ROMAIN WACZIARG |
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MOUNT CLARK, GRAY PEAK, RED PEAK,
MERCED PEAK, MOUNT STARR KING
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Ascents of Mount Clark (Northwest Arête,
class 4), Gray Peak (West Ridge, class 3), Red Peak (North Ridge, class 2),
Merced Peak (North Ridge from Snow Pass, class 2) and Mount Starr King
(Southeast Saddle, 5.0), with Robert Zeithammer, August 24-28, 2017. |
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Timeline: August 24, 2017. We left Mammoth around 8:00. After a stop at the Tuolumne
Meadows Wilderness Center to pick up our permit, and another stop at the
Crane Flat gas station to buy sandwiches, we parked at the Mono Meadows
trailhead, had a quick lunch and departed along the trail at 12:04. We
descended toward Illilouette Creek, crossed it, and continued on toward Mount
Starr King. Just before the trail crosses Red Creek, we left it and proceeded
cross-country, following Red Creek to Grayling Lake. This involved a lot of
bushwhacking through meadows with downed trees and on the steep banks of Red
Creek. We reached our basecamp at Grayling Lake at 18:15. We spent a nice
evening getting ready for the next day and reading the lake's logbook (it is
apparently a popular destination for fishermen). (A 6:11 hour day). August 25, 2017. We left camp at 7:29 and headed North toward Mount Clark. Our
path took us in a rather straight line north of Grayling Lake, skirting
through forest the West ridge of Gray Peak into the Gray Creek drainage, and
further north over a ridge to the base of the Northwest Arête of Mount Clark.
We reached the base of the roped climbing at 10:49. I led a steep crack (5.5)
to the crest of the arête proper. Robert then led a long (60m) pitch on the
arête, mostly 3rd – 4th class with an interesting 5th class crack in the
middle. We then switched to simulclimbing and I led us to the summit,
reaching it at 12:09. We had a quick break and proceeded to descend the
Southeast Arête, which we found to be easier and shorter than advertised. The
NW Arête is a much better climb. We descended the South Slopes of Mount
Clark, aiming for a prominent notch in the N-NW ridge of Gray Peak. Near the
notch, Robert saw a bear (I was not so lucky). From the notch we proceeded
southeast on vegetation-covered slopes, till we reached the crest of the West
Ridge of Gray Peak. This was a very enjoyable 3rd class scramble on an often
very narrow and very exposed ridge – actually a very good ascent route for
Gray Peak. We reached the summit at 15:52 under worsening visibility, due to
Yosemite wildfires. We stayed a few minutes on the summit. The register dates
back to 1979. We then descended the Southwest slope of Gray Peak, which seems
impossibly steep from the drainage below, but is actually only class 2. This
consisted of sand, scree, and continuous granite slabs in the lower half –
just the right angle for walking. We were now well-positioned to descend
directly into our basecamp at Grayling Lake, and reached it at 18:18. On the
way we encountered the most extraordinary Sierra Junipers, some probably many
hundreds – if not thousands – of years old. (A 10:49 hour day). August 26, 2017. We left camp at 8:30, expecting an easier day, and headed East
toward Red Peak. We skirted Lake 10,425 on its northern shore (taking a nice
break near the lake) to reach the low point in the crest directly to the
east. We proceeded to climb the easy, class 2 North Ridge of Red Peak. We
reached the summit at 11:50 and had lunch on top. We then descended the south
slopes toward the trail that crosses the Ottoway basin. We hiked a short way
along the trail toward Red Peak Pass but very soon left it to skirt southeast
toward Snow Pass, on slabs, talus and snow, in a pretty direct line. From
Snow Pass we ascended the N-NE ridge to the summit of Merced Peak, a class 2
route. We reached the summit at 14:50. We then retraced our steps down the
ridge and across the upper Ottoway drainage to regain the trail. This
drainage is a true marvel and, in terms of scenery, was the highlight of our
trip. Lower Ottoway Lake, in particular, was especially magnificent. We left
the trail below Lower Ottoway Lake and skirted the Western aspect of Red
Peak, in the forest, along a constant elevation, dropping down into Grayling
Lake from the southwest. We reached camp at 19:05. That evening we made a
campfire and Robert worked on his entry into the Grayling Lake logbook. (A
10:35 hour day). August 27, 2017. This was supposed to be an easier day. We left Grayling Lake at
9:15. Our intent was to set up a new basecamp near the eastern aspect of
Mount Starr King, but instead of retracing our steps in the forest along Red
Creek we opted to follow a convoluted series of granite domes and ridges
leading toward Starr King Meadow. We did this to avoid harder terrain in the
forest, and indeed the terrain was easier. The path was less direct, however,
involving twists and turns, but with a more gradual ascent toward Starr King
than the alternative along Red Creek. On the way we had great views and as a
side trip climbed a steep finger of rock topping one of the ridges we had to
traverse ("Weathertop", elevation 8,796
ft.). We reached camp atop the last of these high ridges, directly east of
the middle summit of Mount Starr King, at 15:15. However, the campsite had no
water supply. Believing we would find water directly East of Mount Starr
King, we headed North in search of streams appearing on the map – finding
none. We had to walk all the way to Starr King Lake to find water. Starr King
Lake, in this season, was a marshy area with neither an inlet nor an outlet.
Filtering the dubiously colored stagnant water took some time. The place is
made particularly desolate and grim by the fact that the entire surrounding
forest recently burned down – imagine charred trees rising in a bog. This
little water excursion lasted almost three hours and we were back in camp at
18:10. We again made a fire, and had a leisurely evening. (An 8:55 hour day).
August 28, 2017. We left camp at 7:40 to climb Mount Starr King by its easiest
route, from the Southeast Saddle (5.0). To do so, we hiked to the notch
between the southernmost dome and the middle dome. We then hiked over the
entire middle dome (class 2), to reach the notch separating it from the main
summit. Robert led the first pitch, to a ledge (5.0). I then led the second
pitch to where the dome becomes less steep and it becomes possible to walk to
the summit. We reached the summit at 9:07. We took lots of pictures, and
regaled ourselves with the summit register, dating back to 1982, including
numerous entries by RJ Secor, Ron Hudson, Bob Burd and other Sierra legends.
We were back in camp around 11:00, packed up our gear and left at 11:28 to
rejoin the trail. We had lunch at the Illilouette Creek crossing at 13:45
under worsening visibility and air quality, due to wildfires. On the return
to the Mono Meadow trailhead, we could see a huge plume of smoke emanating
from the Empire Fire, a short distance away from our location. This made for
eerie photographs. We reached the car at 15:25, took a dip in Tenaya Lake,
went for dinner at the Whoa Nelli Deli and were
back in Mammoth around 20:15. (A 7:45 hour day). Robert Zeithammer's entry into the
Grayling Lake log book: Morning
of August 26, 2017: This humble speck of water has been our basecamp for a few days
because it seems like an equally inconvenient place to climb both Clark and
Merced without having to lug camping gear around. Why try and climb both
peaks on a single trip you ask ? Because one of our party - the one currently
muttering in the tent about more sleep despite the dawn's early light - is
chasing a dream of completing the outrageously long SPS list. So here we are, one mountain behind us, one to go. Yesterday, we
discovered that this place is indeed inconvenient as a base for Clark – one
has to traverse many ridges and climb up through many forests only to find
that he still far away and above. Luckily for us, our overblown belief in our
abilities got us through the ordeal. Speaking of ordeals: getting here from
Mono Meadows was no joke! People in this book mention bringing horses… How do
they get them through the Meadow of Pickupsticks
Logs? They must carry them! Insane… But back to
yesterday: we eventually found Mount Clark, and traversed it in the most
excellent style – up the NW ridge, down the SE ridge. And with the technical
difficulties over, Mr. Peakbagger aimed us straight at Gray Peak with its
"fun and easy" West Ridge staring us in the face. So we frolicked
over some meadows, walked up interminable slopes, and found ourselves pretty
tired and pretty terrified (me) / relaxed (peakbagger) on top of a long loose
knife edge. Again, delusions of superhuman ability kicked in and got us to
the summit. Deep below, Grayling Lake looked within easy reach (by
paraglide). On the descent, we found nasty steep slopes, fun even steeper
slabs, a magical bog bursting with green, more nasty
boulder-strewn slopes, and a large family of ancient junipers. You can easily
visit the latter from here – they are just across Red Creek on a slabby
slope. The
muttering peakbagger is up, so we must go. Our plan is to to
pop over Red to Upper Ottoway Lake, bag Merced, and skirt the mountains back
here – precisely the route not recommended elsewhere in this journal. So this
may be our last entry here. But we will probably barely make it, as usual. Morning
of August 27, 2017: Another morning in paradise: We survived! I considered writing
about people you don't know at this point, but then I figured you might find
a map more useful. On the map, you can easily follow yesterday's route
(except for the Clark portion, which was so tedious I forced it from memory
by now, and hence can't draw it). But enough
about yesterday, you need to hear about the next adventure. We started by
falling into Red Creek (me) and crossing it on a log (Peakbagger), only to
re-cross it again at the bottom of the Cleft Gorge – a magnificent sight.
Compared to the agony of yesterday's descent, ascending the Slabs of Morning
Glory toward the sun was a pleasure. Highly recommended! Above the
Lake of Morning Anticipation, our hopes were crushed when the nice red
mountain above turned out not to be Red Peak, but only a minor ridge thereof.
Red Peak is inconveniently the farthest of all the perfectly mountainous
prominences, all perfectly red. We climbed it via the Class 1++ (i.e. scary)
ridge. A large gendarme tower blocks access to the Red Pass, so we descended
down towards the Ottoway trail as suggested by the Good Book of Secor. The
path is really a highway paved with flagstones and equipped with perfectly
chiseled stairs whenever the slope is positive. So bring your high heels,
your strollers and your infirm brethren. We found out from the Red Peak
register that the trail was built by demigods named Bonnie and Thor, after
consuming "whiskey by the jug". Given their alleged inebriation,
the result of their labor is all the more impressive. Onwards to
Merced! The Peakbagger was unrelenting… so we soon left the smooth trail, and
hobbled our way up through talus, snow and the occassional
slab to Snow Pass (BTW, I am aware that I can't spell "occcasssional, but my trusty spellchecker is back home on
my computer). Contrary to the good book, there was no register there. Angry at the presumed Greenpeace vigilante who must have taken
it to "leave no traces", we soldiered on. Up and down
we went, there was a view, yada, yada, yada… What I
really want to talk about is Lower Ottoway Lake. Peakbagger and I have seen
our share of lakes, but LOL had us grinning out loud! And good news: you too
can behold its beauty if you follow our route back to camp. Here is how you
get there: climb onto the little saddle at the opposite end of Grayling Lake,
and ascend left to 9,200'. Hold that altitude as you skirt Not Red Peak. When
you get to Stag Meadow, after passing through the Eerie Forest of Death by
Flame, you will be about half way. Say hi to the stag for us! Keep holding
9,200' through the Nasty Ridge of Bouldery
Brambles, and you will be rewarded with granite goodness. Going will get
easier until you reach the Land of Domes. You are almost there. Now we must
go on to Starr King. Photos: Please check here. |