May 3-7 Sierra Nevada, Donohue Pass and Mt. Lyell
5/15/12
US elsewhere
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With the arrival of May, it was time to head down the Sierra Nevada to join my buddy Mark (mchin of ttips fame) and his friends Gus and Steve for another spring tour in the Sierra Nevada. Unfortunately, newly arrived parenting duties would keep my buddy Ty from coming along again this year.
The original plan was to explore parts of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and eastern Yosemite. We planned to ski from Silver Lake, up the Rush Creek drainage to Donohue Pass, then, after climbing Mt. Lyell, traverse around the west side of the Kuna crest, drop down to Helen Lake, transit over Parker and then Koip Peak passes before heading down past Alger Lake and out to the starting point at Silver Lake. Just a few days before heading out, we heard that the Rt. 120 had opened from 395 to Tioga Pass and opted to do the loop from the pass instead as it would likely save us a lot of walking given the low snow year down there. Much to our chagrin, upon driving over to the Whoa Nellie Deli for our pre-trip dinner, we found out that the road, which had, in fact, opened up to the pass a few days earlier, was closed again so CalTrans could clear lots of rock debris and would not open for at least a few more days. So... back to the original plan which we knew meant a lot more walking with skis on the pack. Once on the trail, snow conditions and a few other factors gave us a strong sense that climbing the peak and doing the full circumnavigation of the Kuna Crest would be a tough go so we opted for a tour up to the pass, a climb/exploration of the Mt. Lyell area, and then a trip out the same way we came in with a detour for some exploration of Lost Lakes Basin.
Some photos below... additional photos can be found here:
The original plan was to explore parts of the Ansel Adams Wilderness and eastern Yosemite. We planned to ski from Silver Lake, up the Rush Creek drainage to Donohue Pass, then, after climbing Mt. Lyell, traverse around the west side of the Kuna crest, drop down to Helen Lake, transit over Parker and then Koip Peak passes before heading down past Alger Lake and out to the starting point at Silver Lake. Just a few days before heading out, we heard that the Rt. 120 had opened from 395 to Tioga Pass and opted to do the loop from the pass instead as it would likely save us a lot of walking given the low snow year down there. Much to our chagrin, upon driving over to the Whoa Nellie Deli for our pre-trip dinner, we found out that the road, which had, in fact, opened up to the pass a few days earlier, was closed again so CalTrans could clear lots of rock debris and would not open for at least a few more days. So... back to the original plan which we knew meant a lot more walking with skis on the pack. Once on the trail, snow conditions and a few other factors gave us a strong sense that climbing the peak and doing the full circumnavigation of the Kuna Crest would be a tough go so we opted for a tour up to the pass, a climb/exploration of the Mt. Lyell area, and then a trip out the same way we came in with a detour for some exploration of Lost Lakes Basin.
Some photos below... additional photos can be found here:
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