Class: A challenging 2 with plenty of class 3 potential on the western face
Location: Kings Canyon National Park just southwest of Mather Pass
Elevation: 12,227 ft
USGA Topo map (7.5'): Split mountain Link to UBC on HST Map
Route Description: We approached from the east during mid-June of a low snow year (2012), and the ascent was uneventful with moderately solid footing on rock and some talus. We aimed for the low point on the ridge and dropped packs to search for a descent on the appreciably steeper western side. Roughly 100 ft north of the low point there is an angled granite chute that could be an option for skilled climbers. It drops ~100 ft to the extensive boulder field that constitutes most of the western descent. Instead, we found a series of ramps and ledges that began ~50 ft south of the low point. This system trends south and after descending ~100 ft, there is a lateral traverse back north that leads to a point just below the angled granite chute mentioned above. We got onto boulders at this point and continued the descent. It is a pretty arduous stretch of down climbing before you hit solid footing, and if I ever go this way again, I'll take more breaks to rest my brakes!
I had trouble loading high resolution jpeg photo files, so I'll try reducing the file size and add photos later.
cg
Distant view of UBC from the East
