University Pk: N. Face (Clyde) vs N Face/NW ridge (Wakabayas
Posted: Tue Aug 20, 2013 6:39 pm
Here is a bit of a clarification of the difference between the class 3 N. Face Norman Clyde route, as described in Secor vs the class 2 N. Face/NW ridge route described by me in Corrections to Secor on Climber.org:
Both routes have the same starting point at Bench Lake, but diverge markedly beyond lakelet 11360+. The traditional N Face route listed in Secor is well east of my route and in fact is described as finishing E of the summit on the NE ridge, whereas my route hits the crest of the NW ridge well west of the summit at an elevation of 12800 or a bit higher.
Note the key difference is embodied in the following description in Secor (2nd ed. p.142)
"Continue up scree and talus on the LEFT side of the north face to the summit ridge. A short traverse along the NORTHERN side of the summit ridge leads to the summit block." (my emphasis added). Those are the key statements. Left side of face is read as left as you are climbing. This means the eastern side of the north face which the opposite side of the face that my route goes up. The northern side of the upper NW ridge is the last place you'd want to finish a non-technical climb as it is really vertical. In contrast there must be benches that allow a non technical finish on top of the north side of the NE ridge. The NW ridge difficulties are passed on the SOUTHERN side.
A few additional notes about the N Face/NW Ridge route: What this route amounts to is an Onion Valley approach to the "northwest side" route in Secor, including the Starr variation of the "northwest side" which is the NW ridge accessed from Kearsarge Lake. The key is that the northwest side route listed in Secor and the Starr variation (NW ridge) are described as per an approach from Kearsarge Lakes which is not at all convenient for someone wishing to dayhike University from Onion Valley. I think the Onion Valley approach to the NW ridge qualifies as its own route owing to the fact that it doesn't connect with the NW ridge until you're at an elevation of ≥12800 feet at which point one has completed most of the climb.
A bit of additional historical perspective:
Secor describes the Norman Clyde N Face route in detail, whereas the Roper (1976) guide reads "North Face. Class 3 via an inconspicuous route." Now that's old school, which is why old school peak baggers were accustomed to working out their own routes.
Voge/Smakto (1972) describes the N. Face route as follows which additionally emphasizes how different it is from my route:
"Route 3. North Face. About class 3. First known ascent by Norman Clyde, prior to 1928. From the group of lakes at the northern base, at about 10500 feet (Slim Lake) climb up a steep, rocky slope, several thousand feet in length, to the EASTERN end of a knife edge which can be followed to the summit with comparative ease." Note that the Secor description would also put the finish point on the eastern end of a knife edge instead of west of the summit as per my route.
Note that Roper (1976) listed the northwest side as Route 1.
"Route 1. Northwest side. Class 2. From the upper Kearsarge Lake proceed southeast and climb to the low gap west of the peak. Next, either climb the west ridge to the summit (class 2-3) or walk around a bit onto the easier southwest slope." You can see that the Roper description covers the northwest side as well as it's Starr variation.
In fact the description of the NW side route is also listed as route 1 in the 1972 Voge/Smatko edition presumably because this was the first ascent route (same reason it's route no.1 in Roper) and the description is similar to that in Roper but with a bit more detail. This description was very important to me as I planned the N Face/NW ridge route from Mt Gould in the early 70's because I had seen what the south side looked like and part of the NW ridge was sharp crested enough so that I didn't know whether it was a difficult knife edge or not. Accordingly, knowing that a route could be finished class 2-3 via the NW ridge or class 2 if one bailed southward was what I needed because I could see from Mt. Gould that it would go all class 2 up to the crest of the NW ridge at ~12800 but I couldn't see beyond that.
Anyhow, I hope this all is helpful to peak baggers wishing a quick hike to University from Onion Valley. I hope this clarifies any confusion about the difference between the N Face/NW side/ridge route and the North Face route listed in various guidebooks.
Both routes have the same starting point at Bench Lake, but diverge markedly beyond lakelet 11360+. The traditional N Face route listed in Secor is well east of my route and in fact is described as finishing E of the summit on the NE ridge, whereas my route hits the crest of the NW ridge well west of the summit at an elevation of 12800 or a bit higher.
Note the key difference is embodied in the following description in Secor (2nd ed. p.142)
"Continue up scree and talus on the LEFT side of the north face to the summit ridge. A short traverse along the NORTHERN side of the summit ridge leads to the summit block." (my emphasis added). Those are the key statements. Left side of face is read as left as you are climbing. This means the eastern side of the north face which the opposite side of the face that my route goes up. The northern side of the upper NW ridge is the last place you'd want to finish a non-technical climb as it is really vertical. In contrast there must be benches that allow a non technical finish on top of the north side of the NE ridge. The NW ridge difficulties are passed on the SOUTHERN side.
A few additional notes about the N Face/NW Ridge route: What this route amounts to is an Onion Valley approach to the "northwest side" route in Secor, including the Starr variation of the "northwest side" which is the NW ridge accessed from Kearsarge Lake. The key is that the northwest side route listed in Secor and the Starr variation (NW ridge) are described as per an approach from Kearsarge Lakes which is not at all convenient for someone wishing to dayhike University from Onion Valley. I think the Onion Valley approach to the NW ridge qualifies as its own route owing to the fact that it doesn't connect with the NW ridge until you're at an elevation of ≥12800 feet at which point one has completed most of the climb.
A bit of additional historical perspective:
Secor describes the Norman Clyde N Face route in detail, whereas the Roper (1976) guide reads "North Face. Class 3 via an inconspicuous route." Now that's old school, which is why old school peak baggers were accustomed to working out their own routes.
Voge/Smakto (1972) describes the N. Face route as follows which additionally emphasizes how different it is from my route:
"Route 3. North Face. About class 3. First known ascent by Norman Clyde, prior to 1928. From the group of lakes at the northern base, at about 10500 feet (Slim Lake) climb up a steep, rocky slope, several thousand feet in length, to the EASTERN end of a knife edge which can be followed to the summit with comparative ease." Note that the Secor description would also put the finish point on the eastern end of a knife edge instead of west of the summit as per my route.
Note that Roper (1976) listed the northwest side as Route 1.
"Route 1. Northwest side. Class 2. From the upper Kearsarge Lake proceed southeast and climb to the low gap west of the peak. Next, either climb the west ridge to the summit (class 2-3) or walk around a bit onto the easier southwest slope." You can see that the Roper description covers the northwest side as well as it's Starr variation.
In fact the description of the NW side route is also listed as route 1 in the 1972 Voge/Smatko edition presumably because this was the first ascent route (same reason it's route no.1 in Roper) and the description is similar to that in Roper but with a bit more detail. This description was very important to me as I planned the N Face/NW ridge route from Mt Gould in the early 70's because I had seen what the south side looked like and part of the NW ridge was sharp crested enough so that I didn't know whether it was a difficult knife edge or not. Accordingly, knowing that a route could be finished class 2-3 via the NW ridge or class 2 if one bailed southward was what I needed because I could see from Mt. Gould that it would go all class 2 up to the crest of the NW ridge at ~12800 but I couldn't see beyond that.
Anyhow, I hope this all is helpful to peak baggers wishing a quick hike to University from Onion Valley. I hope this clarifies any confusion about the difference between the N Face/NW side/ridge route and the North Face route listed in various guidebooks.