The Worst or Scariest Back Country Pass you've done

[sekihiker]

Piss Your Pants Pass

Why?
It was my first and I really didn't know what to expect.
I was inexperienced with cross country travel.
I wasn't expecting to have to slide for hundreds of feet down a steep slope by the seat of my pants with a backpack on.

Since then I have been over more than 100 passes on and off trail and I have never felt the same trepidation as I did those 47 years ago.

[sekihiker]

...For scariest, I think it's actually a class 2 pass that ranks as no. 1 in my book and it's one that isn't considered really bad by folks. This is Kaweah Pass near to Mt Kaweah. I have never seen such large talus move across such a large area of a slope. In other words I would be walking on one part of the talus slope and see things twitching 50 feet up the slope. I recall ascending and initially getting off of the class 2 talus onto funky, loose class 3 rock. One of my hiking partners on that trip, who is quite a mountain goat, muttered "this is getting pretty sketchy"...

When I went down Kaweah Pass it was close to dark. I remember a lot of loose rocks acting as ball bearings on fairly steep bedrock. I cursed myself for not making it there earlier so I could have seen the route better. Maybe it was just as well. Had there been more light I might have been freaked out by all the moving talus.
I was really happy to get to the bottom where I camped just below Squaretop. The morning view did not disappoint.

[robertseeburger]

For me.. I would mention two passes, both previously mentioned. The worst experience I have ever had was Snow Tongue Pass. Or perhaps I should say the most dangerous...for me. It was September 2010---I had just resumed backpacking after essentially a thirty year hiatus---I had been over it in my youth so I thought it was no problem... but what got me was not the "snow tongue", but the large talus going around Wahoo Lakes. I hate large talus, stable or not. And I lost my balance and fell backwards deep in the recesses of the large talus. I was solo, it was late in the season, and this was before I carried a Delorme. Fortunately the fall was not severe and I escaped ok. But I was and am cognizant a broken bone in that place at that time might have been it. That stretch is very tedious, and I don't plan to do it again.

The other pass I wanted to mention was Scimitar Pass. Only this time I was a lot smarter! I went up it two years ago from the east side, and I got to about 11,500 feet and the progress was so slow, I just said to myself " I am not going to make it". And so I turned around. Who says you don't get smarter as you get older?

[maverick]

IMO, the most strenuous series of passes, are in the Palisades, starting from the north with Jigsaw, Scimitar, Southfork, and Birch Creek passes, all are treacherous, and should be used near the end of ones trip, if possible, not at the beginning, with a full pack, especially the last three.

[tie]

At the top of my all-time worst so far is University "Pass" (which is really a col). Following oceans of boulder-hopping from Robinson Lake on the east, the slope to the top is steep and incredibly loose, with sand and huge rocks mixed in haphazardly and ready to go as soon as they are touched. Coming down from the south slopes of University Peak (themselves textbook exercise in the mind-numbing one step up, two steps down routine), I lost my balance after reaching the pass. I landed on a pile of boulders that took off with me on top, and for a few seconds slid helplessly downhill. I extricated myself as soon as it came to a temporary stop, but the feeling of being out of control and powerless to do anything about the unstable rocks convinced me to never again revisit the location.

Also worthy of mention is Horse Creek Pass on the south side of Matterhorn Peak. In addition to the requisite oceans of boulders, route-finding in the canyon below is confusing and frustrating.

Wow, that sounds scary on University. I remember going up it and getting scared because when the sun hit the pass rocks started falling on me. Fortunately I was most of the way up already. (And in retrospect it wasn't that bad. My memory isn't very good.

Worse, on the same trip, was "Little Joe's Pass" down to Lake Reflection. Not because it was difficult. But it is so. Far. Down. Endless.

That's odd about Horse Creek Pass. I thought it was super easy a few weeks ago. I stayed high (to the north, en route to Matterhorn Peak), and never went through the actual pass, though.

[Harlen]

Thanks for all the contributions, we are learning a lot from these comments. Lizzie is now sure she is not going over Snow Tongue Pass, and I will probably choose to do it in the snowy season. As for Scimitar Pass, Haeckel Col, and perhaps Jigsaw Pass too, I will be taking rope gear and a partner (i.e., other than "Bear").
The conditions clearly change a lot for year to year as the overloads of loose talus are periodically swept clean by earthquakes, and just gravity. [This leads me to recall a questionable theory proposed by climber Doug Robinson, that with the cessation of some sort of bomb testing that used to go on- at China Lake I believe- there was a concomitant increase in the accumulation of delicately perched rock on the climbing routes in the Eastern Sierra. He believed that the shock waves from the bomb-testing served to remove such perched debris from the cliffs. ???? Daisy, John, Bill, or any other of the geologically inclined among us want to weigh in on the likelihood of Robinson's theory?] However it happens, the conditions, and therefore the difficulty, can change a lot from year to year. More so with tight couloir/gully situations like say University Col, which I descended safely, yet more recently it was an unstable nightmare for "orbitor." With vast talus fields, like the one below Mt. Kaweah, the instability will more of a constant, at least for the next 10,000 years or so.
Since "Horse Creek Pass" was just mentioned, I will include another difficult and scary pass from our history in that area. We climbed the col just 3/4 of a mile to the southwest of HC Pass, with our eldest on top rope belay, and our youngest secured in a backpack kid-carrier. This is an elegant high route crossing- you can traverse toward it from very near the top of HC Pass, and it is only about 400 feet up. But there is a short and steep Class 3 section that required the rope work. So this col was difficult, but was more scary than hard because of the precious cargo we carried up- we also has along with us a very fit but less experienced young friend. The climbing is on solid rock, and it all went very well in fact, but it was all Lizzie and I would be willing to do with little children. So I am introducing yet another form of "pass scariness."

This high route took us over to easy Burro Pass, and then to the last pass, which was not only a bit difficult, but actually led to a loss of blood. I still highly recommend this route though, as that last crossing at the north end of Sawtooth Ridge leads one down between the immense and awe-inspiring white granite walls of the climbing mountain known so far as "The Incredible Hulk," and immediately across is the golden spire of Kettle Peak. The pass itself isn't the hard part, instead, it's the lower section of "Little Slide Canyon," which the route descends. It is comprised of big, angular blocks, and requires real caution to navigate. Our young friend got going too fast, and slid off one big block down into a hole, and when he came back out, he was draining blood from a nasty shin wound. It was a lot of bunched-up skin- nothing to stitch up left, and tough guy that he was, he just cleaned and bandaged it up, and off we went the last few miles to Mono Village. Sorry for the lack of photos- all still unscanned slides.

[Hobbes]

Harlen, the Czech hiker I mentioned here http://www.highsierratopix.com/communit ... 20#p127733 also did an extended Evolution loop hike (North lake to South lake).

But, rather than just head down Piute canyon, he followed some notes I made on his map to follow the SHR from Humphreys basin. In fact, because he wanted to see Star from the top (we had camped below a few weeks earlier when we hiked up Pine creek), he went to the same exact spot you took this photo:



Even without snow, he thought it was a little steep, so he backtracked and went down Puppet. From there, he dropped to French canyon, then hiked down to where he picked up the JMT and continued on the normal route over Muir and out via Bishop.

So, thought you'd enjoy some confirmation about that descent from another pretty avid hiker.

[Harlen]

Cool, thanks Karl.
Sound like great routes by the Czech guy, and now coming up for you in the Kern. How I dream of those old favorite areas on the periphery of E. Valley-- Upper end of Wanda, Davis Lakes, and the Great Fishing Lake 11,_ _ _! And a second favorite area, where you get to go-- the upper Kern/K.K Divide!* All off limits to me due to my inseparable best friend "Bear,"-- F*&@!
*Getting back to "Hard Passes," have you done "Thunder Col?" Is it the one that sekihiker described as one of his hardest? What did you make of it?

p.s. [Hobbes, you are, (or were) a Great Thinker, will you please devise for "Bear" a "Coyote-Suit?" It'll need to include a muzzle adapter, since his own looks far more "bear-like." Or maybe just some sort of coyote colored spray paint? If you can sew together custom backpacks, and did all of that Social philosophizing for everyone, you should be able to do this for me. Thanks, Ian.]

carl book 077.JPG

Bear, looking forward to another "Hard and Scary Pass."

[Hobbes]

He is such a beautiful dog. Other than taking him out in winter - when the 'fuzz' isn't around (sorry, Cam, George & OR - couldn't resist) - Mammoth, Pine & Piute seem to be the go to spots.

That's a great looking pack on him - did you make it for him?

[Harlen]

Luckily Bear loves the redwood forest and creeks nearby as much as "scary Sierra passes." And there are a lot of options off Mono Creek too Karl, no worries! I did not make the pack for bear, but I will one day get back to Andy about light pack materials and plans. Thanks for the reply.