Alta Peak

One of the more accessible (reachable within a day) big peaks in Sequoia National Park is Alta Peak. I've been meaning to climb it for a while now, and I finally managed to get up early enough on a Saturday to attempt it this past weekend. I was on the road before five, so there was no traffic, and I put my manual tranny through the ringer on the insanely twisted road up into the park.

It got into the 90's in the Valley that day, but was only around 70 where I was. I guess that's the difference between 300' above see level and 11,200'. At a little over 7k', the trailhead was devoid of snow except for a patch here and there, but by about 9k' I was glad to have my snowshoes.

Routefinding was tricky. The snow obscured the trail entirely in a lot of places, and there were no blazes or other tracks to rely upon. More than once I lost the trail and had to spend time backtracking in order to determine the route. At one creek-crossing, the trail seemed to disappear entirely. After about 20 minutes of scouting, I was seriously considering calling it a day. I didn't want to bushwhack because it would be really inefficient, even if I was able to figure out where to go and not run into an impassable cliff or something, and also, since I was by myself, it was important that I stick to the route, destination, and estimated return time that I had left with a friend. Anyway, I decided to give it one more shot- I walked a little ways downstream from the last known trail spot, crossed, and then worked my way back upstream looking for the telltale "shelf" in the gently sloping terrain that might indicate the trail under the snow. Thankfully, this tactic worked and I was soon back on my merry way.

The final ascent was the toughest. What looked from the bottom like a moderate slope ended up taking me probably two hours to plod up. I wasn't sure how stable the snow pack was at that particular place either, so I stayed close to the rocks and avoided the steep open area in the middle, where there was evidence of at least one recent avalanche.

I saw two marmots (though I didn't know exactly what they were until I got home and looked them up). Pretty cute: big squirrel-like tails and bodies like groundhogs, with grey-brown fur except for the face, which looked black. I hear they can wreak havoc on unattended gear.

Here are some pictures:

Ran into these tracks maybe a mile from the trailhead. Most of you know I have big hands- this bear's print was massive! Certainly bigger than any others I've seen.

He walked up the trail a bit but then (thankfully) diverged off-trail.

View to the South from Panther Gap

The South flank of Panther Peak

Glimpse of the Great Western Divide above the trail to Mehrton Meadow.

Avalanche runoff in the gully below Tharp's Rock.

There's something especially fulfilling about crossing an untracked snowfield at 11,000 feet.

The final approach was bare rock to I scampered up it without my poles and snowshoes.

Watch your step! My little camera doesn't really give a good sense of the vastness and steepness of the terrain. Several spots had me freaking out just a little bit, and I went up the last 10 feet or so on all fours =)

I ran into a guy on vacation from the UK on the way down, and he offered to take my picture.

View of Pear Lake (frozen and snow-covered) just Northwest of Alta.

View to the East from the summit.

Looking several hundred feet down the North face of Alta.

Tharp's Rock as seen from Alta. It's actually several hundred feet lower in elevation. I really want to scramble up that when I come back this summer!

Another view of the Great Western Divide.

I always enjoy most the things that I have to work for, and this hike was no exception. For me, climbing a mountain is an exhilarating experience. The scenery took my breath away, and all I can do is thank God for creating such beauty and giving me the health and opportunity to enjoy it.