Approach notes taken from Snow Creek Route Notes by Bob Sumner. Edited by Miguel Forjan.

Exit I-10 at Hwy 111, first road on your right is Snow Creek Road. Go down (south) this for 1.2 miles to a power utility substation on your left (lighted), turn onto the sandy road just past it, and drive down into a gully behind the station where people driving on Snow Creek Road won't be able to see you. Camp here, but minimize your use of lights and don't even think about a campfire. Park your car in this area, too. Don't park in the village as your car will certainly be towed. In the early morning walk south towards Snow Creek Village (lighted). Walk south on Snow Creek Rd. Take the first paved road on your left (Falls Creek Rd). Be quiet so as to not set off the barking dogs as you pass through this brief residential area. Continue down the paved road and in a few minutes you'll get to the locked gate and the trespassing warning signs. Walk past the locked gate and keep walking on the paved road for about 30-40 minutes. Keep a lookout for a big metal pipe on your right. If you get to a group of trees you have gone too far and are at the guard house, so go back to where the pipe begins. At the beginning of the pipe, get off the paved road and bear left (southeast) X-country through brush and gully terrain toward the prominent ridge to the south. You will come to Snow Creek which you must cross - jump rock-to-rock or wade depending on water level and light. Some people do this very early in the morning while it is still dark (minimal use of your headlamp and when you turn it on keep it low to your waist as a flashlight; your headlamp will stand out in the dark; keep it off mostly). Go south up to the prominent ridge, staying to the left to remain hidden from the guard house until you are on top of the ridge. Steep loose rock with thick brush. Follow the ridge south to "The Isthmus", which is the narrow point along the ridge dividing Falls Creek from Snow Creek. This takes about an hour. From the Isthmus, continue south up the ridge about 100-200 feet, then bear right following ducks through very heavy brush. Stay high above the creek and aim for a notch on the spur ridge to the west. From the notch, drop down 100 feet into a boulder-strewn gully. Follow this west 200 yards to a waterfall. Go up brush/dirt slopes to the right of the waterfall and continue west and up a few hundred feet to the ridgeline. From here you can see the snow tongue in Snow Creek. Aim right for it.......

Route Description

Snow Creek is one of the premier alpine climbs in Southern California. It also has a tremendous vertical gain of 9,600 feet in less than 5 horizontal miles.

The starting elevation is approx. 1,200 feet. From the start to about 5,700 feet, depending on the snowpack, it is all bushwacking and boulder hopping. Once you reach the snow tongue of Snow Creek you will need crampons and ice axe. Climb the remaining 5,100 feet of snow and or ice in one of the several chutes. You will encounter 35 to 45 degree snow slopes, with the angle increasing as you get near the top. Most people hike 2-3 hours to the tram for a ride down off the mountain.

Just a short note. This is not a beginner climb. The very long approach requires conditioning and considerable route finding to get into the canyon. The exposure on this route requires solid 4th class ability & low 5th.

Essential Gear

Ice axe, crampons, helmet and gaiters. Bivy gear. A 50m rope if you choose to the classic 5.5 crux section on the right (west) side of the wall at about 30 feet downhill from the 5500' main chockstone/waterfall.

Links

Cheating Death On Snow Creek (J.K. Vawter)
Palm Springs Aerial Tramway
Snow Creek Cab Ride (Joe LeMay)
Snow Creek in September 2004 (Jason Hollinger)

Red Tape

According to the Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, it is illegal to climb Snow Creek on the north face of San Jacinto as you will be trespassing through land own by the Palm Springs Water Department.

The legal way to access the route decribed here is to obtain writen permission from the DWA and to obtain a San Jacinto Wilderness Permit. This page does not condone trespassing but merely states that you will be trespassing if you access the route as described above.

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