Crabtree Pass -> Discovery Pinnacle

[psykokid]

Getting ready to head up the weekend of the 15-17 to go on a trip with a friend to see a couple of areas that we've both wanted to check out. The route we're planning on taking is to start from Horseshoe Meadows, head up to Cottonwood Lakes, over OAP, and then up into the Miter Basin for day 1. Day 2 we're going to head up over Crabtree Pass to Discovery Pinnacle then down to Trail Crest, tag Muir and Whitney, then descend the MR and camp near Iceberg Lake. Day 3 will be out via the MR approach and back to Whitney Portal. Rough idea of our planned route here: https://caltopo.com/m/JT82

Only question we're pondering is which route to take from Crabtree Pass to Discovery Pinnacle:
- option A is to descend to Upper Crabtree Lake from the pass and then contour around and head up the Dreaded Sand Hill to Discovery Pinnacle.
- option B is to drop down a little below the pass and then pick our way through the cliff bands, around the cirque, and then up through the cliff bands on the other side and then ascend to Discovery Pinnacle. (described here : http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthread ... mber/10807)

We're both good off route and some class 3 scrambling isn't a problem. Packs will be pretty light, we'll both be right around 25 lbs with food and water. Any thoughts as to which route? The slog up the sand hill sounds like less than fun, plus it's a lot of elevation loss only to have to make it up climbing sandy garbage. Only positive I can see from this route is the ability to fill up on water before heading up the sand hill. The route around from the pass seems to be pretty solid from the descriptions, but we'd have to lug all of our water for the day from the lake 12129 the pass. We're likely to just play it by ear on the day of, just looking for some firsthand knowledge from the group before heading up. Thanks in advance!

[psykokid]

Also, anyone been over crabtree pass recently? Looking on info on regards to conditions on the back side of the pass descending from the pass to upper crabtree lake.

[Wandering Daisy]

[attachment=0]IMG_7588.jpg

Here is a photo of the north side of Crabtree Pass, 8/16. The pass is snow-free but there were snowfields on both sides of the upper Crabtree Lake.

[psykokid]

WD - Thanks for the pic! That answers two questions.. The route from the pass around the cirque and through the cliff bands to the left of your photo looks very doable. I've marked it up as to what looks like a decent line with some scrambling and minimal sand/scree sloggage. We'll have to see how things look on the ground as to whether we go high or low at first from the pass.

IMG_7588 copy.jpg

[psykokid]

Just thought I would follow up. Well, the sand hill sucked as advertised, so no shocker there. We did end up cutting through the cliff bands. Here's a couple of pics showing our approximate route through and up. Looks a lot worse than it is from afar. Once you get close it's just simple scramble, albeit a bit loose in spots. Ended up taking us 3 hours from Crabtree Pass to Discovery Pinnacle

cliff_band_route_2.jpg

cliff_band_route.jpg

[maverick]

Very enjoyable, thorough TR, with wonderful route descriptions and photos. Thank you for taking the time to put it together and share it here on HST!

[psykokid]

Very enjoyable, thorough TR, with wonderful route descriptions and photos. Thank you for taking the time to put it together and share it here on HST!

No worries, glad to contribute! I feel like it's a way to give back to the community after gleaning so much valuable information from the others on here. Hopefully I'll be able to actually make it up to one of the HST meets and put some faces to names sometime in the future.

[maverick]

Hopefully I'll be able to actually make it up to one of the HST meets and put some faces to names sometime in the future.

Hopefully next year.