Highland Peak Alpine County
Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2017 9:42 am
Last Saturday, July 29 I attempted to summit both Highland and Silver Peaks in Alpine County just south of Ebbett’s Pass.
I successfully summited Highland but turned around after seeing Silver peak and realizing I did not have enough time to bag both peaks that day.
I began the climb using the standard route described by Pete Yamagata, Bob Burd and our own Cefire (Andrew).
Hike the PCT south to Noble Lake and gain the saddle between Peak 10824 and Peak 9741.
This is taken from the above the tarn above Noble Lake.
This is a pretty straight forward hike until you start climbing the loose gravel slog up the slope to the saddle. Once on top of the saddle you can follow a very faint use trail (more like a game trail) along the ridge. There is more loose gravel that quickly turns to class 2 rock climbing.
Looking south into the heart of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. Bull Lake is in center frame.
The true nature of this climb is revealed to you once you reach the false summit. That is Highland Peak with the two Silver Peaks in the distance.
At this point I realized I was overly ambitious by thinking I could bag both peaks and make it home that night. I had an issue with my phone and couldn’t tell those waiting for me that I changed my plans. (On a side note I am looking into a purchase of an InReach.)
The ridge hopping was a lot of tedious, but fun class 2 climbing.
I finally gained the summit and found the register.
It would take another over 4 miles with over 2000 feet of up and down class 2 ridge hopping to get to Silver and back. Silver will need to wait for another day.
This is a shot from Highland looking back at the false summit 10824. That is some very tiring climbing. If you want to climb some very loose talus go here. Imagine stepping on talus rocks weighing between 2 to 10 times your own weight and 80 % of the rocks move under foot!
“I’ll be back!”
Thanks for reading my post.
-Russ
I successfully summited Highland but turned around after seeing Silver peak and realizing I did not have enough time to bag both peaks that day.
I began the climb using the standard route described by Pete Yamagata, Bob Burd and our own Cefire (Andrew).
Hike the PCT south to Noble Lake and gain the saddle between Peak 10824 and Peak 9741.
This is taken from the above the tarn above Noble Lake.
This is a pretty straight forward hike until you start climbing the loose gravel slog up the slope to the saddle. Once on top of the saddle you can follow a very faint use trail (more like a game trail) along the ridge. There is more loose gravel that quickly turns to class 2 rock climbing.
Looking south into the heart of the Carson Iceberg Wilderness. Bull Lake is in center frame.
The true nature of this climb is revealed to you once you reach the false summit. That is Highland Peak with the two Silver Peaks in the distance.
At this point I realized I was overly ambitious by thinking I could bag both peaks and make it home that night. I had an issue with my phone and couldn’t tell those waiting for me that I changed my plans. (On a side note I am looking into a purchase of an InReach.)
The ridge hopping was a lot of tedious, but fun class 2 climbing.
I finally gained the summit and found the register.
It would take another over 4 miles with over 2000 feet of up and down class 2 ridge hopping to get to Silver and back. Silver will need to wait for another day.
This is a shot from Highland looking back at the false summit 10824. That is some very tiring climbing. If you want to climb some very loose talus go here. Imagine stepping on talus rocks weighing between 2 to 10 times your own weight and 80 % of the rocks move under foot!
“I’ll be back!”
Thanks for reading my post.
-Russ