Pinnacle Gully, Huntington Ravine

Approach

it's the same as the approach to Odells Gully, except you pass Odells and continue traversing right, past the Pinnacle Buttress and the prominent crack where the summer rock climb up the buttress begins, until you reach the gully. Pinnacle Gully can't be missed in good weather -it begins with a full-pitch steep icefall with a spectacularly overhanging left wall.

Route Description

head up on steep snow to the bottom of the first and largest ice bulge. The snow slope increases to about 45 degrees; pickets and a shaft-plunged axe work well for the first belay, or you can climb up until you hit ice. The first pitch has sustained ice of about 60 degrees if you follow the line of least difficulty, but depending on conditions you can make this significantly steeper by heading either left or right. When I was on it our groups leader went left and led over a vertical ice step about 20 feet high.

After the steep ice the angle decreases and there is a fixed belay on the left side, under the rock overhang. From there you climb over some snow and then 2 more bulges of ice, but these are smaller and easier than the first. The gully tops out on a snow slope that leads towards the Alpine Garden; most parties follow that up to the Garden and then descend either the Lions Head Trail or the Escape Hatch.

Essential Gear

2 ice tools, crampons, rope, ice screws (at least 8), pickets.

Miscellaneous Info

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