El Diente Peak

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/18/2014, By: Nelson
Info: I did the El Diente/Mt. Wilson traverse on Thursday. There are two patches of snow on the way up from Kilpacker of about 100 vertical feet. One is at about 12,800 and the other is just before the red rock rib at 13,500. In the morning they are hard and steep and if you want to travel on them you need traction. I scrambled around them. In the pm they are soft and good to plunge step or glissade. I took the gully from the junction of the traverse and the Mt. Wilson rt. back into Kilpacker. There is no snow there but lots in Kilpacker down to 12,700. The snow is the best part of the return. No postholing and a lot better than the Talus. I had crampons and ax but they remained on my pack the whole time. Between El Diente and Mt. Wilson the Marmots are fearless, aggressive and voracious. Anything you put down for one minute will get there attention. A lot of people stash there bags before the summit pitch on Mt. Wilson. I guarantee you they will have a go at it, even if other people are there. 

Route: North Buttress
Posted On: 7/15/2014, By: ksteinhaus
Info: Approached via the Navajo Lake Trail clear to the top. Plenty of camping at the lake and the water was very delicious off the stream may I say. Hiked the North Buttress to El Diente then traversed along the connecting ridge to Mt. Wilson descending the North East Ridge of Mt. Wilson (3.5 hours from the start of N. Butress to Mt. Wilson Peak). Mostly solid rock accent with some very exposed sections near the top. All snow was avoidable except for a small 3 foot section after descending off the peak of El Diente and some patches while descending the North East Ridge of Mt. Wilson. South Slopes of El Diente looked like very soft snow. Many did it without crampons but all were carrying an ice axe. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 7/7/2014, By: thebeave7
Info: Climbed up the North Slope from Navajo Lake. Lower valley is snow free up to the base of the climb, I scrambled the rock for an additional 500ft due to really soft snow conditions at the bottom of the couloir even by 8am. Used crampons the rest of the way up the couloir, soft top layer with hard snow underneath. It was possible to do the climb with just microspikes/ice axe, but those of us with full crampons were much more secure. Snow is melting fast, and it‘ll soon be a nasty mess in the gulley. Sorry no pictures at the moment, on crappy wifi. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/13/2014, By: mrwatt6
Info: I climbed the El Diente from the south slope camping just below the falls and starting out just before daylight. I didn‘t use crampons as the times that I needed them were interrupted and brief, but they would have been helpful. The ice axe was a must however. Past the organ pipes I found the approach beyond the chimney that accessed the traverse spine a bit confusing with several "false" trails and ended up going up to the spine too early. It made for an excited scramble to the summit but conditions were favorable in spite of the exposure. The route down was easier to find but I really wouldn‘t have missed that scramble for anything. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 6/16/2014, By: jared_j
Info: Here‘s a pic of the north slopes of Wilson and El Diente as seen from the col near Wilson Peak. I headed to Navajo cirque intending on doing the traverse, but there were extreme winds today and I was spooked at the idea of being up point that ridge and getting hammered. Nearly got knocked over by a gust down in the cirque. Anyway the north slopes have good looking snow on then. Navajo lake is snow free for all the campsites. 

Route: Luttrell Line
Posted On: 6/16/2014, By: FireOnTheMountain
Info: In and sweet. Great conditions. Encountered snow on traverse to MW only on the faces, ridge crest dry. Will upload pics later today. No problems driving to Silverpick (ROA) TH. Snowshoes not required. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 6/9/2014, By: grote
Info: Navajo approach mostly free of snow except for last 1/2 mile near the lake. Most camping spots are snow covered but there is some dry space to be found. North slope route has continuous snow top to bottom, ridge still has decent amount of snow as well, but is mostly avoidable up to El Diente. Sorry, no pics of the traverse to Wilson, we had to make a speedy descent due to lightning. 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 5/23/2014, By: freeinthehills
Info: Lots of snow. little rock work needed to traverse N. Face. W. couloir in, little rocky at the bottom it looked like (from top) 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/11/2013, By: Nelson
Info: I am reluctant to post this but I will do so in the interest of full disclosure. I climbed El Diente via the South Slopes on the 9th. It was as good as it gets. No rockfall, no nothing. I did not do the traverse as I had hoped because the weather was coming in already when I submitted (8:15) and I don‘t "mess with Mother Nature". Warning: This will change with the advent of the Monsoonal moisture which I believe has already started. When it rains, El Diente is a killer. 

Route: North Buttress
Posted On: 6/30/2013, By: KTC88
Info: Hiked from Navajo Lake, climbed the North Buttress of El Diente, then traversed to Mt. Wilson and descended the standard route back to Navajo Lake. No need for traction or ice axe (I climbed in trail runners and never took microspikes or axe off my pack). Any remaining patches of snow are easily avoided. Clouds formed late morning, with a short rainstorm mid-afternoon. Bring insect repellant - the warm temps have the bugs out in force. Not much snow remaining in the North Couloir up El Diente. Recommend the N. Buttress route if you are comfortable with Class 3/4 routes. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 6/22/2013, By: Dan_Suitor
Info: Creek was full. Take the second log to the right (up-climber’s right). It’s easier than the first log. Only a few snow fields to cross. Some snow in the chimney, but not bad. I brought, but did not use the Crampons, Axe nor Microspikes. Earlier in the day some of the snow was iced over and took care to cross. Hiking poles helped with this. The gray gulley is NOT the one filled with snow, but the one to the left of it. It is actually gray/green in color. 

Route: view of north slopes, comment on south slopes
Posted On: 11/4/2012, By: Jyak
Info: We climbed Wilson Peak via Rock of Ages on 11/3/12 and got this shot of Mount Wilson and El Diente. If our climb on Wilson Peak is of any indication, I imagine Kilpacker approach and the south slopes of El Diente are pretty dry and that the final climb up the ridge to El Diente's summit is (since you keep mostly just to the north side of the ridge) rather mixed. You can check out my conditions report on Wilson Peak for more details. 

Route: North Buttress
Posted On: 9/11/2012, By: mountain hiker
Info: El Diente North Buttress + traverse to Mt Wilson + Mt Wilson standard route All dry. Saw several rock falls in different gullies/couloirs on the north side of El Diente-Wilson ridge. The final pitch of El Diente North Buttress route also has rock fall harzard. Be careful if some one is climbing above you! 

Route: North Slopes
Posted On: 8/27/2012, By: miztflip
Info: My wife and I were camping in Navajo Basin on 08/26/2012 awaiting a climb of Mt Wilson the next morning. Just before dark a huge rockslide started at the top of the North Slopes route and swept the entire route from top to bottom. No details on the condition of the route afterwards but it was tons of debris that fell for over two minutes and left a dust plume rising above the mountain. 

Route: South Slopes
Posted On: 7/5/2012, By: slowhead
Info: Hillhag & Slowhead finished the 14ers on July 2, 2012, with El Diente as the last. The Kilpacker route is in perfect condition, no ice or snow, of course. We found on the descent that, while we had to come down the grey gully (beneath the organ pipes), we did not have to cross the grey talus field. There is a nicely cairned zigzagging path, pretty well-defined, to the right (west) of the grey talus. Had we found that on the way up (where it would be to the LEFT of the grey talus), we would have avoided some rock-hopping and scree. Anyway, the mountain is in great shape, and we‘ve completed all the 14ers, in eight years. Not bad for some old folks.