Mt. Sill from the SW

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SurfinPeakScience

 
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Mt. Sill from the SW

by SurfinPeakScience » Mon Jul 16, 2012 10:51 pm

Hello, I am looking for information and current conditions for a summit attempt of Mt. Sill, next weekend 7/21- 24.

I've done interweb research and read Secor but i am having a difficult time making sense of the approach into the Polemonium Glacier towards the SW slopes of Sill.

South Fork Trail to Elinor Lake to Lake 11672 to Glacier Notch? North Fork Trail to Sam Mack Meadow? South Lake Trail to Bishop Pass and Dusy Basin?

Has anybody been up there recently with information on conditions? I hypothesize that there is an absolute minimum of snow right now?

Thanks!

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aermotor

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by aermotor » Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:25 am

I'm pretty sure the best way to Sill is to go North Fork through Sam Mack. Heading up to North Palisade later this week and that's the way I go to get anywhere up there. Check the U-Notch thread for pics from 7/6/12 u-notch-in-mid-late-may-t61526-15.html

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Kahuna

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Kahuna » Tue Jul 17, 2012 1:57 am

Guided several trips to Sill via Bishop Pass then BC'd in Palisade Basin on the SW side.

Great trip btw. Not a soul around and ya get to go up and over Pot Kettle Pass and get the opportunity to see some territory that not many get. A whole different route experience that is no harder than Class 3 and you will most likely afford you the place to yourselves.

PM for more info.

http://www.kurtwedbergphotography.com/S ... M&lb=1&s=A

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Mescalito345

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Mescalito345 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:15 am

SurfinPeakScience: four of us have a wilderness permit for Big Pine, South Fork, on July 19-22. We're planning to attempt the SW Chutes on one of those days.

I believe that all of the reserved permits for next weekend (South Fork, North Fork) have been sold out, but you might be able to get some walk-in permits. The phone number for the wilderness permit office is 760-873-2483

It's possible to day-hike Mt. Sill, but it would be a very long day.

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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Gafoto » Tue Jul 17, 2012 7:04 am

I did Sill from the Southwest Chutes last year starting at South Lake. Went over Bishop Pass, Thunderbolt Pass and then camped just above Potluck. It was a slog and I can only imagine Scimitar or Southfork would be exponentially sloggier.

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Mescalito345

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Mescalito345 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:40 am

3Deserts wrote:
Mescalito345 wrote:SurfinPeakScience: four of us have a wilderness permit for Big Pine, South Fork, on July 19-22. We're planning to attempt the SW Chutes on one of those days.


Are you going over Scimitar Pass or Southfork Pass?


We're starting at Glacier Lodge, and will camp at Elinore Lake. The current plan is Scimitar Pass to the SW Chutes, but we're also discussing the possibility of hiking up to Glacier Notch, and then taking the North Couloir.

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Kahuna

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Kahuna » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:07 pm

Be advised that the North Couloir will most assuredly be deeply sun cupped and includes the exposed Class 4ish not so straight forward traverse required to access the summit from the west.

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Mescalito345

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Mescalito345 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 2:44 pm

A5RP: thanks for the reply. If we decide on the North Couloir, what gear would you recommend? I was thinking about bringing ice axe, crampons, 80 feet of rope, slings, locking biners.

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Kahuna

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Kahuna » Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:40 pm

I highly recommend Bob's North Couloir page as a perfect source of INFO for this route.

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cab

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by cab » Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:13 pm

I was up the North Couloir in the middle of June and we used crampons and ice axe for the Palisade glacier and the L-shaped snowfield. To access the ridge, if you feel you need a rope, 80 feet is sufficient. There were several slings already in place that looked to be in good condition.

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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Mescalito345 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 9:56 pm

Thanks for the responses. Has anyone done the traverse from Sill to Polemonium? I've read one short trip report, but it didn't provide many details. Most likely we won't have time for Polemonium, but if we happen to summit Sill early in the day and the weather looks good, we might try it.

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Kahuna

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Kahuna » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:19 pm

If you do the traverse from SIll to Polemonium, be cognisant that you will have to rap Polemonium and then the U-Notch down to the Pal Glacier.

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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Mescalito345 » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:35 pm

Thanks, but we're planning to camp at Elinore Lake. So if we do the traverse to Polemonium, we would then traverse back to Sill, and descend via Glacier Notch to Elinore Lake. Most likely we won't have time to do all of this in one day, unless our group is speedier than expected.

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Kahuna

 
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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by Kahuna » Tue Jul 17, 2012 10:53 pm

Mescalito345 wrote:Thanks, but we're planning to camp at Elinore Lake. So if we do the traverse to Polemonium, we would then traverse back to Sill, and descend via Glacier Notch to Elinore Lake.


That is a pretty aggressive plan to say the least. You all best be hauling some serious butt to accomplish this before the sun goes down.

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Re: Mt. Sill from the SW

by MoapaPk » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:38 pm

Mescalito345 wrote:Thanks for the responses. Has anyone done the traverse from Sill to Polemonium? I've read one short trip report, but it didn't provide many details. Most likely we won't have time for Polemonium, but if we happen to summit Sill early in the day and the weather looks good, we might try it.



Yes, many have; but as we've discussed, the traverse to Polemonium is a lot hairier than the L-couloir route to Sill.

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