High Sierra Topix

Part of the problem with talking about class 2 and 3 is that in recent decades I've noticed fair numbers of descriptions by people saying they were on a class 3 route that from my earlier era understanding decades ago would have been upper class 2. There has always been discussion by hikers and backpackers claiming some of Roper and Secor's class labels were more difficult than labeled so when they labeled a route as class 3 it is usually dangerous. What some here describe as class 2 or class 2-3 is probably just class 2 as I look at routes.

The link below describes the way I view class 3. Class 3 is where one MUST use their hands. If one falls one is PROBABLY not going to die but could well become seriously injured. However one certainly could die in class 3 if one hits say their head against a boulder. With class 4 one is LIKELY to die. With more difficult class 2 although one may get by without using hands, a lot of times it is better to use one hands. With class 3 there isn't that choice. I am quite talented at climbing up stuff without using my hands where most others would and part of that comes from my long history of hand carrying tripods and cameras while moving through terrain where one doesn't have that option.

Climbing up steep class 3 small to medium sized talus with a heavy pack is particularly scary and dangerous because the tendency is for pack weight to pull one off away from rock holds. Any longer distance of Class 3 slabs with a heavy pack is likewise asking for eventual trouble much like skiing in steeps. If one doesn't self arrest at the first instant hitting a slope, your probably going to slide a long ways.

http://www.sierradescents.com/climbing/ ... ass-3.html

Summary per Wikipedia:

Sierra Club Yosemite Decimal System

Class 1: Walking with a low chance of injury, hiking boots a good idea.
Class 2: Simple scrambling, with the possibility of occasional use of the hands. Little potential danger is encountered. Hiking Boots highly recommended.
Class 3: Scrambling with increased exposure. Handholds are necessary. A rope should be available for learning climbers, or if you just choose to use one that day, but is usually not required. Falls could easily be fatal.

Thankfully, there are several ways to do Cirque Pass that work. To each his own, based on individual likes, dislikes and skills, as well as weather conditions. "class 3" is a very broad rating and defined many different ways. "Must" use hands is dependent on the climber/backpacker's skill level. And carrying a 25 pound pack vs a 50 pound pack are also two different beasts. If you are loaded down with lots of fishing or camera gear Roper's route can be very difficult.

As for Potluck Pass, I have gone around the lake south of Potluck Pass both ways. Via the outlet is more direct, but is very cliffy and complex. Circling the lake at first (coming from Cirque Pass) seems better but going back west to the gully that leads up to Potluck Pass is very complex. In my opinion, you do not save much complexity, just add a longer easier part. I have ascended too far east (from the south side) to Potluck Pass and ended up in some class 3. The gully to the west is a bit loose and miserable, but class 2. You must turn right (going up) and exit the gully before it ends and traverse back east to the pass. Many little paths go up too far and stop at a cliff. Lots of people have made this mistake, leaving an apparent use-trail that dead ends.

Google Earth is a great tool, but just a tool. I would not place all bets on a route based on a Google Earth analysis alone. It does however point to some possible alternatives that could be worthy of some exploration.

For me, the crux of Cirque Pass, starting out from near the outlet of the lower of the Palisade Lakes, is the area not too far above the lake where one may be forced to decide between a circuitous route to avoid bushwhacking or a direct route that is likely to include a brief class 2-3 scramble. Finding a way down from Cirque Pass to Lake 11,672 ft (3558 m) is interesting, but not health threatening if one has patience. I haven't tried the far left or far right routes.

In 1979 I soloed Mt Sill from Barrett Lakes. I was surprised when I encountered Potluck Pass, and did not recall seeing it on my old Mt Goddard 15' quad. Looking down the pass there didn't appear to be a particularly tasty way down so I picked from the dishes on the table (pot luck). The length and rigidity of the aluminum frame of my nearly empty Kelty pack made things more difficult than they had to be to descend class 3 rock.

Recently I was pleased to find out why Potluck Pass is not mentioned by Francis P. Farquhar in his 1926 book, "Place Names of the High Sierra"; to confirm my suspicion for why the pass was named Potluck; and to discover why the existence of the pass surprised me that day.

--from Sierra Nevada Place Names (2011) by Peter Browning

"Apparently named in 1927; perhaps because there is no obvious route down the southeast side, and one has to take pot luck in making the descent." (Letter, Thomas H. Jukes to Farquhar, Aug. 30, 1939.) It was added to the map by the USGS because of its use in The Climber's Guide. The pass is not named on the Mt. Goddard 15' quad.

My advice for any non-climbers planning to traverse this pass for the first time (especially if carrying a full pack), is to allow LOTS of time for scouting and route-finding to avoid the slippery Class 3 slabs that we encountered (details below). I advise against counting on the Google-Earth-based route speculation from those who haven’t traversed this pass in person.

We ascended Cirque Pass from the the north, from the outlet of Lake 11,676. Both north and south sides seemed less steep than Chimney, mostly easy Class 1-2 slab, ledge and bench systems, with the following exceptions:
--There were narrow choke-points on either side of the summit for which we used both hands dynamically but briefly and without exposure, that might have been avoided with patient route-finding.
--The final descent to the tarn just west of Lower Palisade Lake was more challenging Class 2-3. The day before I had scouted from below, looking for the supposed Class 2 route to the west of the tarn, but all I found were transverse (east-west) gullies choked with huge talus, over which one could reach a very steep cliff, without an obvious Class 2 or even Class 3 route. It looked essentially the same when descending from above, so we found ourselves heading down steep, wet and grassy slabs, that we descended mostly by slowing our butt-slides with our feet, due to the lack of good foot- or hand-holds and the crumbly nature of the available flakes. The ledge I slid down for about 20-30 feet narrowed at one point to about 6 feet wide, which, although it was not outward-tilting, felt significantly slippery, and very exposed during the 5 minutes I spent there repairing a day-pack chest strap which had chosen this convenient moment to detach itself from the shoulder strap. A fall at this point would most definitely have been fatal. I personally wouldn’t have wanted to take a full pack through this Class 3+ crux. Much spookier than anything we encountered on Chimney Pass (see my comments on Chimney for comparison).

I meant to post this here a while back - I've talked to a lot of people doing the pass that ended up on 3+/4.

What throws off most people going from NW to SE is the "pond" I think. There's a small one you pass after the slabby ledges when it levels out, with some easy drainages after that go to an enchanting little grassy shelf. That shelf has a beautiful ramp E that is a lie. If you keep (S)W it's all straightforward class 2 down.