".
You're preaching to the choir of ERIC, Shawn! LOL!!! Maybe I should be called "High Sierra Topix Slave - Eric". Or, maybe "Works 12hrs/Day, & Deletes HST Spam At Night - Eric"? Hey, most of you on here have at least been fortunate enough this season to exploit opportunities to GET UP TO OUR MOUNTAINS a few times!! My grand total for the season........ONE day-hike. Yippie!!!!
Thanks for the report, Shawn! Nice pictures, too (I especially like the Shadow Lake picture, that lake is so photogenic).
I've done very little off-trail climbing like this (lack of confidence off-trail? ) , maybe that will be my next challenge. Anyway, Shawn, a 19.5 day hike with that kind of climb is not too shabby!
Okay, guess I'll wait a while before changing my name.
I appreciate the nice comments and encouragement.
SnowNymph - I checked out your Banner pics with you and SnowDude a few weeks ago. They gave me a good sense of what to expect. Except for the loose rubble pile up high, the glacier was nicely softened by the time I got to it.
Mountaineer - Your words put my trip into perspective. It is frustrating to get so far and only turn back because of a mindset rather than fatigue or other reasons.
Eric - Your comments made me laugh out loud!
We need to get a pinch hitter for you so you can get out more! As others have said better, you run a great website and it's obvious more people are making this "home" by virtue of the great people here.
Rosabella - Thanks for the nice thoughts. Shadow Lake was an unexpected pleasure. I just checked out your pics, "beautiful!".
That's a pretty tough dayhike you did - I'm impressed. If you decide to try Banner again next year and want company, let me know. I'm going to do try it as a 3-day trip sometime next July or August.