Yeti wrote:Hello all
I'l be in the SF area for a week, with a few days to myself. I've been looking over Whitneys Mountaineers Route as a fun climb, with the bonus of bagging the lower-48 highpoint.
Will there be much snow on the route in mid July?
Any other sort of "classic" alpine mountaineering routes in Central California?
Thanks
Eric
Whitney is a beautiful area but be aware that the southeastern Sierra is quite a long way from the SF area. Whitney is 350+ miles and 7+ hrs drive from SF (it's actually a shorter drive from LA). Whitney is also one of the most crowded mountains in the country and permits are required even for day hiking it. Reserve-in-advance permits are allocated by lottery and those are long gone, though you may be able to get a walk-in permit especially if you go mid-week.
If you judge by the book "50 Classic Climbs of North America" then California has more "classic" routes than any other state. There are lots of excellent class 4 and easier routes that are closer to SF and that are less crowded than Whitney. A couple of good books to check out for Sierra climbs are Peter Croft's "The Good, the Great and the Awesome" and Chris McNamara's Supertopo's "High Sierra". Both cover several routes on Whitney but also lots of other climbs in the Sierra. The focus of these books is on alpine rock climbs (class 5) but they also include some easier routes. Secor's "HIgh Sierra: Peaks, Passes and Trails" includes many, many climbs but provides less detailed route info than Croft or McNamara.
If technical rock climbs are of interest then both Yosemite and Lake Tahoe have many excellent routes and are much closer to SF than Whitney (especially Lake Tahoe). You can find everything from easy topropes to big walls.
If you like snow and alpine ice climbs, another mountain you might consider is Shasta. It's a Cascade volcano and has a number of alpine routes. The easiest routes on the south side may not have much snow on them in mid July but the glaciated routes on the north side will probably be in good condition.