Eric--Your notes seem fine to me. I have a description of the drive/TH approach on the Eastern Sierra logistical page which you can plagiarise or link to.
From the end of the road, if you follow the use trail up the canyon to the bowl below Mt. Perkins, there are two options: head left (south) to a snow-filled couloir that leads up to what I believe is Armstrong Col, or right (north) and then follow the Sierra Crest south, tagging Mt. Perkins along the way. Armstrong Col requires axe/crampons, but the approach via Mt. Perkins melts out very early (leaving a thoroughly unpleasant sand climb behind in order to reach the crest).
Either way, the best way to Mt. Cedric Wright from Armstrong Col is to continue south along the Sierra Crest to Colosseum (exposed class 3) and then descend Colosseum's sandy west ridge to the saddle. It's possible to descend the sandy southwest side of Armstrong Col to the basin west of Colosseum, from where Colosseum Col (the Colosseum-Cedric Wright saddle) is reached trivially--but it seems silly to bypass Colosseum, especially as its north ridge is a nice climb and it doesn't involve much extra elevation gain vs. dropping down into the basin.
By the way, I believe there's an error in Secor's 2nd ed., in which he says the col is 0.8mi north of Colosseum; it makes more sense that Armstrong Col is 0.8mi NW of Colosseum Mtn. (This seems to correspond to what looked like a snow couloir from Armstrong Canyon and easy slopes to the SW, and the elevation on my maps at this point is roughly consistent with his stats for the pass). None of my maps have a point "Peak 3705m" on them, which he uses as a landmark to identify the col's location.
The SIERRA is one mountain range. Sierra Nevada is Spanish for "Snowy Range". The California Miwok named it "Kayopha -- The sky and the Peaks that touch it". John Muir called it "The Range of Light". Steve Thaw, Moraga, California
Thanks for the correction Steven. Been quite some time since I wrote and edited that description, but glad its still somewhat helpful.
Eric, Formerly Lafayette, CA (now Boulder, CO)
Matthew Holliman - Jul 25, 2005 7:52 pm - Voted 10/10
Untitled CommentEric--Your notes seem fine to me. I have a description of the drive/TH approach on the Eastern Sierra logistical page which you can plagiarise or link to.
From the end of the road, if you follow the use trail up the canyon to the bowl below Mt. Perkins, there are two options: head left (south) to a snow-filled couloir that leads up to what I believe is Armstrong Col, or right (north) and then follow the Sierra Crest south, tagging Mt. Perkins along the way. Armstrong Col requires axe/crampons, but the approach via Mt. Perkins melts out very early (leaving a thoroughly unpleasant sand climb behind in order to reach the crest).
Either way, the best way to Mt. Cedric Wright from Armstrong Col is to continue south along the Sierra Crest to Colosseum (exposed class 3) and then descend Colosseum's sandy west ridge to the saddle. It's possible to descend the sandy southwest side of Armstrong Col to the basin west of Colosseum, from where Colosseum Col (the Colosseum-Cedric Wright saddle) is reached trivially--but it seems silly to bypass Colosseum, especially as its north ridge is a nice climb and it doesn't involve much extra elevation gain vs. dropping down into the basin.
By the way, I believe there's an error in Secor's 2nd ed., in which he says the col is 0.8mi north of Colosseum; it makes more sense that Armstrong Col is 0.8mi NW of Colosseum Mtn. (This seems to correspond to what looked like a snow couloir from Armstrong Canyon and easy slopes to the SW, and the elevation on my maps at this point is roughly consistent with his stats for the pass). None of my maps have a point "Peak 3705m" on them, which he uses as a landmark to identify the col's location.
StevenThaw - May 2, 2016 1:27 pm - Hasn't voted
SIERRA (not sierras)The SIERRA is one mountain range. Sierra Nevada is Spanish for "Snowy Range". The California Miwok named it "Kayopha -- The sky and the Peaks that touch it". John Muir called it "The Range of Light". Steve Thaw, Moraga, California
thebeave7 - May 2, 2016 2:00 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: SIERRA (not sierras)Thanks for the correction Steven. Been quite some time since I wrote and edited that description, but glad its still somewhat helpful.
Eric, Formerly Lafayette, CA (now Boulder, CO)