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I might have the opportunity to travel and climb in the Sierra in the first couple weeks of August this year, and I was hoping some experts could give me some recommendations on what to climb. I'm not very familiar with this range, so I don't really have a clue where to start looking. My partner and I are WI/AI 4 ice climbers and 5.8/5.9 rock climbers, each with more than 15 years of experience in the mountains. I'd appreciate any suggestions, though I think we'd prefer alpine ice if there's any still around in August. I'll be coming from 2 and a half months in CO, and he lives here, so acclimation won't be an issue.

Thanks,
Mike

SP Parker's guide booklet on Eastern Sierra ice is a good source of info. That said, you could easily spend a week or more in the Palisades:



In addition to the long couloirs visible here (U, V notch) and another one you can't see (Clyde), the Palisade massif has five summits above 14K', for which the easiest ascent route is class 3. There will probably be lots of snow/ice this year in August; the photo above was taken in Sept. of '08 which was a drier year.

The traverse from Mt. Sill to Thunderbolt (visible in the following shot from the summit of nearby Mt. Winchell) is a huge climb that I've never done but several on Summitpost have:


On the hike in up N Fork, Big Pine Creek you have Temple Crag, which is itself a destination for grade III+ alpine rock routes.

I think in early August you are likely to encounter more neve than AI, but you could certainly find something that's in around that time of year. SP Parker's guide is definitely where to look for AI stuff.

The V Notch, the Mendel Couloirs, and the Split Mtn Couloirs should all be on your list for ice climbs. In terms of alpine rock, the list is endless. You could hike into the Whitney/Russell area or the Palisades and tick 4-5 routes in a long weekend!

Thanks alot guys. It definitely looks like the Palisades could be the place to go. What are the access issues? I seem to remember the Sierra being under fairly heavy regulation, and the Palisades sound like a popular area?

You'll need a permit. You will find this page helpful for logistics:

http://www.summitpost.org/eastern-sierra/154084

Permits are issued by trailhead. The two main trailheads for this area are the Bishop Pass Trail (easiest access to West side of Palisades) and North Fork Lone Pine Creek (easiest access to East side, which has the glacier and ice filled couloirs). You can cross from east to west via one of several class 2-3 passes. Midweek permits are often easier to get. You can go to the Inyo National Forest website and check permit availability online; it will also walk you through the permit reservation process. Note that a certain number of permits are reserved for walk-ins so even if you can't get one in advance you still have a chance to get one at a ranger station in Bishop. Note that Bishop is the nearest large town to both trailheads and has supermarkets, restaurants, motels, climbing gear, etc.

Just occurred to me; if you can push your trip out just a few days, the first half of these become an option:



viewtopic.php?t=58180

Getting Wilderness Permit/s for those areas (Palisades, Mendel/Darwin, Bear Creek Spire, North Peak etc etc etc) is really not an issue, trust me.

Chances of snagging a multi-day for the NF of Lone Pine Creek (Whitney/Russell) are 50/50 if you show up the day prior at the LPRS.

North Peak


Mendel "Ice Nine/Right Side" as well as my new route to the left of "Ice Nine"


Mt. Darwin NF


Petit Griffon


The Whitney Group & the East Ridge of Russell