| East Ridge via Williams Lake Route |
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| East Ridge via Williams Lake   | 
| Page Type: Route Location: New Mexico, United States, North America Lat/Lon: 36.55030°N / 105.4453°W Route Type: Scramble Time Required: Half a day Difficulty: Class 3+
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| Page By: truchas Created/Edited: Aug 18, 2005 / Aug 18, 2005 Object ID: 166354 Hits: 1184 Loading... Page Score: 86% - 1 Votes Loading... Vote: Log in to vote |
Approach
The trailhead begins at the Williams Lake Trailhead. See the "Getting There" section on the main page for directions.
Route Description
Total distance from the trailhead to the summit: Approx. 3.5 miles
Total elevation gain to summit from trailhead: 3600 ft.
Hike 2 miles from the trailhead to Williams Lake. The first mile of the hike is on a rough trail that travels over avalanche paths and glacial moraines. The second mile is quite nice. The trail climbs 1800 ft. to an elevation of 11,000 ft. at Williams Lake.
From the lake or just before reaching the lake, angle southwest (right turn) up towards the east ridge of Lake Fork Peak. The large peak directly south is not Lake Fork, but Unnamed 12,819. Boulder hop over a huge boulder field up and to some tundra below the beginning of the east ridge. Climb up the tundra and begin climbing on the north side of the ridge. The climbing with proper route finding should not be more than class 3+. Climb over 2 subpeaks, the second one requiring routefinding to keep the class at 3. Scramble up the remaining ridge to the summit.
If you choose not to downclimb the ridge, easier routes down exist to the north and to the south but require a lot of boulder hopping and some scree slogging. See map above.
Essential Gear
Other than a good pair of trail runners, no special gear is required. Be off the summit by noon. to avoid afternoon thunderstorms. Beware of avalanche conditions in the winter.
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Wheeler Peak Wilderness
