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Sequoia/Kings Canyon NP > Black Kaweah > Climber's Log|
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| Quadaxial | Southwest Face, stopped 80 feet below summit Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2008 | |
| One of the best adventures yet. We made it to within 80 feet of the summit, but were running out of daylight and probably ascended the wrong chute at the end as we encountered very precarious climbing. Left some cordalette up there from one repel we were more or less forced to do. I will return! | |
| Posted Sep 20, 2008 11:17 pm | ||
| Samantha | SW Face  Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2008 | |
| Great climbing. Hard but gorgeous way to get in. | |
| Posted Aug 6, 2008 6:02 pm | ||
| Mountain Impulse | Memorable Climb SW Face July 19, 2008 | |
| Climbed this peak with a skillful, class guy, Tom Becht. Thursday, picked up our permit at Mineral King RS and it was almost 9am by the time we hoisted our packs from Sawtooth Pass trailhead. We took the "unmaintained" trail to Glacier Pass, then down to Spring Lake, then cross-country up and over Hands and Knees Pass and down into Little Five Lakes. The last leg was to Big Arroyo where we set up camp. A tough, tough haul for me, but Tom's an animal and didn't wince once while I struggled to keep up with him. Big Kaweah the next day and then this classic peak on Saturday. Our route started literally straight up the ridge above our tents. We moved past the Tarn, and then started trying to figure out a route up the SW face. I agree with those who say you really need to concentrate hard to find a consistent 3d Class route. About half of our route was 4th Class and the exposure on this face put the pucker factor front and center. Testing holds every move is a must because rock the size of coffee table books will pull right out. After the last chute was climbed, we hung a big right on the cat-walk ridge to the top. The ridge was much longer than I expected but great, great fun. Summit views are unmatched except perhaps by the original register (first entry 1924 and including Starr's blood entry in 1929) which we were honored to sign. The descent was more intense than the ascent. We looked anew for a "the" 3d Class route but had no better luck than on the ascent. And this is no peak to leave your helmet at home: even careful foot placement couldn't prevent sending rocks whistling down the gullies below. Will have to go back and get Red Kaweah methinks. | |
| Posted Jul 22, 2008 2:42 am | ||
| bechtt | Southwest Face Date Climbed: Jul 19, 2008 | |
| Awesome climb under perfect skies with a great partner, Augie. Huge scrambling difference between Black Kaweah at one end of the range and Big Kaweah at the other which we climbed the day before. | |
| Posted Jul 21, 2008 11:35 pm | ||
| Pantilat | Southwest Face Date Climbed: Sep 30, 2007 | |
| 15:35 roundtrip out of mineral king. http://cascadeclimbers.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/729062/page/1#Post729062 | |
| Posted Apr 16, 2008 2:41 pm | ||
| Diggler | SW face/gully Date Climbed: Jun 21, 2007 | |
| Perhaps the most magnificent pile of rubble I've set foot upon. Getting to the top of this peak was exhilirating as well as quite satisfying. I'd wanted to summit this grand peak for years now. Third times the charm, I guess- a thunderstorm turned me back before Glacier Pass 2 years ago, & the SW/W ridge's atrocious rock combined with a late start, route-finding challenges, & sickening exposure repeled me the next (last) year. After getting into Mineral King at 4.30 the night prior (morning of), & consequently only sleeping ~4 hrs, it was tedious doing the familiar approach to Big Arroyo on Friday (9:35). Saturday morning, left at a comfortable 8.30. Moving upward on the route felt like going up a steep maze- a steep maze with sloping ledges above drop-offs loaded with unstable scree :) Though I thought I'd slept enough, altitude issues plagued me at upper elevations. Despite some route-finding challenges & aforementioned minor altitude sickness, summited at 13.58. Spent my time atop this fine summit by soaking in the magnificent views & reading the register (fascinating). Views of the Great Western Divide & the Red Kaweah were sublime.Smoke was pouring out from the substantial wildfire taking place in one of the drainages across from Moraine Lake- I could smell it! Left summit at 15.35, getting back to camp at Big Arroyo 20.12. Descent perhaps more nerve-wracking than the ascent. 7:47 from the Big Arroyo back to the trailhead the next day, including a refreshing swim & leisurely lunch at lovely Spring Lake. While the SW face is no "technical" (i.e. 5th class) route, it requires constant focus, awareness, & diligence- one wrong move throughout much of the route & you could be in a bad place in a hurry. While a master route-finder might weave a 3rd-class route up this beast, I concur with Roper's 4th class rating for this route- while I didn't spend as much time route-finding as I could have (I frequently just took the most direct way up), I certainly encountered occasional 4th-class sections en route. I think that anyone attempting this route (or simply this mountain in general) should be comfortable with 4th class climbing & loose rock. By & large, by sticking to the obvious line(s), however, the rock is by & large solid. The biggest hazard, I would say, is the scree & rubble that adorns all the downward-sloping ledges (& handholds, footholds, ...). | |
| Posted Jul 23, 2007 2:10 pm | ||
| gjonbelay | Route not climbed: SW Ridge Date Climbed: Jun 23, 2007 | |
| Three of us attempted the Southwest ridge from the second lake below the SW face. We ascended too early. Due to a steep notch on the ridge we bailed and decided to call it a day. Ascending the SW ridge higher up might be more feasible. However, next time I think I will stick to the SW face. Gallery. | |
| Posted Jul 9, 2007 3:29 pm | ||
| Matthew Holliman | SW Face Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2006 | |
| Dayhiked this peak with Bob and Rick. We had only one warm-up day beforehand for acclimatization, which really wasn't enough for me--but the peak was well-worth the headaches and nausea. I wanted to climb this one for a while, and I wasn't disappointed. Fine views, and some really fine scrambling too... and the register was out of this world. Truly amazing. Got off route on the way up, finding some spicy class 4 in places, but the actual route is surprisingly easy by comparison (just class 3) if you pay attention. | |
| Posted Dec 1, 2006 5:14 am | ||
| Bob Burd | SW Face Date Climbed: Sep 10, 2006 | |
| With Matthew Holliman & Rick Kent, completed the first dayhike of this fine peak. Spectacular weather! Trip Report | |
| Posted Sep 15, 2006 2:04 am | ||
| Hiketothetop | Route Climbed: Southwest Face (Chute) Date Climbed: September 8, 2005 | |
| Traversed from Nine Lakes Basin to the cirque below the summit. Climbed up the Southwest Face route (chute) as mentioned in RJ's Book, very loose Class 3 and a little Class 4, should have had helmets. Three of us reached the summit!! | ||
| Posted Sep 14, 2005 7:56 pm | ||
| Robt | Route Climbed: S.W. Face Date Climbed: 21 Aug. 04 | |
| It's still there, by Starr's blood. | |
| Posted Aug 25, 2004 4:38 pm | ||
| Clydascope | Route Climbed: West Ridge Date Climbed: June 27, 1988 | |
| Soloed it in 36 hours car to car. Climbed the regular route on Fairview Dome two days after summitting! | |
| Posted Jun 3, 2004 12:21 am | ||
| Elwood | Route Climbed: Southwest Face Date Climbed: Sept. 96 | |
| This was one of my most memorable climbs! We started from Mineral King, towards Sawtooth Pass, where the trail turns east, we headed off route in an easterly direction towards Spring Lake. We made our first night camp in this basin. The following morning, we continued off route until we intersected the Black Rock Pass trail. We followed this to the Five Little Lakes area, our friends who were fishing, stayed here while we continued on. We got as far as we could with the amount of day light available. We ended up above the High Sierra trail, near tree line. We were hoping to get to the large tarn below Black Kaweah. The following morning we arrived at the base of our route late, so we gathered our gear for the climb, & pressed on. We arrived at the summit around 5:00 p.m. With enough time to descend before night fall, so I thought! My partner was having a difficult time descending, & we finally arrived back at our sleeping bags at 12:00 midnight! The following late afternoon we hiked back to our friends at Five Little Lakes, totally exausted! Then spent the next two days hiking back to Mineral King! This was a remote mountain in the high Sierra, & worth every minute of it!! | |
| Posted Feb 20, 2003 10:03 pm | ||
| Dave K | Route Climbed: Southwest Ridge Date Climbed: August 26, 2002 | |
| This last August we tried the Southwest Ridge route. Well, we didn’t quite summit. At 12,700 ft we hit some cliffs that we didn’t have the stomach to tackle without ropes. It’s supposed to be a class 3 route, but that section isn’t class 3. I’m thinking about trying it again next year, perhaps doing a different route. The descriptions in Roper and Secor for the Southwest Ridge route are pretty sparse. | |
| Posted Oct 21, 2002 8:02 am | ||
| Dave Daly | Route Climbed: August 1995 Date Climbed: Southwest Ridge | |
| Black Kaweah is like a week old Keebler cookie! I can't count the many times I pulled up onto rock only for it to crumble into a chossy mess. Use caution when climbing this amazing peak. Climbed a variation of this to the north.....an old Fred Beckey route the next day. Whoever put up the summit register.....nice job. Good to see P. Croft still wanders this side of the Sierras. Cheers! | |
| Posted Apr 6, 2002 11:46 am | ||
| dug | Route Climbed: east ridge Date Climbed: 9/3/1986 | |
| A very very nice peak! | |
| Posted Mar 25, 2002 10:59 am | ||
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