Follow the
Kilpacker Approach to reach 12,600' and the junction for El Diente Peak's south slopes route -
1. The rocky Kilpacker "trail" essentially ends here, and this junction
is usually marked by a couple of small cairns, so don't expect anything too obvious. For Mt. Wilson's southwest slopes route, look for cairns and head east along the north side of the basin -
2. As the basin comes to an end, angle northeast into a drainage that leads toward Mt. Wilson -
3. Continue up the drainage (
4) until reaching 13,200', where you'll get a clearer view of the remaining route -
5. Make your way toward a large talus pile and turn left before continuing to 13,700' -
6. The remaining route is straight ahead, but to avoid unpleasant terrain, climb to the left onto rocks just below the connecting ridge between El Diente and Mt. Wilson -
7.
Photo
8, taken from the El Diente-Mt. Wilson traverse, shows the remaining route. In summary, you'll ascend partway up a gully, cross over a rock rib, and then climb another gully to reach a notch before progressing to the summit. After ascending the rocks shown in
7, turn right to view the next section of the climb -
9. Around 13,800', traverse beneath the cliffs on loose rock and enter the gully -
10. Climb this section briefly and locate the rib crossover point visible in
11.
Turn right, execute a few Class 3 moves to gain the rib (
12 and
13), and step over to see the southern gully. Drop down slightly into this gully and begin climbing along the side -
14 and
15. Look back to take note of the crossover point to ensure you can identify it on your descent -
16 and
17. Continue up the gully to reach a notch
in Mt. Wilson's south ridge, near 14,200'. Turn left and climb the final 150-foot pitch -
18,
19,
20, and
21. This is the most challenging part of the route, but the difficulty can be kept to Class 3. Photo
22 shows the view of Wilson Peak and neighboring 13er, Gladstone Peak.
GPX Track File
