SummitPost.org

Hi,

I am not a technical climber. I only hike. I did Long Pine peak before and I am thinking to hike the Mt Agassiz from Bishop Pass. I know it is class 2 or 3. Can someone tell me comparing to Long Pine peak, how challenging Mt Agassiz is?

Thanks,
Yang

Go for it! That hike is worthwhile even if you fail to summit and is great terrain for gaining experience relatively safely. It is class 2, but can become class 3 depending on which chute you are in. If you start up and don't like what you find, you can backtrack/traverse until you find an easier way.

Aim for the huge boulder (at least ~15 feet tall and wide) near the base of the west slope of Agassiz. Head upslope from the boulder into a banana shaped talus chute that arcs from right to left. Generally, heading to the west slope soon after ascending the switchbacks and then up from the huge boulder will bring you to the easiest class 2 chute, while continuing to the Bishop Pass/SEKI NP sign or farther south past a round tarn toward Agassiz Col, Mount Winchell, and Thunderbolt Pass would place you closer to class 3-5 chutes. Some of these chutes have class 2-3 sections that are more solid than what is considered to be the easy/standard chute. Besides the summitpost pages, there is some additional discussion of various chutes here:http://www.scaruffi.com/travel/palisade.html

Thank you very much, Colinr! The information is very useful. I will try and see how it goes.

Hi Colinr,

One more question for you. I am studying the maps in the link you attached. I saw the route 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B. Do you happen to remember which one was the one you recommended?

Thanks again!

yang wrote:Hi Colinr,

One more question for you. I am studying the maps in the link you attached. I saw the route 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B. Do you happen to remember which one was the one you recommended?

Thanks again!

About twenty years ago my wife and I did the 1B chute and found it reasonable. My wife is not a technical climber and she was able to negotiate the steep parts with no problem. On the way down the same chute I spotted an even easier way to bypass the short steep section by going far right, then coming back left to pretty much the middle of the chute.