We just received a report from AAI guide Mark Allen regarding his recent trip into the Sierra with two climbers, Walter Sanborn (Pineville, LA) and Mark Walker (Amarillo, TX). Mark reports:

The mountains here are absolutely beautiful and I am thankful every day I get to work in them. The mountains of the High Sierra have a historical, geological and physical grandeur that can be felt with every exploration.

I met Mark and Walt in Bishop. The two had enrolled in AAI's four-day Mt. Whitney ascent eager to try a new medium of alpine rock and excited to make an attempt on a classic Sierra peak. Previously they had some mountain training, and both had done a little climbing in the Cascades, but in all they were fairly new to the big-mountain scene and were ready to try it out.

Because of the altitude here, we spent the first day acclimating on a multi-pitch ascent of Cardinal Pinnacle (9500'). It was a great warm-up. I think of Cardinal as a miniature version of Whitney - it allowed us to start phase-one of acclimatization, get introduced to multi-pitch alpine rock climbing, and cover terrain comparable to the Whitney environment. Before we began our ascent we went over some essential basics: crack climbing, how to second a traditionally protected pitch, and how to work a belay stance.

The climb started out lovely. The warm white granite was enjoyable and fair-weather cumulus clouds sat pleasantly overhead. Unfortunately this didn't last long and the fluffy clouds soon developed into thunder cells. It didn't seem too bad yet so we continued on with another 200-foot pitch.

Poised to commit to the final 500 feet on the best rock of the whole climb, I turned to tab the weather and noticed an almost opaque wall of rain spreading across the waters of Lake Sabrina. The nice view of the Evolution Mountains had also disappeared. "Boys, that's the business right there!" I shouted to Mark and Walt. "I think we should get out the Gore-Tex!"

They acknowledged the rapid change in weather with both humor and disbelief. Before we had time to set up the rappel we were caught in a full downpour, and the wall began to clap and flash. We made a hasty retreat to our camp at Lake Sabrina. Later that afternoon we were able to finish some skill workshops between two more storms and sun breaks. That evening we packed for our three-day trip into Mt. Whitney. We ate a hearty meal of sausages over our campfire and speculated about what the trip would bring.

The following morning we packed up camp and began hiking to Whitney via the North Fork drainage. For a July weekend it was surprisingly deserted. We had splendid weather and the wildflowers were abundant due to the long spring. We meandered through and over polished granite, large erratic boulders, and ribbon waterfalls. As we turned the corner of Upper Boy Scout Lake, we saw the amazing towers of the Whitney Massif. The glacially carved sheer east faces of Day, Keeler, and Whitney stood like sentinels and dramatically held our attention while we finished the approach to our soon-to-be base camp at Iceberg Lake.

Once at base camp, we set up the cook tent and started dinner. Over food we prepped for the next day's objective. The full moon shone florescent on the granite. The evening air around us was cold and clear, though distant storms occasionally painted the sky in violent flashes of light.

We woke at dawn and were immediately rewarded with a warm sunrise in pinks, oranges, and yellows. I could see why John Muir called this the Range of Light. We rounded up our gear and started up the 1,00-foot chute at the beginning of the Mountaineer's Route. I was surprised by the sheer amount of snow still left on the mountain by this time in July, thanks to last winter's 150% above-average snowfall. The snow was still firm from the cold night and in all, the route was in excellent condition.

At the top of the chute we took a nice break on the saddle at 13,800ft and let the O2 sink in. Once we were ready we changed gears to rock climbing and surveyed the route possibilities in front of us. We opted for the climber's left side of the northwest face in search for solid, dry granite. Mark and Walt were climbing very well that day, and we decided to scale the final 700 feet of moderate rock to gain the summit via an exiting variation that was slightly more technical than the normal route.

Once on the summit we joined the many hikers that had come up the Whitney trail and socialized while signing the register. The view was astounding. Even the climbing ranger was kicking back and painting a watercolor of the dramatic scenery. We celebrated, had a snack, then decided it was time head down. Nearby, clouds had started to develop into heavy, dark thunderheads.

The descent was uneventful and fast. We had just reached base camp and zipped the fly shut when heavy rain began pounding the tent, lasting for the next several hours. We laughed about how perfect the day was and relished our much-deserved hot food. After making plans for the next day's hike out, we fell asleep dreaming of our forthcoming descent upon the infamous Whitney Burger.

This was among the most enjoyable trips that I have led in the Sierras. Despite the changing weather, we managed to summit on two very notable climbs and have a blast doing it. Both Mark and Walt climbed in great style and were fun to be around. I look forward to working with them both again in the future!

Mark Allen

AAI guide Mark Allen called Tuesday night to let us know that he was out of the mountains with brothers Andrew (20) and Timothy (17) Nelson (Santa Barbara, CA). Mark reports:

On the first day of our trip I met Andy and Tim, and we worked on rock skills and did a few great rock routes in preparation for the next day's venture into the Palisades.

The next day, Sunday, we hiked into the Palisades in great weather and established a camp at 12,000 feet. That night around 11:30pm we experienced the largest electrical storm I've ever seen. It was a real eye-opening experience, and it definitely has us scared. We were camped in what I thought was - and what proved to be - a safe spot, but the lightening was absolutely crazy. It struck every second for 30 minutes straight, and struck several times within a quarter mile. Because it was constantly flashing and striking, we couldn't count the number of seconds between lightening and thunder to get a sense of the scope of the storm and how far away the strikes were.

The skies then proceeded to rain for 24 hours and also produced four inches of snow at our camp. Andy later said, "Everything that could come at us, did! It was wild to witness rain, sleet, hail, gropple, and snow all at the same time."

The entire third day was spent in our tents sheltered from the storm. We just kept hoping it would clear up so we could get out there and do some climbing.

Miraculously, on the fourth day the skies cleared and we had great weather. We headed out from camp for an ascent of the U-Notch Couloir. I soon learned that both Andy and Tim were very fit, which made everything easier. Conditions were great - perfect neve over gully ice. The snow from the storm was wet enough when it fell that it adhered beautifully to the ice in the couloir, so we had we sweet climbing conditions. We summitted at 7:20am and were down to our camp by 9:30am.

It was a beautiful morning, and we savored the views from the summit. I wanted to get down off the route early, however, because in the heat of the day, the new snow would have been a sloppy mess to descend. We left the summit soon after arriving, and returned to camp early, which gave us the chance to hike out the same day. We decided to go for it and hiked out of the Palisades region that evening. By hiking out that night instead of in the morning, we would be able to do another rock climb the next day.

On Wednesday, our last day, we decided to climb Cardinal Pinnacle via a six-pitch route of 5.6 climbing. It was a great bonus to be able to do a climb on our last day instead of using the day to hike out of the Palisades. I was glad we got to do this because Andy and Tim missed one of their days due to the storm.

Andy and Tim both very much enjoyed the route. Besides being a great route, it's also very accessible - only thirty minutes from the road to the base of the climb. Despite this, it still feels like (and is) a significant alpine climb because the route is multi-pitch, has significant elevation gain, and tops out at almost 10,000 feet. It was a great day on classic rock.

In all, despite the weather this was a very successful trip. Both Andy and Tim can be very proud of what they accomplished in five days.

Mark is now heading back to the Cascades to continue his summer season of guiding, which he started with an Alaska Range Mountaineering course and a Denali expedition in May.