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I attempted to climb Mt Eisen (located on Great Western Divide N of Sawtooth Pk) in the winter a few years back. Me and a friend approached from the west via the Middle Fork Trail along the Kaweah River. I reached the ridge top west of the summit but ran out of time and couldn't continue with time to make it back to the camp below. My friend and I are planning to try it again this winter(2015) on January 2,3,4,5.

Have any of you summit posters ever tried this in winter, or even approached Mt. Eisen from the west for that matter?

We won't be using skies because you'd have to carry them the entire 1st day and the last day to hike the lower elevations along the Middle Fork Trail.
My friend and I have successfully climbed Lippincott Mtn. and an unofficially named peak N of Lippincott in winter with snow shoes via the Middle Fork route. These previous trips were great memories with new challenges for us and now we're trying to bag others in the area during winter.

Lastly, if you would like to join us, please email me soon so we can correspond with route details in time for the trip.

That sounds like a cool trip! I also live in Visalia. I would love to get in on one of your trips at some point.

Hey Matthew -

Just wondering if you made the trek to Eisen? I've been contemplating a trip in the spring.

Cheers.

I came within 800 feet of the summit along the northwest ridge. I had to turn back in order to make it back out in time. If I was able to push harder I suppose I could have made it and my hiking partner wasn't feeling it so I was breaking trail the whole way! If I went with someone stronger with more endurance it could have been done.

This would be best done as a 4.5 day trip with a two night camp at 10,000 feet elevation along the Ridge. The route is good from Cliff Creek trail but breaking trail is a task that hikers should share to prevent exhaustion. Looked like snowshoes would have been good enough the whole way to the top with nothing that I could see hindering progress. I'm bummed that I didn't bag it this time.

SJD: Send me a PM email and I'll send a jpg of my annotated map for your reference so you can succeed this spring. There are only a few choice sites that I can point out to pitch a tent once you start up that 5000 foot slope out of Cliff Creek canyon.

iHartMK: When I draft up some Summer '15 Sierra ambitions, I'll contact you. My current hiking partner is consistently slowing down and I need to get out with someone with more courage and tolerance for ambitious objectives so I can progress.

Looks like a great endeavor regardless of the final 800 feet. Thanks for the follow-up info and a PM is headed your way.