Here in Reno, Nevada, a friend of mine and I have been organizing the Yahoo hiking group. Last year we organized a trip to Mount Whitney, which was very successful.

Now, my friend has decided he wants to hike at least two California 14ers this year. He has already done Whitney and White Mountain Peak. I am not recommending Muir or Russell since they are so close to Whitney, and he is familiar with them.

The list of potential hikes are:
Mount Langely
Split Mountain
Tyndall
Mount Sill
Williamson*

*I think Williamson is too dangerous since you can't climb it in August or September.

Maybe Mount Sill is possible, but isn't it harder than Split, Langley, and Tyndall?
Split seems very dangerous, and there is no word on the summitpost site how dangerous the final few hundred yards to the summit are. They seem really nasty!

Can anyone provide insight on what I should suggest?

Regards

I don't understand. I mentioned way more than 2. Are you saying Langley only?

What I am looking for is opinions from people who have climbed Split, Sill, and Tyndall and what you can tell me about the difficulty and danger.

hgrapid wrote:Here in Reno, Nevada, a friend of mine and I have been organizing the Yahoo hiking group. Last year we organized a trip to Mount Whitney, which was very successful.

Now, my friend has decided he wants to hike at least two California 14ers this year. He has already done Whitney and White Mountain Peak. I am not recommending Muir or Russell since they are so close to Whitney, and he is familiar with them.

The list of potential hikes are:
Mount Langely
Split Mountain
Tyndall
Mount Sill
Williamson*

*I think Williamson is too dangerous since you can't climb it in August or September.

Maybe Mount Sill is possible, but isn't it harder than Split, Langley, and Tyndall?
Split seems very dangerous, and there is no word on the summitpost site how dangerous the final few hundred yards to the summit are. They seem really nasty!

Can anyone provide insight on what I should suggest?



Regards

No, Mt. Sill has a class 2 route coming from the west. Lots of talus to cross, but otherwise pretty easy.

I only descended the trade route on Split and it was rather loose and nasty, especially in the dark. You may be able to follow a snow field all the way to the summit plateau. In that case, it is probably not too bad. But it is still hard to call Split's regular route a great hike.

Go do Langley - it is rather fun through Old Army Pass

1000Pks wrote:

No, Mt. Sill has a class 2 route coming from the west. Lots of talus to cross, but otherwise pretty easy.

True, but our diminished MLC SC leader quickly led us off route, and into class 4, by him (we had/were forced to use a rope). There is not even a use trail. Once you leave the Bishop Pass Trail, you get into class 3, depending on how you do it. I suppose you can get to the Sill class 2 route by other means, but it gets ridiculous to spare the what little scrambling you'd have to do.

The CA 14'ers have much fewer completers than say the CO 14'ers. And now they added Starlight/Polemonium.

I'd say if you must try, start with Langley, but if you refuse basic rock climbing and route finding skills, with the glorious Sierra that we have, there must be something wrong with you!

If he chose Sill, he'd be fine.

With that said, the other ideas are much more fun.

i remember split mountain being quite easy from the red lakes area... albeit a long, somewhat uninspiring hike... in two days, it should be pretty manageable... finding the trailhead could be considered tricky by some... as for the hike, i remember there being a trail the whole way up... or, i should say, i well marked trail for the first half up to the lakes... and a faint use track for the second half... as i recall, you follow a huge couloir / draw up most of the way to a somewhat airy saddle with some impressive views, then swing a left and follow a gentle sort of summit plateau up to the top

i believe langley has some easy routes up it... and there is the advantage of a high (10,000' ?) trailhead at horseshoe meadows and some beautiful campspots by cottonwood lakes along the way... just make sure to follow the trail up to the pass (instead of dead reckoning from the lake, like i did, class 4?)... langley might actually be, for me, the easiest of all the california 14ers (i've basically only climbed the half a dozen or so 'easy 14ers')... nonetheless, this one is my recommendation... plus, great views of the meysan lakes basin and peaks from the summit

Thanks guys,

For the record, I don't need a trail, per say. I have personally done a number of class 2, class 3 hikes, the toughest being the Clark's Arrow route up Longs Peak in RMNP. However, I am trying to avoid very loose rock. Ultimately though, I am doing this research for the hike leader who wants to do the 14ers. The hike I really want to do this summer is Matterhorn Peak from Twin Lakes, Agassiz and Mount Goode combo and Mount Dana and Mount Gibbs combo. Those aren't too dangerous, but certainly qualify as high sierra hiking, no?

Matterhorn Peak from Twin Lakes requires glacier travel skills, ice axe and crampons. You may want to take that into consideration before leading a hiking group up.

I've hiked Matterhorn in late August and never even touched snow.

We will do Matterhorn in August when most snow has melted. The trip leader has done the route up the glacier before, but didn't get to the top. So, at least he has experience up the route. Believe me, safety is top priority.

I think Langley is the only 14er I am willing to do. I have some easier 13ers planned.

We will do Matterhorn in August when most snow has melted. The trip leader has done the route up the glacier before, but didn't get to the top. So, at least he has experience up the route. Believe me, safety is top priority.

I think Langley is the only 14er I am willing to do. I have some easier 13ers planned.


Try Mt Langley 14k and Mt Kawaeh, 13 k with spectacular view of heart of Sierra. Both are class one.... and it can take 6 days to do it both.

Tyndall is a good one. Banner peak highly recommended too, although only a 12er

If assurances of safety & ease are required, why plan a trip to the mountains to begin with? It's dangerous out there- people have died on Whitney, & I'd be surprised if it hasn't happened on White Mountain Peak! Better to just stay home & enjoy some good TV.

On the other hand, what's wrong with going for it, challenging yourself on a peak with question marks & turning around if you don't feel comfortable?

Batso had no idea what he was getting himself into when he made the first few moves off the ground onto El Cap...

Diggler,

Isn't there a difference between typical mountain danger, and highly dangerous? So, if I said I wanted to do Mount Langley in late August, it is certainly dangerous. However, probably nowhere near as dangerous as Starlight or the Palisades at that time, or Williamson in June?

My belief is that there is always risk; however, it is foolish to climb way above your skill level. Thus, I am inquiring as to whether mountains such as Sill, Tyndall, and Split are reasonable for someone who has only climbed Longs Peak via a class 3 route. I hiked Whitney last summer and it was pretty easy skill-level wise. Simply an endurance hike. But, Split Mountain, Tyndall, and Sill are totally different endeavors.

So my question is: Which mountain would you recommend of the three to a moderately-skilled hiker. Which is the least difficult?

HG- I think your question is pretty straight forward and to the point. I think others are reading a whole lot into something that isn't there. Class 3 is your limit, I'm new here and haven't started yet on anything you have done or others. But again, seems your question doesn't imply you're looking to try something way above your abilities. And without a doubt, there are different levels of danger in anything. I became a very, very good skier. BUT I would not try most of the stuff I've seen in the Warren Miller films.