Post Peak is not "class-1"
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 3:01 am
I don't know if Post Peak, on the southeast Yosemite border, had already been mentioned on this forum before, but I was amazed to see that even the latest edition (2009) of Secor's "The High Sierra" repeats an old misinformation that route to the summit is "class-1 from Post Peak Pass". A few days ago I came over that pass on my way from Lyell Fork to Clover Meadow, and used the opportunity to climb both Post Peak (11009 ft), and its unnamed neighbor (10880+ ft) on the other side of the pass. Post Peak is not "class-1", it is a solid class-3. The route goes over a short, steep, and quite narrow ridge formed by huge blocks of granite stacked atop each other. At times I had an unpleasant feeling that some of those blocks are not in their final position yet, and that one of them could slip taking me with it to the abyss on one of the sides of the crest. Perhaps just my imagination. The ascent has a somewhat disappointing ending: as the ridge flattens, you realize that the highest point on the summit is an "unclimbable" 20-feet high obelisk. As if somebody had placed it there to spoil the fun.
It is hard to tell how many people visit Post Peak, because there is no register at the top. I only found one remark on the Web about a Post Peak ascent: Bob Burd climbed the peak as a side trip during his amazing 18-hours hike from Fernandez Trailhead to the top of Mount Ansel Adams and back. I don't suggest that everyone should add Post Peak to their peak-bagging lists now, but if you are already in the area, and can choose, e.g., between Post Peak Pass and Isberg Pass, take the former and convince yourself that Post Peak is an interesting experience, far from being a class-1 walk.
By the way, Secor is not the only one who has the "class-1" misinformation about Post Peak. The same description can be found in Roper's "The Climber's Guide" (1976). The source for both authors may have been a misleading statement printed in an article in the "Sierra Club Bulletin", in 1951.
It is hard to tell how many people visit Post Peak, because there is no register at the top. I only found one remark on the Web about a Post Peak ascent: Bob Burd climbed the peak as a side trip during his amazing 18-hours hike from Fernandez Trailhead to the top of Mount Ansel Adams and back. I don't suggest that everyone should add Post Peak to their peak-bagging lists now, but if you are already in the area, and can choose, e.g., between Post Peak Pass and Isberg Pass, take the former and convince yourself that Post Peak is an interesting experience, far from being a class-1 walk.
By the way, Secor is not the only one who has the "class-1" misinformation about Post Peak. The same description can be found in Roper's "The Climber's Guide" (1976). The source for both authors may have been a misleading statement printed in an article in the "Sierra Club Bulletin", in 1951.