asmrz - May 4, 2006 4:09 pm Date Climbed: Oct 6, 1986
V Notch Ice gully
Bill Oliver and I climbed the V Notch with the direct start
(over the schrund) in October of 1986. All I remember is the direct start which included a wild move over the lip of the schrund hanging off of a tool placed above the lip. I also remember going down to the glacier via the very dangerous terrain from the middle of the ridge between V Notch and Sill and finding it extremely unstable, steep and dangerous terrain. There is much easier if longer way down. Go almost all the way to the summit of Sill and descend either the snow field or the adjacent rock buttress down to the Col. It is much safer that way especially in view of the several accidents that occured (on the first down route described)in the last few years. This of course assumes that one camps somewhere close to Gailey rather then on Palisades Glacier.
MichaelJ - Mar 20, 2006 4:53 am Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2005
Swiss arete 5.9 var
Climbed with Misha. Nice alpine experience, awesome views.
mthilgard13 - Feb 22, 2006 10:34 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2005
Beautiful Spring Climb
Altitude sickness problems over 11000 ft. Made it to the class 4 section at about 13,700 ft. By then, I told my buddy I was over it. Winds were hellacious. Snow conditions perfect, tons of coverage. A must do again. Favorite Sierra climb, very epic.
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: Sept 27, 2003
Climbed route with Maria. This was a good all-mountain experience. The snow was very hard on the Palisade and L-shaped glacier; this took some extra time.
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: August 30, 2005
Climbed with Vendulka. Up the L-shaped snowfield and down via the North Couloir (there seems to some confusion in the various guidebooks on what the NC route is...). Great views from the top.
Route Climbed: N. Coulour Date Climbed: September 3, 2005
The 4th class section will probably be covered with light snow/ice for the rest of the season making it more difficult. We wound up rappelling it on the way down. Only enjoyed the "Best view in the Sierra" for 10 thanks to single digit wind chills.
Route Climbed: Swiss Arete (Direct Buttress variation) Date Climbed: August 20, 2005
Fantastic route! Mike Ybarra and I started from our base camp at Third Lake. Mike missed the famous step-around move and instead led us up the '5.9 direct buttresss variation' (as per Secor), which featured a stellar yet pumpy hand crack. Way to go, Mike! Incredible views from the summit. On the descent, we discovered that a good part of the West face is covered with fresh snow and ice. Four dicey rappels later, we finally got to the top of North couloir and downclimbed/glissaded back to the glacier. Got off route on the hike out and found ourselves on the slabs above Sam Mack Meadows. Had *just* enough daylight to rappel into the moat near the east side of the meadows and find the trail. A great and long day!
Route Climbed: Swiss Arete Date Climbed: 9 July 05
Via the Swiss Arete. Two teams of two each with friends Doug, Colin and Scott. Noticed in the summit log that badass ski legend Glen Plake had signed in a few weeks earlier!
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: July 3, 2005
Finally made it to the summit of Mt. Sill after two attempts from the west, and one chicken exit from the east. Stellar weather all day. The snow was pretty mushy though.
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: June 28 2005
Mt. Sill is a beautiful mountain and I hope to make it up there again. It is my first "14er" in the Palasade region. The climb via South Fork was nice except for the aweful plants and mosquitos in the Willow lake area.
Route Climbed: From Polemonium Date Climbed: 08/04
Followed easy ridge from Polemonium. What a great view. If bivied behind North Pal (south side) it is possible to slog around the Palisades and tag Sill.
asmrz - May 4, 2006 4:09 pm Date Climbed: Oct 6, 1986
V Notch Ice gullyBill Oliver and I climbed the V Notch with the direct start
(over the schrund) in October of 1986. All I remember is the direct start which included a wild move over the lip of the schrund hanging off of a tool placed above the lip. I also remember going down to the glacier via the very dangerous terrain from the middle of the ridge between V Notch and Sill and finding it extremely unstable, steep and dangerous terrain. There is much easier if longer way down. Go almost all the way to the summit of Sill and descend either the snow field or the adjacent rock buttress down to the Col. It is much safer that way especially in view of the several accidents that occured (on the first down route described)in the last few years. This of course assumes that one camps somewhere close to Gailey rather then on Palisades Glacier.
MichaelJ - Mar 20, 2006 4:53 am Date Climbed: Aug 20, 2005
Swiss arete 5.9 varClimbed with Misha. Nice alpine experience, awesome views.
mthilgard13 - Feb 22, 2006 10:34 pm Date Climbed: May 25, 2005
Beautiful Spring ClimbAltitude sickness problems over 11000 ft. Made it to the class 4 section at about 13,700 ft. By then, I told my buddy I was over it. Winds were hellacious. Snow conditions perfect, tons of coverage. A must do again. Favorite Sierra climb, very epic.
Peak_Bagger - Dec 15, 2005 10:40 am
Route Climbed: Swiss Arete Date Climbed: Aug 2004Great climb, lots of fun. Only one pitch was hard the rest pretty easy. Afterwards I traversed the ridge to Polemonium and summited it too.
tdoughty - Oct 17, 2005 4:31 pm
Route Climbed: V Notch Date Climbed: September 1980good ice, good view. with James Barnett
sierramtngoat - Sep 12, 2005 4:27 am
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: Sept 27, 2003Climbed route with Maria. This was a good all-mountain experience. The snow was very hard on the Palisade and L-shaped glacier; this took some extra time.
kovarpa - Sep 8, 2005 8:27 pm
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: August 30, 2005Climbed with Vendulka. Up the L-shaped snowfield and down via the North Couloir (there seems to some confusion in the various guidebooks on what the NC route is...). Great views from the top.
Completebum - Sep 6, 2005 12:56 pm
Route Climbed: N. Coulour Date Climbed: September 3, 2005The 4th class section will probably be covered with light snow/ice for the rest of the season making it more difficult. We wound up rappelling it on the way down. Only enjoyed the "Best view in the Sierra" for 10 thanks to single digit wind chills.
cp0915 - Sep 6, 2005 10:26 am
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: Sept 3, 2005Nice climb with completebum and rwkent. The class 4 section was a little sketchy with ice/snow present.
ripper333 - Aug 31, 2005 6:16 pm
Route Climbed: swiss arete Date Climbed: august 21, 2005typical long hump to the glacier... glad to find the
killer bivy cave not occupied.. 7am start ... was able
to free solo ... incredible experience.. the views
and weather were perfect.. kinda crappy decent on
some sketchball snow but able to pull thru...
back to camp for some chow and then the big
hump back to metal box..
Misha - Aug 22, 2005 12:54 pm
Route Climbed: Swiss Arete (Direct Buttress variation) Date Climbed: August 20, 2005Fantastic route! Mike Ybarra and I started from our base camp at Third Lake. Mike missed the famous step-around move and instead led us up the '5.9 direct buttresss variation' (as per Secor), which featured a stellar yet pumpy hand crack. Way to go, Mike! Incredible views from the summit. On the descent, we discovered that a good part of the West face is covered with fresh snow and ice. Four dicey rappels later, we finally got to the top of North couloir and downclimbed/glissaded back to the glacier. Got off route on the hike out and found ourselves on the slabs above Sam Mack Meadows. Had *just* enough daylight to rappel into the moat near the east side of the meadows and find the trail. A great and long day!
dabender - Aug 16, 2005 4:22 am
Route Climbed: Swiss Arete Date Climbed: August 13, 2005Another beautiful day in the Sierras. Spectacular views all along the route.
danman3156 - Aug 1, 2005 2:38 pm
Route Climbed: swiss arete Date Climbed: july 27 2005Amazing climb, very clean rock with some fun moves. The summit is one of my favorites so far.
DeeDee - Jul 26, 2005 10:42 pm
Route Climbed: The Swiss Arete Date Climbed: July 4, 2003Great climb.
Brian Kalet - Jul 25, 2005 4:17 pm
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: July 24, 2005The couloir had plenty of snow in it, but I didn't need to use my crampons.
nerdom - Jul 15, 2005 3:52 pm
Route Climbed: Swiss Arete Date Climbed: 9 July 05Via the Swiss Arete. Two teams of two each with friends Doug, Colin and Scott. Noticed in the summit log that badass ski legend Glen Plake had signed in a few weeks earlier!
Samantha - Jul 5, 2005 4:01 pm
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: July 3, 2005Finally made it to the summit of Mt. Sill after two attempts from the west, and one chicken exit from the east. Stellar weather all day. The snow was pretty mushy though.
Dave K - Jul 5, 2005 12:40 am
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: July 3, 2005This was a very enjoyable climb. The conditions were quite snowy for this time of year, which was an advantage.
ceschulze - Jul 4, 2005 12:58 am
Route Climbed: North Couloir Date Climbed: June 28 2005Mt. Sill is a beautiful mountain and I hope to make it up there again. It is my first "14er" in the Palasade region. The climb via South Fork was nice except for the aweful plants and mosquitos in the Willow lake area.
cottersnow - Apr 23, 2005 12:11 am
Route Climbed: From Polemonium Date Climbed: 08/04Followed easy ridge from Polemonium. What a great view. If bivied behind North Pal (south side) it is possible to slog around the Palisades and tag Sill.