Route Climbed: West ridge-via Seven Pines Trail Date Climbed: November 2002
One of the most stupid things I've done-climb to the top of a lightning rod with an incoming storm. Hiked into the clouds and about twenty feet from the summit it whited out and all hell broke loose. I was disoriented, found my way back to the trail using my compass and proceeded to hightail it down the mountain while being pelted with hail and thunder cracking all around. Got to Deer Springs Camp and all fell silent...
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: June 25, 2005
Climbed the Round Valley route with what seemed like half of Riverside County. Very crowded. Fortuntaley it was extremely clear so the views were incredible. Snow level was only a hundred feet or so from the top and melting fast.
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: June 24 2005
Made the summit around 11:30 with my two sons, Ellis (11), and Jack (9). It was their first summit anywhere. Found a little snow in spots on the trail, otherwise no trouble getting to the top. We were passed by two super fit guys on the way up who were nice enough to take a minute and take our picture, and ran into a lot of nice people, as well as other scouts, on the way down.
Route Climbed: Devil's Slide Date Climbed: June 8, 2005
I climbed San Jacinto almost exactly a year earlier via the Marion Mountain trail. That time, there was one tiny patch of snow about 2' x 3'. This time I was hiking through snow for well over half the hike. What a difference a year makes...
Route Climbed: Cactus to Clouds Date Climbed: June 25, 2005
Beautiful hike--really strenuous on the steep slope just beneath the tram station--harder than Whitney.!The 5.5 miles to the summit is a cakewalk after that!
Route Climbed: Devils Slide Date Climbed: June 21, 2005
Slushie ex-snowdrifts cover sections of the trail above 10k, but easily crossed if you know where you are headed. Lots of flying thingies, but none that seem to bite, except for one rogue bee, and I took care of him! Nice breeze and view from the top. Peak register needs to be swapped out.
Route Climbed: Round Valley from tram Date Climbed: May 26, 2005
Repeated this one as my friend Duane was bagging it for the first time. It was our sixth Ultra-prominence peak in five days. We hit snow quite close to the top of the tram and slogged our way up from there. The stream was running high, so we found a logjam just above the normal crossing point. On the descent as I walked across the jammed logs, the last step looked to be a nice flat spot on the north bank on some debris from all those logs. But alas the debris was floating, and I took a very unexpected dunk up to my waste. I must have been an interesting sight on the tram a few minutes later.
Route Climbed: From the tram Date Climbed: Mar 28, 2005
HPS roundup on snowshoes with Matthew. Cornell - Miller - San Jacinto - Folly - Drury - Jean - Marion. Took most of the day, but quite fun. Trip Report
Route Climbed: Marion Mountain Date Climbed: May 21, 2005
Went to the summit of Marion. Left from the car at 8:30am and back by 2:15. Some trail finding is necessary as you approach the Deer Springs junction as some patchy snow still covers a lot of it. Above that there is still TONS of snow.
Route Climbed: Snow Creek Date Climbed: May 14, 2005
Climbed Snow Creek in 1 day with Mark Ingram . We started at 4:30am and topped out at 6:20pm (about 14 hours later). We lost over an hour getting lost through the Bushwack Zone and then we rested about an hour at the 5,000-foot bivy spot. Met with a group of 4 (led by wallspeck). Also, met Ed from Irvine who was climbing solo. Climbed the 5.5 section on the right wall 30 feet downhill from the chockstone/waterfall. Then, climbed the 5000+ feet of snow to the summit. Took the Direct Finish summiting at 6:20pm. Started descending from the summit at 7:00pm and arrived just on time to catch the 9:00pm tram down.
Route Climbed: Cactus To Clouds Date Climbed: May 7, 2005
Met up with Mark Ingram, Dave Van Selow, Stever Sauter, Eric (Steve Sauter's friend) at 5:00am at the Palm Springs Desert Museum. By 5:15am, we were off. Took a short break at 1800 ft. Then, took a nice 35-minute break at 6000 ft. Reached the upper tram area at 11:35am (6 hrs 20 min). Again, rested there for 45 minutes and left for the summit at 12:20pm. It was all snow from 8800' and up. Somehow I veered too much to the left and I ended up summiting Jean Peak (10,670') first at 2:50pm. Had to hiked down to the saddle and then climb back up again. Made San Jacinto's summit at 3:23pm (just a bit over 10 hrs from the Palm Springs Desert Museum trailhead). Scoped out the upper part of Snow Creek and left the summit at 3:35pm. By 5:05pm, I met up with Eric at the upper tramway station (my total Cactus To Clouds hike just under 12 hrs).
Route Climbed: East Ridge (ascent) / NW Ridge (descent) Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2005
My first time up this peak--didn't hang around for long on the summit because it was darned cold up there. Fun day of snowshoeing out of the tram station around all the HPS peaks Bob and I could find in the area.
Route Climbed: Snow Creek Date Climbed: April 3, 2005
Great snow climb for Southern California! Climbed with David Valdes and Patty. Did it over two days. Saturday 4/2/05 was the approach. At this time, the waterfall is no higher than 12 feet, however, the snow is broken and hollow and cannot approach it directly. I climbed just slightly down and to climber's right of the waterfall through a class 4 chimney/crack system (probably 25 feet high). We set up camp above the 5500' waterfall at 5800 ft. Next day (Sunday, 4/3/05), I started off at 7:00am from camp and topped out at 11:36am. Had perfect snow conditions (quite consolidated). Had the summit to myself and I stayed there 'til 12:05pm at which time I headed down and arrived at the Tramway Station at 2:00pm. Had a big lunch and a Newcastle brown ale at the restaurant up there. Ran into Kurt Wedberg and Sara at the Tramway Station; they also climbed Snow Creek same day as us. Took the Tram down to Palm Springs. All in all, a great climb on a local peak.
Route Climbed: From Tram Date Climbed: August 2004
Summited with my 8 year old son, Joseph and my 6 year old daughter, Emily. It was her first summit EVER. It was Joseph's second - he did Mt. Baldy when he was 6.
Route Climbed: Tram to Round Valley to Summit to Humber Park Date Climbed: May 30, 2004
Incredible skies, warm temperatures and small patches of snow. At the Summit a glider circled overhead for about 20 minutes. The panorama from 10,834 was breathtaking. The hike to Humber Park on the 31st was like walking through a Tolkien tale. There are vast clusters of skunk cabage and loads of little springs coming off the side of the mountain. Only moderate amounts of travelers on the trail. A great hike all the way around.
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: Spring 2001
I hiked up from Idyllwild and camped at Round Valley. The hike from Round Valley to the summit was really nice, especially the long traverse through shoulder height shrubs. I loved this hike.
ajdonner - Jul 9, 2005 12:25 am
Route Climbed: West ridge-via Seven Pines Trail Date Climbed: November 2002One of the most stupid things I've done-climb to the top of a lightning rod with an incoming storm. Hiked into the clouds and about twenty feet from the summit it whited out and all hell broke loose. I was disoriented, found my way back to the trail using my compass and proceeded to hightail it down the mountain while being pelted with hail and thunder cracking all around. Got to Deer Springs Camp and all fell silent...
SkydiveKen - Jul 4, 2005 1:05 am
Route Climbed: Devils slide Date Climbed: December 16 2004Very windy and cold but had the summit all to myself. 11 hours round trip in deep snow.
Mgross - Jun 30, 2005 9:04 am
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: June 25, 2005Climbed the Round Valley route with what seemed like half of Riverside County. Very crowded. Fortuntaley it was extremely clear so the views were incredible. Snow level was only a hundred feet or so from the top and melting fast.
R Pollard - Jun 28, 2005 10:10 pm
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: June 24 2005Made the summit around 11:30 with my two sons, Ellis (11), and Jack (9). It was their first summit anywhere. Found a little snow in spots on the trail, otherwise no trouble getting to the top. We were passed by two super fit guys on the way up who were nice enough to take a minute and take our picture, and ran into a lot of nice people, as well as other scouts, on the way down.
thomascanty - Jun 28, 2005 11:35 am
Route Climbed: Devil's Slide Date Climbed: June 8, 2005I climbed San Jacinto almost exactly a year earlier via the Marion Mountain trail. That time, there was one tiny patch of snow about 2' x 3'. This time I was hiking through snow for well over half the hike. What a difference a year makes...
mdash - Jun 27, 2005 3:14 am
Route Climbed: Cactus to Clouds Date Climbed: June 25, 2005Beautiful hike--really strenuous on the steep slope just beneath the tram station--harder than Whitney.!The 5.5 miles to the summit is a cakewalk after that!
peaktagger - Jun 23, 2005 5:12 pm
Route Climbed: Devils Slide Date Climbed: June 21, 2005Slushie ex-snowdrifts cover sections of the trail above 10k, but easily crossed if you know where you are headed. Lots of flying thingies, but none that seem to bite, except for one rogue bee, and I took care of him! Nice breeze and view from the top. Peak register needs to be swapped out.
bennovak - Jun 11, 2005 2:31 am
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: June 10, 2005Still a bit of sloppy sun cupped snow above 10000 ft.
drewcmf - Jun 9, 2005 3:15 pm
Route Climbed: Humber Park Date Climbed: 6 November, 2005Late night rendezvous w/ some CMFs. Got in trouble w/ my wife as this was our anniversary...but when the mountains call, you gotta go...
Bob Bolton - Jun 4, 2005 1:45 am
Route Climbed: Round Valley from tram Date Climbed: May 26, 2005Repeated this one as my friend Duane was bagging it for the first time. It was our sixth Ultra-prominence peak in five days. We hit snow quite close to the top of the tram and slogged our way up from there. The stream was running high, so we found a logjam just above the normal crossing point. On the descent as I walked across the jammed logs, the last step looked to be a nice flat spot on the north bank on some debris from all those logs. But alas the debris was floating, and I took a very unexpected dunk up to my waste. I must have been an interesting sight on the tram a few minutes later.
Bob Burd - May 25, 2005 7:51 pm
Route Climbed: From the tram Date Climbed: Mar 28, 2005HPS roundup on snowshoes with Matthew. Cornell - Miller - San Jacinto - Folly - Drury - Jean - Marion. Took most of the day, but quite fun. Trip Report
kolbi2112 - May 23, 2005 7:01 pm
Route Climbed: Marion Mountain Date Climbed: May 21, 2005Went to the summit of Marion. Left from the car at 8:30am and back by 2:15. Some trail finding is necessary as you approach the Deer Springs junction as some patchy snow still covers a lot of it. Above that there is still TONS of snow.
forjan - May 16, 2005 2:59 pm
Route Climbed: Snow Creek Date Climbed: May 14, 2005Climbed Snow Creek in 1 day with Mark Ingram . We started at 4:30am and topped out at 6:20pm (about 14 hours later). We lost over an hour getting lost through the Bushwack Zone and then we rested about an hour at the 5,000-foot bivy spot. Met with a group of 4 (led by wallspeck). Also, met Ed from Irvine who was climbing solo. Climbed the 5.5 section on the right wall 30 feet downhill from the chockstone/waterfall. Then, climbed the 5000+ feet of snow to the summit. Took the Direct Finish summiting at 6:20pm. Started descending from the summit at 7:00pm and arrived just on time to catch the 9:00pm tram down.
forjan - May 8, 2005 10:37 pm
Route Climbed: Cactus To Clouds Date Climbed: May 7, 2005Met up with Mark Ingram, Dave Van Selow, Stever Sauter, Eric (Steve Sauter's friend) at 5:00am at the Palm Springs Desert Museum. By 5:15am, we were off. Took a short break at 1800 ft. Then, took a nice 35-minute break at 6000 ft. Reached the upper tram area at 11:35am (6 hrs 20 min). Again, rested there for 45 minutes and left for the summit at 12:20pm. It was all snow from 8800' and up. Somehow I veered too much to the left and I ended up summiting Jean Peak (10,670') first at 2:50pm. Had to hiked down to the saddle and then climb back up again. Made San Jacinto's summit at 3:23pm (just a bit over 10 hrs from the Palm Springs Desert Museum trailhead). Scoped out the upper part of Snow Creek and left the summit at 3:35pm. By 5:05pm, I met up with Eric at the upper tramway station (my total Cactus To Clouds hike just under 12 hrs).
Matthew Holliman - Apr 12, 2005 5:47 pm
Route Climbed: East Ridge (ascent) / NW Ridge (descent) Date Climbed: Mar 27, 2005My first time up this peak--didn't hang around for long on the summit because it was darned cold up there. Fun day of snowshoeing out of the tram station around all the HPS peaks Bob and I could find in the area.
forjan - Apr 4, 2005 8:58 pm
Route Climbed: Snow Creek Date Climbed: April 3, 2005Great snow climb for Southern California! Climbed with David Valdes and Patty. Did it over two days. Saturday 4/2/05 was the approach. At this time, the waterfall is no higher than 12 feet, however, the snow is broken and hollow and cannot approach it directly. I climbed just slightly down and to climber's right of the waterfall through a class 4 chimney/crack system (probably 25 feet high). We set up camp above the 5500' waterfall at 5800 ft. Next day (Sunday, 4/3/05), I started off at 7:00am from camp and topped out at 11:36am. Had perfect snow conditions (quite consolidated). Had the summit to myself and I stayed there 'til 12:05pm at which time I headed down and arrived at the Tramway Station at 2:00pm. Had a big lunch and a Newcastle brown ale at the restaurant up there. Ran into Kurt Wedberg and Sara at the Tramway Station; they also climbed Snow Creek same day as us. Took the Tram down to Palm Springs. All in all, a great climb on a local peak.
Dave Daly - Mar 29, 2005 12:01 pm
Route Climbed: East Slope Date Climbed: March 27 2005The summit was covered with hard packed snow and the hut was completely buried! Had loads of fun glisading back down the east slope...
dnhess - Mar 23, 2005 5:50 am
Route Climbed: From Tram Date Climbed: August 2004Summited with my 8 year old son, Joseph and my 6 year old daughter, Emily. It was her first summit EVER. It was Joseph's second - he did Mt. Baldy when he was 6.
gotmountains - Mar 8, 2005 5:38 pm
Route Climbed: Tram to Round Valley to Summit to Humber Park Date Climbed: May 30, 2004Incredible skies, warm temperatures and small patches of snow. At the Summit a glider circled overhead for about 20 minutes. The panorama from 10,834 was breathtaking. The hike to Humber Park on the 31st was like walking through a Tolkien tale. There are vast clusters of skunk cabage and loads of little springs coming off the side of the mountain. Only moderate amounts of travelers on the trail. A great hike all the way around.
Freddys27 - Mar 3, 2005 10:06 am
Route Climbed: Round Valley Date Climbed: Spring 2001I hiked up from Idyllwild and camped at Round Valley. The hike from Round Valley to the summit was really nice, especially the long traverse through shoulder height shrubs. I loved this hike.