A few weeks ago I was camped at the top of Spiller Canyon at the far northern border of Yosemite. We did the easy SE slope of the Matterhorn that morning and in the afternoon my girlfriend and I set off for Whorl. We were armed with the Whorl Mountain entry from Secor's book. We got up near the top of the saddle between the middle peak and the south peak. I got a little mixed up trying to figure out which chute I was in, which one I should be in, and what notch I was looking for to get me to the chockstone. So, I went ahead on my own, topping out of the chute I was in and crossed over to the west. From there I found a series of sandy ledges. It looked like I could make my way up to the summit from this side. Is that a correct assessment?

In the end I wimped out. My girlfriend was down below waiting for me (I had told her I would see if I could figure out where we needed to go). She had no idea where I was, so I went back to her. By the time I got back rain clouds were coming in and we decided to get down.

Anybody have any pictures of the correct route so I don't get defeated again? I apologize for not having any photos of where I ended up, I left my pack and big camera back with my girlfriend near the top of the chutes.

It sounds like all you had left was an easy walk on the ledges over to the summit. A couple minutes at most. No worries. Its a great climb and worth doing again.

Did you read this page? Good photos and it was helpful on my climb (though I did start too far over, in what I determined was chute 0). So I ended up with a bit of adventure on the route.

http://www.summitpost.org/route/155882/se-face.html

Oh man, you were right there.



I also got off route when I tried it. Check out Day 7 of my trip report below. I was looking right at the chockstone and didn't even recognize it. (Doh!)

http://www.summitpost.org/trip-report/235502/Exploring-Northern-Yosemite.html

Whorl Mountain is a great puzzle to solve. I hope you go back to do it.

Excellent links, I'll get it for sure next time! I'm going to print out some photos as they really clear the confusion for me. It didn't seem that difficult when I popped over the top of the ridge and got access to the sandy ledges. Is the chockstone route that critical to gaining the summit?

I went via that route, so do not know how feasible an alternative is. Actually, you might be in the best position to answer that question!

But getting to and going through the chockstone is enjoyable. Take some photos, the routefinding is a good bit of the fun on this peak.

The chockstone is the easiest way to the ridgetop and sandy walkway. From there it's a 3 minute stroll to the summit. If you managed to find the walkway without going up through the chockstone, then all the better for you! It really is just an easy walk from there.

Now I can't wait to go back!