Grammys11,

First read & research. As 1000peaks has suggested, California Fourteeners is a good place to start. There is also a lot of good information on the Mountian pages and in the trip reports here on Summit Post.

A lot will depend on how you want to go about summiting these peaks. Full packs, stoves, tents, etc. or fast & light with only bivy gear? How many days could you go without a re-supply stop?

Over the past several years, along with various friends, I've attempted all 15 of the California Fourteeners listed by Porcella & Burns. Some on single peak outings and some in groups on multi-day outings.

We did Langley, Whitney, & Muir in a three-day trip, you could add Russell to this loop with too much more effort. I bagged Russell on a different trip along with Carilon.

We did Williamson & Tyndall on a leisurely four-day trip.

We took two days for each of the following: Split, Middle Pal & Sill.

We did Polemonium, North Pal, & Starlight over a six day trip that included two bivies. One in the "U-notch" between Pole & North Pal, one at the top of the Clyde Coulior between North Pal & Starlight.

We day-hiked Thunderbolt, but you could include it a traverse from Sill or Polemonium.

Polemonium, North Pal, Starlight and Thunderbolt are the most technical. The approach for these is easier form the west side, especially in late spring or early summer when ice climbing skills would be needed to ascend the U-notch.

grammys11:

Back in the 90's, I climbed the California 14ers in the winter (between the winter solstice and the spring equinox). Last year, I turned 60 and climbed them all again.

The 14ers are all doable in early season, but they are generally harder before July and August. The two exceptions, in my opinion are Split and Shasta. You've ruled out Shasta for this trip, but I would definitely include Split. I did it last April 30, and it was the most pleasant of my five trips to Split.

The easiest routes up Thunderbolt, N. Pal,and Starlight are from the West..Bishop Pass.

You can also do the 3rd cl. route up Sill from there and traverse to Polenium. You could easily knock out Agaisz on the way in or out.

As far as traversing from Winchell to Thunderbolt, I haven't done it, but it has to be 5th cl.

Middle Pal and Split can be done as day hikes

I recommend going to the Palisades from the East side, from Big Pine / 395. The approach is shorter, better scenery, better routes (e.g. Swiss Arete on Sill or U-Notch on North Palisade versus just a class 3 scramble from the other side)

Norris wrote:I recommend going to the Palisades from the East side, from Big Pine / 395. The approach is shorter, better scenery, better routes (e.g. Swiss Arete on Sill or U-Notch on North Palisade versus just a class 3 scramble from the other side)

Surfnturf,

Look a Norris' profile pic. This is near the top of the U-notch from the east side. Yes, it could be considered as shorter and easier if you're prepared to ice-climb at this level, or higher, depending on conditions at the time of your ascent.

Surfnturf,

I haven't climbed the ice of the U-notch. We approached from the west side.

In August 2008 we looked up the U-notch from the Palisade Glacier. The bergschrund was crossable at climber's right, but at mid day there was water sheet flowing on the surface and frequent rockfall. In early morning and late afternoon that water froze into a layer of ice.

In general, by late summer the bergschrund gets wider and harder to cross. The nice "styrofoam" snow consolidates into hard ice or frozen water. Check the trip reports page, there were some groups reported about their ascents for east-side U-notch climbs last summer. Again I have not gone up the east side ice climb, but from my observations and research I would say that the best season to go up is late spring or early summer.

Be prepared for some suffering on the Red Lake trail. I have been up twice and the second time confirmed what I felt about the first; that it was the worst trail on the East Side. That is of course if you consider parts of it a trail. More like a sandy slope with boot tracks. Very scenic at Red Lake however.

Your first Saturday seems quite optimistic, especially given that you are carrying gear for 6 nights out.

That’s an incredibly aggressive schedule. I’ve climbed 5 of those peaks and I’m very familiar with the area from both eastern and western approaches. The Palisades are tough and technical terrain. I planned a Palisades 5 day, 5 summit, trip last year and I only got one. Unless you’re a bona fide mountaineering superman (and maybe you are), with excellent technical skills (not afraid to solo 5.easy), cutting your summits in half and adding some rest days would be more realistic.

Sorry to rain on your parade.

I just got my permits yesterday to knock out my last three 14’ers. I’ll be climbing N. Pal (hopefully Polemonium too) in June and Starlight in July. Hopefully I’ll see you up there. Good luck!

"Sleep at Red Lake. Wives will join us for this one."


That's a funny line!

Surfnturf,

I agree with the comments offered by the others, your itinerary seems to be extremely ambitious. Although I am admitedly older and slower than I used to be. I Day hiked Thunderbolt in 2003 but last year I took a week to summit Polemonium, North Pal and Starlight. (I posted a trip report for our trip last summer)

I am also curious why you would chose to climb T-bolt and Sill in the same day (Monday) when they are at the opposite ends of the series of peaks that include Starlight, North Pal and Polemonium.

As a constructive suggestion, it seems that you are willing to spend some nights bivied up high. So you could save a lot of time and energy going up and down on back to back days by working through the peaks from north to south or vice versa. Just remember, doing multiple days up high means carrying enough water to last until you get back down.

Hi surfnturf, I would stick with the Glacier lodge (East side) approach to the Palisades, but forget about doing some climbs from there, then travelling all the way around to the other side. The profile photo was taken in late July last year by an SMG guide (Jed Porter) who guided me up the V-Notch, which is steeper than the U-Notch. It was just starting to transition from neve to water ice at that time, so it was easier to climb than it would be later in the season. Given the amount of snow this year, I'm guessing that these couloirs will take longer to transition to pure ice climbs than last year, so they should still be manageable snow/neve climbs in July 2010, although I'm far from an expert in that topic. Here's an idea: rent one of the Glacier lodge cabins. Reasonably wife friendly. Do a series of trips from there. If you and your companions don't have the experience and skills needed for technical climbs from the East side, hire a guide (I recommend SMG) to take you up U-Notch and Swiss Arete. I guarantee the experience of a lifetime.

You can do the Thunderbolt to Sill traverse which gets you Starlight, North Pal and Polemonium. You'll then want one day of rest. Dayhiking Norman Clyde and Middle Pal would be rough but I guess you could do it. Norman Clyde's easiest route is the NNE Ridge which is 2K' or so of 4th class maze. A buddy and I did it in 18 hours c2c climbing up the Twilight Pillar. It took us longer to get down to the glacial moraine via the NNE Ridge then to climb up the 4 pitches on Twilight Pillar. Same buddy and I with some others did T-Bolt to Sill from S. Lake to Glacier Lodge in 18 hours. So that should give you an idea of Norman Clyde Peak.

You can also do the full Palisade Traverse which gets you all those peaks in one push. Some dudes with the name of Peter Croft and Michael Reardon did it I believe. They are decent climbers.