How To Fall Off A Mountain

Rich Benbrook

Using the Maps

Mount Whitney

Monarch Lake

Vidette Meadow

Cottonwood Lakes

Onion Valley to
Whitney Portal

Symmes Creek to
Mineral King

Mount Tyndall

Whitney Group

Mount Shasta

Mount Williamson

Palisades

Middle Palisade
Revisited

Thunder Mountain

Middle Palisade
Try Again

Middle Palisade
Take Three

Mount Sill

Thunderbolt Peak
Climbing Up

Thunderbolt Peak
Climbing Down

Thunderbolt Peak
Rescue

Aerial Photos

National Park Service Search and Rescue

Links

Mount Sill

maps:

Tim and I returned to the Palisades again in 2003. This time, we ascended the north fork of Big Pine creek and headed for Mount Sill. Kelly and I had climbed this peak previously from the other side. Tim and I were going to attempt it from a more difficult route. We established our base camp at the foot of the Palisade glacier, the largest in the Sierras. The terrain was rocky, and only small patches of level ground could be found. We set up our tent in the best spot we could find, and retreated inside while a storm passed over.

That evening, as the storm cleared and we ventured back outside, we were both struck by the feeling that this was truly an alpine experience. Here we were, camped amongst the boulders looking up past a forbidding glacier at far-off snow-capped peaks. A cold wind blew down from the glacier, and we felt like mountaineers.

In the morning, we started up the glacier. Steeper than it looks from the bottom, climbing was difficult. The surface was hard and icy, and even with crampons it was difficult to maintain footing. Certainly, one slip would begin a dangerous and probably unstoppable slide to the rocks below. For the first time in my climbing experience, I felt slightly outside my comfort zone.

We made it up and off the glacier. After a short rocky traverse, another snow field appeared. This too was steep, but our gear made short work of the climb. Upon reaching the top of this chute, we traversed a short ledge and begin the final climb to the summit. This was certainly the most difficult climb for me to date.

The climb down was even more disconcerting. Although the angle of the glacier is the same going down as up, stepping over the edge to start the climb down really exposes the steepness and the consequences of a slip. We made it down safely, and soon found ourselves once again celebrating with a nice steak dinner back in town. By this time in our climbing careers, we were growing accustomed to success. With this sense of invincibility, we planned our next adventure. This time, we would go for Thunderbolt Peak, without a doubt our most challenging climb and quite possibly beyond our capabilities. Of course, unless we tried, we'd never know.

Tim's Trip Report