Went up to the Palisades for some epic alpine climbing. Our goal was to do the full Thunderbolt -> Sill traverse via the North Fork of Big Pine Creek. Day 1 we drove up from LA, secured permits and hiked up to the foot of the Palisade Glacier. The next day we intended to do the traverse, but it didn't work out that way, due to mild AMS, and a "California" Alpine Start of around 10am. So we settled for a technical multi-pitch trad climb up Starlight Buttress. A very aesthetic route rated 5.5, but like everything in the Sierra, I'm convinced it is underrated. We then hiked out the same night in the dark and drove back to LA by 5am. 48 hours LA and back. Check out some of the highlights:
THE PALISADES
The U-Notch
North Palisade and Mt Sill. We climbed Starlight Buttress, the major buttress just to the right of Clyde Couloir which splits the two peaks as shown here.
Badass
Glider over Mt Sill. SO COOL! It flew right over us. We saw the shadow before the plane itself.
Rapping
Birthday beers at Sam Mack Meadow. Gannon surprised me by hauling a full six-pack the whole way up! My friends are fucking awesome!!
Full set of pics and higher resolution can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21276068@N ... 972692313/
In summary, we didn't achieve our goal, but the Palisades may be the coolest place I've been in the Sierra, and I can't wait to come back for some revenge!
