Route Climbed: NE Ridge from Dicks Pass Date Climbed: June 15, 2004
I came from Cathedral Lake, tagged the top of Tallac, descended the back side of Tallac to the PCT, and then hung a left at Dicks Pass and followed the ridge. The last 60 or so vertical feet are not class 2, I would say they are class 3. Near the summit another group of people turned around because they were worried someone could take a nasty spill. Indeed, that worried me as well, but I continued on to the top.
I then followed the saddle between Dicks Peak and Jacks Peak and tagged the top of Jacks Peak as well. I followed the ridge pretty closely, but I dropped down on the right side of it to make things easier after a little while. I dropped down a vertical hundred feet or so as I neared the end of the saddle between Jacks Peak and Dicks Peak to avoid a snow field and aim for what looked like an easier route to the summit of Jack's Peak compared to following the ridge religiously. I dont know the ratings system that well, but I would guess the route I took up to the summit of Jacks Peak was hard 3 or class 4. Doing it by myself and unroped scared the holy hell out of me, but I did not want to have to come back there to tag it. I followed a pseudo crack system on the hard parts and built little cairns on the way up so I could find my way back down what looked the easiest on the way up. It was too steep to be able to pick out the easier way down when looking down. I had a hell of a time descending this route. It took my time, cuz a slip would have been a major problem. If you tag the top of Dicks Peak, you may as well hit Jack's Peak while you are there. It tooke me about 50 minutes to get from the top of Dicks Peak to the top of Jacks Peak.
Someone needs to do a page on Jack's Peak. Maybe I will.
I had a good old time on both, although I did not relish downclimbing from either of them.
Route Climbed: NE Ridge from Dicks Pass Date Climbed: June 11, 2004
Great hike and climb. There was still a good amount of snow on the way up to Dicks Pass. The easy routes on the North side of the ridge were also covered, as was the class 3 chute on the ridge. Took some route finding, but was able to summit after some moderate class 3. Weather was cool and the skies were clear.
Route Climbed: NW Ridge (ascent) / NE Ridge (descent) Date Climbed: Apr 10, 2004
I highly recommend the NW Ridge over the NE Ridge as an ascent route--the former was an easy hike on fairly solid snow/scree/talus, the latter was miserably loose and not a lot of fun. It was cold and windy up at the summit.
I hiked out of Bayview Campground, returning via Tallac; I didn't use my snowshoes all day.
Nice day hike from Lake Tahoe. While it was crowded down by the lake, I only saw a few people once back a few miles into Desolation Wilderness. Great views of Desolation backcountry.
Route Climbed: NE Ridge via High Saddle Date Climbed: Jaunary 17, 2003
The most beautiful warm January day I've ever experienced in the mountains. So clear you could see Trinity Alps and Sutter Buttes. Corn snow on south face!!!
josephgdawson - Jun 27, 2004 10:31 pm
Route Climbed: NE Ridge from Dicks Pass Date Climbed: June 15, 2004I came from Cathedral Lake, tagged the top of Tallac, descended the back side of Tallac to the PCT, and then hung a left at Dicks Pass and followed the ridge. The last 60 or so vertical feet are not class 2, I would say they are class 3. Near the summit another group of people turned around because they were worried someone could take a nasty spill. Indeed, that worried me as well, but I continued on to the top.
I then followed the saddle between Dicks Peak and Jacks Peak and tagged the top of Jacks Peak as well. I followed the ridge pretty closely, but I dropped down on the right side of it to make things easier after a little while. I dropped down a vertical hundred feet or so as I neared the end of the saddle between Jacks Peak and Dicks Peak to avoid a snow field and aim for what looked like an easier route to the summit of Jack's Peak compared to following the ridge religiously. I dont know the ratings system that well, but I would guess the route I took up to the summit of Jacks Peak was hard 3 or class 4. Doing it by myself and unroped scared the holy hell out of me, but I did not want to have to come back there to tag it. I followed a pseudo crack system on the hard parts and built little cairns on the way up so I could find my way back down what looked the easiest on the way up. It was too steep to be able to pick out the easier way down when looking down. I had a hell of a time descending this route. It took my time, cuz a slip would have been a major problem. If you tag the top of Dicks Peak, you may as well hit Jack's Peak while you are there. It tooke me about 50 minutes to get from the top of Dicks Peak to the top of Jacks Peak.
Someone needs to do a page on Jack's Peak. Maybe I will.
I had a good old time on both, although I did not relish downclimbing from either of them.
Jonodo - Jun 15, 2004 1:08 am
Route Climbed: NE Ridge from Dicks Pass Date Climbed: June 11, 2004Great hike and climb. There was still a good amount of snow on the way up to Dicks Pass. The easy routes on the North side of the ridge were also covered, as was the class 3 chute on the ridge. Took some route finding, but was able to summit after some moderate class 3. Weather was cool and the skies were clear.
Matthew Holliman - Apr 29, 2004 9:13 pm
Route Climbed: NW Ridge (ascent) / NE Ridge (descent) Date Climbed: Apr 10, 2004I highly recommend the NW Ridge over the NE Ridge as an ascent route--the former was an easy hike on fairly solid snow/scree/talus, the latter was miserably loose and not a lot of fun. It was cold and windy up at the summit.
I hiked out of Bayview Campground, returning via Tallac; I didn't use my snowshoes all day.
thenunz - Nov 11, 2003 5:52 pm
Route Climbed: NE Ridge from Dick's Pass Date Climbed: September 1998Good choice to avoid the crowds on Tallac.
TDRoberts - Oct 20, 2003 8:45 am
Route Climbed: NE Ridge Date Climbed: Aug 16 '03Nice day hike from Lake Tahoe. While it was crowded down by the lake, I only saw a few people once back a few miles into Desolation Wilderness. Great views of Desolation backcountry.
steeleman - Aug 17, 2003 5:16 pm
Route Climbed: Traverse from Jacks Peak Date Climbed: August 2002Nice traverse from Jacks Peak, then continued on to Tallac, Ralston, then the car. Loooooong day! See the trip reports page for photos.
steeleman - Aug 17, 2003 5:15 pm
Route Climbed: NE Ridge via High Saddle Date Climbed: Jaunary 17, 2003The most beautiful warm January day I've ever experienced in the mountains. So clear you could see Trinity Alps and Sutter Buttes. Corn snow on south face!!!
Bob Burd - Feb 2, 2003 5:59 pm
Route Climbed: North Face Date Climbed: May 12, 2000It took two tries to reach it, but it was well worth it! Added Tallac since it was on the way back. :)
Trip Report.