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Report Type
Full
Peak(s)
Thunderbolt Peak - 14003
White Rock Springs Pk - 6020
Partners: General Boggs, Daisy, and the Noob
4/19-4/21, 2014
Cost: $230 flight +$60 each for sedan rental and gas (I find prices useful).
Pictures taken by everyone. At the same time.
Thunderbolt Peak, CA (14,003 ft)
Underhill Couloir (snow to 50-55 deg, rock to 4th class with a 5.9 summit)
Gear used: Tools/crampons, TCU 00, BD 0.5-2, half set nuts, 1x60 m, 1x30m, webbing/slings, handled/chest ascender
18 miles/8300' gain
If a peak fails to rise 300 lofty feet above a saddle, dare we call it a peak at all? I think not.
Thunderbolt Hill:
For the past few years, couloir season seems to be an early affair in the Sierra. And we happen to be suckers for good crunchy snow.
So more of the same, although it is Boggy driving the night away, curving and swerving on the lonely roads between Vegas and Bishop, passing naught but dark and dimly lit desert towns clinging to Death Valley proximity claims to sucker a tourist or two. We were smarter this time around, opting for an early evening plane. Naturally, the airlines lost Abe's bag and our two AM Bishop arrival is witnessed by a mule and maybe a horse and probably other dirtbag climber sorts slumbering in a convenient parking lot.
On the plus side, the rental car hawkers did not burden us with a f****** "4WD" Hyundai Tucson this time around ("frickin," Bluebird, no worries). A full sized sedan served our needs.
Surprisingly, it is Boggy hauling us out of our sleeping bags at 640 AM, moaning and groaning and perhaps just a tad homicidal. Kylie persuaded us to let him live.
Permits from the ranger center and food from a reluctant barista; the usual routine. Smooth driving through Big Pine and up to Glacier Lodge, an atomic roiling spread of gear, re-packing, and sending Abe 0.8 mi down the road to park and jog back up since he likes that sort of thing.
We kick off a measured pace up the gentle North Fork trail and past 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Lakes prior to donning slowshoes and trudging up to Sam Meadows and then onward to camp on the moraine. 8 mi/ 5100 ft.
Temple Crag
A rare picture of Abe from the front
Knickers on full display
We arrive at camp in time for views. Winchell and Agassiz look on. A memorable camp.
Abe is lickin' his chops
Pano from camp
Enjoying dinner
We haven't quite decided on routes yet, hence the pile of ropes and pro we hauled up. Thunderbolt's North Couloir provides the best chance for getting multiple peaks. The NE couloir or Clyde's couloir provide the most spice. Underhill, V, and U provide moderate spice. Underhill seems a good compromise between spice and multiple peaks, with the hardest peak first.
V and U on left, Clyde center, Underhill in the sun mid-right, and the N couloirs on right.
We rise at 4 and are moving around 5. A gentle moraine ridge walk followed by a snow-covered glacier to the base of the couloir.
Abe and Boggy
Kylie
Magic hour
The snow line is shorter than expected. Tame, too.
Matching boots
The exit provides some easy spice
We turn right at the top of the couloir and reach the class 3 slabs. A stiff warmup in mountaineering boots.
At the top of the slabs, one could take 5.6 chimneys on left or make an exposed class 4 traverse right and then up broken dihedrals and blocks. The traverse right is incredibly exposed so we opt to climb up and rappel, landing at the other side of the traverse. We scout the route and opt for the rope for the first part of the chimney, finding out the true meaning of "California Class 4" in the process.
Boggy on lead
From above
All scramble up the remaining rock and snow
Snowy class 3 ridge and Gore-style crack traverses lead to the summit block.
Unfortunately, none of us are particularly adept at onsight 5.9R free-solos, so we opt for shenanigans. With perhaps another person or two to provide a stable base, we could have done it stacked cheerleader style, a la the first ascent.
We hold two ends of the rope and throw the middle, lassoing the block. One end is tied off on a slung chock. The other is tensioned through a cam. Out comes the ascenders. Our first attempt immediately pops over the lip and I land on my butt. The second attempt is slung a bit lower and holds. A bit scary imagining a spiral swing around the block.
The top rope is set. Kylie was the only one of us to climb it clean while the rest of us manly men resorted to trickery.
We descend the ridge and scramble right (class 3) down to the Hans Florine water bottle existing rappel. A 60 m rope is too short and a biner block is almost guaranteed to snag. We set a two stage rappel (30 m and 5 m) and mind the pulls, careful to avoid a snag.
To speed things up, we set a rope and rap the class 3 slabs while others are busy coiling the previous rappel's ropes and the webbing from the traverse rappel. Abe makes amends and volunteers to downclimb the slabs, allowing us to recover the gear.
The whole ordeal took longer than we thought, but we decide to give Starlight a shot anyways with our dwindling time. The ridge aspect is a bit snowier, but the class 4 is less sustained. We follow the fun ridge or just right of it, making it up to a series of gendarmes on a flat ridge at 14,050 or so. A tower and a final steep, snowy headwall remained up to the summit block, along with a probable rappel or two on the descent. Considering our remaining time, we decide to call it a day and descend , rappelling the minor cornice and crummy snow at the top of Underhill and downclimbing the rest.
Thunderbolt Class 4 above Abe's head
Back to camp
The next morning is windy and we're concerned about catching our flight. Sill would've been nice, but out we go. At a rate of one peak per year, Abe and I won't finish the CA 14ers until our late 30s. Unless we become sidetracked by low hanging fruit, which is a distinct possibility.
Abe was out early enough to catch the views, so I nudge the camera towards him and curl back up in my bag. I take full credit.
Out we go
We gorge ourselves at a fairly authentic Mexican place in Beatty after being turned down at another food joint. The food is simple and good.
White Rock Springs Peak, NV (6020 ft)
SE Ridge (class 2-4)
~2 miles/1200' gain
A recurring highlight of our trips has been to explore random desert peaks. Mostly, whatever we see that looks nice. We opt to bypass 94 degree weather on peak options near Beatty and continue on to Red Rocks. White Rock itself looks nice, but we only have 2 hrs to kill before our flight. Turtlehead is also an option with views of the Vegas Pit proper.
From the parking lot, scramble up and down the ridge to the highpoint. One could keep it class 2 if they wished, but there are plenty of fun sandstone boulders to play around on. Highly recommended.
All in all, another fantastic trip in a scenic setting and new peaks to dream over. Somehow, our annual couloir trip became a rock-ridge trip but, as usual, we still had fun, scoffing at efficiency (again, as usual) and exploring our capabilities as a team at the limits of our comfort range. Not that that will stop us from planning next year's jaunt...
Thumbnails for uploaded photos (click to open slideshow):
...well done to you and your team. Looks like a very sweet mix of snow and rock on Thunderbolt. Gorgeous pics and scenery to boot. And, don't worry, I will likely be in my late 40s by the time I am able to finish CA's 14ers :)
Great report Ryan. I've read a lot about Thunderbolt, but I had never seen such great pictures of the the difficulties. It has been a while since I've read a TR that made me want to just quit my job and go climb...thanks man, my career is now in jeopardy :D
I love this report so much!!! Great photos and your write ups always make me laugh....”we made Abe jog the .8 miles because he likes that kind of stuff :D :D :D ”
Abe~~ Looks like you actually got a legit jumping shot out of this trip!!!
This looks so awesome!! Well done on a successful summit. Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing this, as it got me excited to be moving out to California (I was sad to be leaving the Rockies!)Granted - I'm not ready for something quite like this, but at least I know its there!
Yeah, I'm constantly surprised by all of those hills and gullies and buttes out there too. With such a lack of real mountaineering goals out there, it's no wonder they have such a skewed YDS system :lol:
Natalie - the summit moves have a committing high step and traversy type moves up to slopers. The slopers actually do have good features though. I think I'd want a lap or two on TR, as well as climbing/approach shoes before trying it by more ethical means.
Brandon - still hoping to finally link up Finn-gold dust- pika, et al with a shuttle this summer if you're interested
Impressive scenery and exposure shots. The packs look huge, esp on Kylie. I only wish there was a video of the trickery on the summit block :)
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