Sorry, what you are describing is the 1930s era trail up Babo, not the Forbes Route, the route followed by "first ascentionist" Robert Forbes. It does share the "ladder pitch" with the Forbes Route, which ascends from Riggs Ranch (Thomas Canyon) by trail to the North Saddle and then surmounts two 5.5-5.6sih pitches on the northeast side of the summit spire to join the ladder pitch. A read of Dr. Forbes diary and his account of his first ascent will clearly spell this out. His grappling hooks were found years later along this route by Shorty Riggs.
hikermor - Nov 13, 2011 5:00 pm - Hasn't voted
Forbes RouteSorry, what you are describing is the 1930s era trail up Babo, not the Forbes Route, the route followed by "first ascentionist" Robert Forbes. It does share the "ladder pitch" with the Forbes Route, which ascends from Riggs Ranch (Thomas Canyon) by trail to the North Saddle and then surmounts two 5.5-5.6sih pitches on the northeast side of the summit spire to join the ladder pitch. A read of Dr. Forbes diary and his account of his first ascent will clearly spell this out. His grappling hooks were found years later along this route by Shorty Riggs.