Thinking about heading into the Ionian Basin Thursday before Labor Day. I have a permit out of Lake Sabrina. I'd rather not take an ice axe for Echo Col, so I was thinking of going over Haeckel-Wallace Col. Would I be better off just switching to going over Lamarck Col? Any advice appreciated.

BTW, my partner had to cancel due to health issues, so I have an extra permit for entry into Lake Sabrina on Thursday 8/29.

Thanks,
Myles

wish I could go, but I don't think I will be back there until later this fall if that
looks like such a beautiful area - it will have to wait till next summer.

FWIW: I've done both Col's and I would say I by far prefer Lamarck Col over Haeckel-Wallace Col. With Lamarck Col you have a trail to the top and getting out of the basin on the west side is easier. Haeckel-Wallace is incredibly loose and steep getting up. Descending it to the west is very loose too. I about got "steam rolled" by a TV sized boulder my dad loosed on the way down.

The view coming over Lamarck Col is better too!

Thanks, I was up on Haeckel-Wallace last year coming from the East, so it was a "devil you know thing." It would be see another view, too.

Ahh Ionian basin. One of the most remoter an scenic spots in the Sierra. Not a single lake is even named!

I've done both cols and very much prefer the route over Haeckel and Wallace to Lamarck Col. The trail up Lamarck Col is quite sandy and frankly I find it incredibly boring. The lakes on the approaches from Lake Sabrina are more scenic too.

When I went to Ionian Basin I went over the col south of Wallace, and returned between Wallace and Haeckel. One consideration was I wanted to summit Wallace on the way in and Haeckel on the way out. Yeah it is loose but I still did not find the ascent from the east to be problematic. Haeckel is a fun scramble to the top and well worth it if you haven't been. Coming down the west side is quite sandy and you can get from top to bottom in minutes as opposed to the longer walk down Lamarck. The only real advantage to Lamarck is seeing Darwin Canyon and the north side of Mount Darwin (which are great btw) but if your real primary objective is to get to Ionian Basin and spend as much time as you can there, then the shorter route over Haeckel and Wallace is the way to go. Otherwise you face the extra time and energy both ways in order to avoid the loose stuff. Also if you go by Echo Lake you may determine returning via Echo Col is feasible assuming you come back in the afternoon when the snow is soft, who knows. Not sure about Echo Col but I have done several 'ice ax required' passes this year without the supposedly necessary gear.

Regardless of your approach... spendid area. Say Hi to Charybdis!

Saying hi to Charybdis is definitely part of the plan! Thanks!

Of the options available, I think the col north of Haeckel is the fastest. It isn't nearly as crappy as Haeckel-Wallace. For views, I prefer the south side of Echo Col over all of them. The descent down to the JMT is fantastic. I've been over Lamarck too many times to find that one exciting and largely agree with mrchad. It's also the longest option aside from Bishop Pass.

Echo col is extremely obnoxious to pinpoint in the dark when you are climbing back out from the west, you end up getting off route close to where you top out on the ridge and scrambling on exposed 4th class terrain and thinking wtf, and cursing + an obnoxious (boulders)descent down to echo lake once you do top out and confusing lakes you have to navigate to get your ass back on track on the trail.

He is not going to be doing that crap in the dark.

mrchad9 wrote:He is not going to be doing that crap in the dark.

God, I hope not! I won't be attempting a day hike or anything. I'll be on vacation, after all!

Just posting for general knowledge, that col stirred up some bad memories! Could also be a warning for others to avoid that stupid thing in the dark. It gives people more information about the col.

Thanks, everyone. I'm stoked to be getting back out y'all's way.

See my page on the Enchanted Gorge:
http://www.summitpost.org/enchanted-gorge/420576
The approach information may answer some of your questions.

I've personally been over Echo Col, Wallace Col and Lamarck Col.

Wallace Col is not too bad, if you don't mind climbing over 13,000 feet to cross the Sierra crest. But it's good only for an east-to-west crossing. The descent from Wallace Col into the Evolution basin is on extremely loose scree that would IMPOSSIBLE to climb if you tried to go the other way. I remember glissading down scree and the entire slope was moving with me:


Wallace Col dumps you right into the heart of the Evolution right here:


Lamarck Col seems like such long ways from the Ionian Basin... but I guess if you look at the map it's not that far. I fucking hate Lamarck Col for some reason, and would rather climb Wallace Col to get into the Evolution, and then climb Echo Col to get out.

Here's the beta for Echo Col:

Crossing east to west:



Crossing west to east:



And some views of the Ionian Basin:

I went over Echo Col early Sept. a few years ago. There was some snow down low in the basin below the Col, but the upper 1/2 had no snow at all. I doubt you would need axe or crampons, there was no use for them when I was there. Once you leave the small glacier area below the Col there is a use trail that takes you up and over.