Fowler Peak

Route: traverse to Boskoff
Posted On: 8/9/2022, By: SnowAlien
Info: Fantastic peak and traverse. Was expecting a lot of choss, but the rock is actually pretty good. Traverse is long and burly with 3 distinct cruxes. Elk Creek basin is green and pretty unlike the ROA approach. All 3 registers are in good shape, thanks to WW. 

Route: South Face
Posted On: 9/11/2021, By: supranihilest
Info: Starting from Rock of Ages trailhead we followed the trail to the Elk Creek trail, then at a signpost with no sign took a short, beaten path into School Bus Basin. We climbed a short slope of loose rock then followed a mining road as it switchbacked all the way to the end of the basin. From there we climbed directly up boulders and talus to the ridge just to the right of center; the gray rock was most stable but be careful not to dislodge a massive boulder onto a hand or foot. On top of the ridge we followed the ridge to under Fowler's south face. The first obvious gully is what we went up; it's marked by a big gap underneath a vertically-oriented rectangular block protruding from the wall. The scramble here is often rated Class 4 but Whiley and I both thought it was Class 3. We turned around last year due to loose rock but this time around the loose rock was barely a concern. The initial scramble is the hardest part of the peak, and the easiest way up is on the left side of the gully. It then eases up a bit next to a small pinnacle used as a rappel station. I left a new cordellete at the rap station since there wasn't anything on it, but forgot a rap ring or quicklink. Past this it's a Class 3 scramble up a chimney to Class 2 terrain, and then a walk from the summit ridge to the summit. Reversing the climb to the rap station is easy, just be mindful of the dirt and gravel covering everything. The final scramble back down is again the hardest but was done facing out, so still not terribly difficult. Exposure is somewhat moderate. Going back down the boulderfield to the road was horrible as expected but then it's all road and trail to finish. 

Route: From Rock of Ages
Posted On: 6/21/2021, By: Will_E
Info: Completely dry from ROA saddle. 

Route: East Ridge from School Bus Basin
Posted On: 8/9/2020, By: supranihilest
Info: Note: we did not summit. This route starts at Rock of Ages Trailhead, which is the standard trailhead for Wilson Peak. It follows the trail to Elk Creek Trail then takes Elk Creek for a while before leaving the trail at a hard right turn. There's a short bit of talus to climb up and then there's a good network of old mining roads that takes you all the way up the basin to just below the ridge between 13,540 B and Fowler Peak. There's something like 600 feet of steep boulders, talus, and scree to the ridge from there, and it's an odd combination of both stable and unstable rock, which required care. The majority of the ridge up Fowler from there is easy, though near the top the rock gets crappy, and then it gets very steep. We went to the "usual" southeast gully mentioned in Furthermore's report, which was in the Easy Class 3 range getting to the bottom. This is where things got much harder, with climbing in the Class 4 to low Class 5 range with very questionable rock with loose scree on absolutely everything and high exposure. I spent probably ten minutes literally sweeping the first few ledges down to the dirt since there was an inch or two of scree on everything that was big enough for a foot placement. We got high enough to notice that there's a rappel station higher up the gully, so we bailed there and figure we'll just go back with a rope and rappel it when we're done, since down climbing it would be a lot worse than climbing up it.