I'm thinking of climbing/hiking Banner Peak, more than likely up the west face. However; though normally it appears people hike to Lake Ediza (9265 ft) and up to the Ritter-Banner saddle, followed by class two up the west face, a couple from Mammoth, that I ran into on Mt Conness recently, said they normally hike to Thousand Islands Lake (9833 ft). They summit via Lake Catherine, and from there, up the west face. Are there any preferences, or any reasons anyone is aware of for choosing Ediza Lake for the approach. Ediza Lake is closer to Agnew Meadows, but Thousand Island is higher. My plan is to enter at Agnew Meadows and overnight before the summit.

Thanks

rruby wrote:I'm thinking of climbing/hiking Banner Peak, more than likely up the west face. However; though normally it appears people hike to Lake Ediza (9265 ft) and up to the Ritter-Banner saddle, followed by class two up the west face, a couple from Mammoth, that I ran into on Mt Conness recently, said they normally hike to Thousand Islands Lake (9833 ft). They summit via Lake Catherine, and from there, up the west face. Are there any preferences, or any reasons anyone is aware of for choosing Ediza Lake for the approach. Ediza Lake is closer to Agnew Meadows, but Thousand Island is higher. My plan is to enter at Agnew Meadows and overnight before the summit.

Thanks

I would suggest Ediza as well. Crampons and ice axe are needed this time of the year.
I will be hiking up Ritter on Saturday as a dayhike. We might run into each other. You are also welcome to join me on my hike. Is anybody else going to be in the area?
Vlad.

I've been to the Ritter-Banner saddle from both sides, and I'd say that the Thousand Island Lake approach is more scenic. The snow travel is also way easier (very low angle compared to coming up from Ediza). You walk through meadows all the way to Lake Catherine, and then transition (route finding can be a challenge here if you want to keep it class 2...) to the low-angle glacier on the west side of the saddle for an easy stroll. I found that the last 100' or so to the summit was solid class 3. Maybe there is a clever way to make it class 2, but it wasn't obvious what that would be.

Vlad,

Thanks for the offer on the day hike, but I won't even be leaving the Bay area till sunday at the earliest.

According to my Garmin software, the hike from Ediza to the summit is about a tenth of a mile shorter than going from Thousand Island Lake via Lake Catherine, but is also over 500 ft lower. I'll see how I feel once I get to Agnew Meadows. Do I need to pay a toll to drive the road to Agnews? The ranger I talked to wasn't sure, except that the shuttle wasn't running now.

Thanks

1. You pay on your way out. $7 per person I think? Get there early as I think the gate closes at maybe 8.

2. Go via Ediza. Bring crampons and ice ax, the snow field was awesomely filled in at the saddle. Catherine is nice but boring, and I think probably snowless.

On the gate etc. I was down there a few weeks ago and went in before 7, as we wanted the car and were possibly going to camp down there. But, after hiking and looking at the campgrounds, we opted to head out. It was close to 8 by the time we hit the gate, and no one was around, and I didn't see any self-pay envelopes, so we didn't pay.
I don't know what the status is now that presumably shuttles aren't running.
Have a good hike/climb.

Maybe this will help? It's a route to the summit of Ritter. The climb is via lake Ediza.

http://www.tahoebackcountry.net/feature ... _route.htm

I just came back from a few days of fishing at Thousand Island lake. I was going to climb a class II up Mt. Ritter, but my partner got sick. I did still see lots of snow on both Ritter and Banner. And, it did get very cold at night (maybe a 15 degree bag).

Good-luck.....Paul

I did Ritter dayhike on Saturday via the glacier. Wanted to do a loop and return via Catherine Lake. But it seemed such a longer hike from the top that I abandoned the idea. I also was not familiar with North Face of Ritter. It did not seem like a very obvious way down.

Crampons and ice axe are needed. The snow is hard and steep. Still, as far as I remember from 2 years ago, the main problem on the way to Banner saddle from Lake Ediza side is the scree. You can avoid most of it but not all. Ritter seemed better from this point.

The was nobody at the booth when I entered (5am) or exited (9pm).

Vlad

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about whether the route/glacier from Lake Catherine to the saddle requires crampons right now, or can I get away with Kahtoola Microspikes? Apparently it's less steep than the glacier from the east side of the saddle, and right now I'm not sure, but I might be able to avoid the glacier altogether and still stay on class2/3 terrain. anyone been over on that side lately?

Might hang around and try Ritter afterwards, or try Lyell on the way back to SF.

rruby wrote:Thanks for the info. I was wondering about whether the route/glacier from Lake Catherine to the saddle requires crampons right now, or can I get away with Kahtoola Microspikes? Apparently it's less steep than the glacier from the east side of the saddle, and right now I'm not sure, but I might be able to avoid the glacier altogether and still stay on class2/3 terrain. anyone been over on that side lately?

Might hang around and try Ritter afterwards, or try Lyell on the way back to SF.

I would still have crampons with me on Lake Catherine side. If you end up not using them, well you just have a little bit of extra weight. However, if you do need them and don't have them, this has a potential of ending badly. The glacier on this side is often in the shade, the snow will be harder and more difficult to negotiate. I would forget about microspikes for all but very gentle slopes.
Vlad.

Took my crampons and ice axe up banner, the west side. Good call Vladislov. Almost no snow on the glacier. The ice axe hardly penetrated it at all, so not much use helping me up, but the crampons held firm. The suncups made it alot harder it seemed. The route finding was more of a challenge than I expected, especially around lake catherine. Using directions from a previous trip report that outlines a route circumventing much of the glacier by climbing to a ridge above it, I ended up getting myself in a spot that required some serious downclimbing. I wasted alot of time, and still had to climb much of the glacier anyway. Needless to say, I made a few errors that took enough time and energy that by the time I got to the final scramble, it was kind of late, and I was feeling a little gassed. Decided to save it for another day. By the time I got back to Thousand Islands Lake it was getting to be twilight. I have to say however; it's one of the most photogenic peaks I've ever seen. So is that lake, especially under a full moon. Beautiful place, Nice views from the High Trail. I'm sure i'll be back in the future. Maybe I'll try the lake ediza route. Might try Lyell before the season is over.

Thanks for the helpful insights.