Mount Tom Climber's Log

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kjlineman83

kjlineman83 - Dec 17, 2017 7:00 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2012

Mt Tom overnighter  Sucess!

Glad we did an overnighter due to altitude gain for a day hike. Tougher than it looks due to altitude gain from owens valley to summit. Used the Horton creek trailhead route. Weather was awesome and definitely worth the hike.

Ben FR - Jul 4, 2017 3:22 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2017

Attempt from Pine Creek

I bit off more than I could chew. Fresh off the plane from Europe with a minor cold, I headed up to Mount Tom from Pine Creek. The first three miles of the Gables Lake trail were clear but then needed to navigate off the trail to heavy water flow and snow. Given significant snow cover in the direction of Four Gables Pass, decided to hike up straight to the saddle which was largely devoid of snow. Made good use of the snow bridges which were still very intact. Ended up turning around a few hundred feet from the saddle as my cold was leading to unexpected nausea.

Romain

Romain - Jun 7, 2017 2:44 am Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2017

Via Horton Lake  Sucess!

More interesting than I expected due to the extensive snow cover. Had to use crampons above the mine on the steep slopes, this was probably better than the scree beneath. On the way down things had softened so it went quickly, and I even witnessed a small wet slab avalanche. Not a bad way to spend a day, but probably not my first choice for a return trip either... Trip report

mengbo

mengbo - Sep 26, 2016 2:16 pm Date Climbed: Sep 23, 2016

solo day hike   Sucess!

Parked my car one mile away from Horton Lake trailhead, 16.1 miles round trip, 6,600 ft gain, 9h37m.

austinorville1

austinorville1 - Aug 16, 2016 5:31 pm Date Climbed: Aug 9, 2016

Horton Lakes  Sucess!

Started hiking up on August 6th at 730pm with Gabe,Mike,and Nick. Nick started feeling bad after the first 15 minutes because he was already pretty sick. Nick and Gabe decided to head down to the truck which was just below the gate and hike up in the morning after a good nights rest. Mike and I continued on towards the cabin making it there around 920. We set up our tent on the flat ground next to the cabin reminiscing about the last time we were up here.My other trip report is 1 or 2 below this one. It was much warmer this time! Once Nick and Gabe got up to the Lake we all swam in it and vibed hard next to it for the day. The next morning we hiked up to upper Horton Lake and got to hangout at a very seldomly visited place. This lake is beautiful and it has its own glacial color. We all swam in the lake and tried to fish it but it seemed like there was nothing in it. We left the next morning around 8 to hopefully summit Mt.Tom. The hanging valley was awesome and we even saw not one but two White Sierra Hare's up there. They look like bunnies the size of a dog! Me and Gabe took the ridge up to the summit while Nick and Mike took the mine route. To no surprise the ridge had awesome views and stayed on okay rock the whole way. We met them about 75 percent of the way up and they said the mine chute was very steep and not as solid. Nick wasn't feeling good at all and he opted to turn back and head down the mtn. Mike reached the top first, followed by Me, and then Gabe behind me. We met a true inspiration up top and his name was Jeff. He was around 60 years old and Mt. Tom was his 99th 13er. He told us he was going to summit Basin, south Basin, and Four Gables the next day. We spent around 30 min up top then headed back down the ridge. After all of the switchbacks we finally saw nick at camp and quickly greeted him with the summit J that we had saved. We camped there again for the night and headed back down the next morning.Solid trip up to Horton Lakes! looking forward to blastin the stove again hopefully this winter

trexkerry - Aug 14, 2016 5:55 pm Date Climbed: Aug 12, 2016

Long, tough day  Sucess!

Got off to a bit of a late start at 9 AM from the gate at the end of Buttermilk Road, temps were already over 70, which may have slowed our pace a bit. Straightforward hike up to the hanging valley and over to the Tungstar mine, taking a bit under 4 1/2 to get to this point. From there things got really, tough, It took 2 1/2 hours (!) for us to make the final ascent up the extremely steep slope which I show as 1 mile and 1800 vertical per my GPS (thanks to our circular route, if you go straight up it would be less than 1 mile). We followed a sandy use trail for the first 600 vertical feet which was okay, then tried to stay on rock wherever we could but the whole slope was loose junk, fortunately nothing too big that we had to worry about. 7 hours after starting out we topped out. We spent a half hour up top enjoying the awesome views, then got back down in 4 hours. I was dragging a bit the next day when we went to Mt. Goode!

austinorville1

austinorville1 - Jan 14, 2016 1:37 pm Date Climbed: Jan 1, 2016

awesome

Hiked up on the 31st to hopefully summit the next day. Woke up and noticed the gully looking not as good as we thought it would. So we just snowshoed around the frozen lake. It snowed around 3 inches the next night and that made me think the route might even be a little sketchier as it be this early in the season. We stayed in the old cabin for three nights and two of those nights we had the wood burning stove blasting. It was neg 1 outside the second night and we stayed very warm. Great place if your trying to get into the backcountry in the winter. Will return soon to finish up my business with Tom and maybe Basin or Four Gables.

Fairweather

Fairweather - Oct 18, 2015 8:38 pm Date Climbed: Sep 27, 2014

From Horton Lake  Sucess!

Reached the top in a white-out, and 2" of new snow. Made the descent a little slippery, but not too bad.
Horton Lakes is a great area. I need to go back for Basin Mtn. and Four Gables.
With Tom (of course), Andy, Mike, and 1 other.

nlahue

nlahue - Mar 30, 2015 1:13 pm Date Climbed: Mar 21, 2015

SW ridge  Sucess!

Hiked up to Horton lakes Saturday and summited sunday via the southwest ridge. Thanks to Ronnie ect all who I met at the lakes and were nice enough to let me join their group since there is a bit of exposure and the route is difficult to follow at times. Came down the chute to the tungesten road. The chute would have nice cramponing conditions in the early AM. SW ridge was mixed rock and a bit of snow. No crampons but an ice ax was useful. Amazing views from the summit

cdog

cdog - Nov 8, 2014 2:31 pm Date Climbed: Nov 7, 2014

nice November day  Sucess!

had a nice day hike and climb of Tom, via the Tungstar Mine. It was one of the nicest days I remember this entire year. Comfortable on the summit with barely a breeze. Encountered some mixed scrambling with snow on the north side of the SW ridge.

BobD3

BobD3 - Feb 10, 2014 11:40 pm Date Climbed: Oct 6, 2012

From lower Horton Lake  Sucess!

Nice fall day with clear weather.

seano

seano - Sep 8, 2013 8:49 pm Date Climbed: Sep 7, 2013

From Horton Lake  Sucess!

1h25 from the lake, going straight up the gully rather than the road. The gully is equally awesome for a sand-skiing descent. I've been staring at this peak for years, so it's nice to bag it.

Ambret

Ambret - Aug 23, 2013 1:21 am Date Climbed: Aug 19, 2013

From Horton Lake via Southwest Ridge  Sucess!

After crossing out of Horton Lake Valley, took the road toward the tungsten mine for about one-third mile before moving up and following the southwest ridge toward the summit. Hiking the talus there was work but much more fun than my aborted 2012 attempt to ascend directly from the tungsten mine via the slippery scree trails. After summiting, descended via the trail to the tungsten mine in order to get down as quickly as possible, with hail falling and lightening striking peaks off to the west.

Diggler

Diggler - May 30, 2013 5:27 pm Date Climbed: May 29, 2013

slog to the heavens- complete north ridge  Sucess!

Started out at Rovana, gaining the ridge at its lowest point (ca. 5,000'), making for an 8,000'+ day. Left truck (slightly uphill) at 10.11 (had wanted to start much earlier, but raining on ridge until shortly before I started), starting up ridge at 10.26.

A brutal 'hike' from the get-go, with steep sand, along with circuitous route-finding required to avoid ever-present brush. Things improved somewhat in the tree zone (less brush, at least), and got better the higher one went; that is, until one starts encountering the numerous, heart-breaking false summits...

Summited finally at 18.33. A couple of summit photos, signing the summit register, and opening the obligatory summit beer. Left summit at 18.53.

Managed to descend a few thousand ft. before enveloped by darkness; part of me didn't want to do the descent in the darkness, so I initially made an attempt at bivying, to hold out until the sun arrived. I got chilly, though, and eventually decided it would be better to go and at least make a descent attempt, staying warm in the process. Descent ended up being mostly uneventful, and eventually got back to the truck at 5.16. WHAT A DAY!!!!

If it weren't for the sheer amount of SLOGGING and vertical gain, some scrambling sections would actually be enjoyable. While it is cool to finally have done Mt. Tom, and from the bottom all the way to the top, it is a BRUTAL undertaking; not sure I could recommend it but to the heartiest masochists.

SkyPilot84

SkyPilot84 - Sep 8, 2012 5:21 am Date Climbed: Sep 2, 2012

From Gable Lakes  Sucess!

We camped at the easternmost Gable Lake and made it up to Hanging Valley via an easy class 3 chute to the north of "Four Gables Pass". From there it was the standard route up the backside of the peak. Lots of loose rock, but well worth it considering the views from the top!

calipidder

calipidder - Sep 6, 2012 4:30 pm Date Climbed: Sep 3, 2012

The sloggiest slog that ever slogged  Sucess!

Loved the hike to the mine, and the final bit along the summit ridge, but the slogfest in between? Blah.

Scott M.

Scott M. - Jul 3, 2012 11:54 pm Date Climbed: Jul 3, 2012

Horton/Tungstar  Sucess!

Day hike on a warm summer day. Glad I started early! Great views.

hightinerary

hightinerary - Jul 30, 2011 4:18 pm Date Climbed: Jul 16, 2004

Big Boy by Bishop  Sucess!

I slogged up the talus and was glad I did.

Climber Dave

Climber Dave - Jul 20, 2011 12:18 pm Date Climbed: Jul 9, 2011

From Gable Lakes  Sucess!

Road to Horton Lakes, the normal route, was washed out. Decided to go up from other side, Gable Lakes. We had to avoid lots of hard snow which required a long circuitous route going up (was able take a more direct route coming down)making for a long day, great views from the top

Jeremy Hakes

Jeremy Hakes - Jan 18, 2011 11:39 pm Date Climbed: Jun 3, 2007

Cool.  Sucess!

With Centralia.

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