Jepson Peak by way of "Snaggle-Tooth" Couloir
Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 2:34 pm
Another fun climb in the San Bernardino Mountains. Jeff Scofield (Yeti) called me on Thursday to ask if I wanted to do a couloir leading up the east face of the north ridge of Jepson Peak in the big draw or big bowl, call it what you want. Since Zach and I had already made plans to do Dobbs, Jepson and San G it was easy to talk us into switching from the south side of the mountain to the north side.
Knowing that it’s a big day and knowing that one of us had to be back by 6 PM Saturday night for a previous engagement, Jeff picked Zach and I up at my house at 3:15 AM, by 5:20 AM we were headed up the south fork trail. It was a mixed bag of Icy snow and dirt for the first two miles, and then at Horse meadows it became slightly thicker but still Icy and consolidated where the trail crosses the road to Poopout Hill up through the meadow and down the main trail. Being that we had started so early the snow was kind enough to stay firm enough to hold both Jeff and I until we reach the south side of South Fork Meadows at 7:15. By 9 AM we had made it up and over Christmas tree hill and made our way into the “Little Draw” or the bowl that separates Jepson and Little Charlton.
All three of us soon agreed that we wanted to do a line/couloir on the west face of the north ridge instead of the one on the opposite side of that same north ridge as it was a very clean line that we could see from where we came over Christmas tree hill and we didn’t know what we might find on the other side. Soon we were headed up the now aptly named “Snaggle-Tooth” Couloir (Jeff and I agreed to let Zach Name it as he was the first to suggest it) as it had some jagged rocks near the top where it met the ridge line and it also had a couple of dead trees at that point as well. The total distance up this route was somewhere in the 800 to 900 foot range, with 30 – 45 degree slope near the ridgeline.
Our Route up Snaggle-Tooth
Once on top of the ridge it was another 800 feet to traverse to the summit. The ridge presented two sketchy spots with mixed ice that was nearly impossible to kick steps into so it was time consuming but we found ourselves on the summit by 11:30 AM and being blasted by winds in the 35+ range. After the celebratory summit pictures we circled northwest towards Charlton, dropped into that saddle, then dropped back into the bowl that is the “little draw” put our snow shoes back on as it was getting warm fast and that area had very little of the wind we encountered on the ridge and the summit.
Once we were back on the north side of south fork meadows we packed in the snowshoes and made great time, but at the west side of Poopout Hill we began to sink up to our knees as there we so many different routes leading down that hill that we end up taking the wrong one and paid the price of post holing for a half hour until we came across the road again, from there it was just a matter of slugging through the thin slushy snow and mud back to the car at the trailhead.
Other than one guy in the parking lot, one hiker on the east side of South Fork Meadows we did not see anyone else until just before the Poopout Hill (on the decent – four campers were heading up) all day. Then we ran into maybe 10 people in the last mile before the parking lot playing in the muddy snow and slush with sleds and snow shoes.
Rest of My Pictures Here
Knowing that it’s a big day and knowing that one of us had to be back by 6 PM Saturday night for a previous engagement, Jeff picked Zach and I up at my house at 3:15 AM, by 5:20 AM we were headed up the south fork trail. It was a mixed bag of Icy snow and dirt for the first two miles, and then at Horse meadows it became slightly thicker but still Icy and consolidated where the trail crosses the road to Poopout Hill up through the meadow and down the main trail. Being that we had started so early the snow was kind enough to stay firm enough to hold both Jeff and I until we reach the south side of South Fork Meadows at 7:15. By 9 AM we had made it up and over Christmas tree hill and made our way into the “Little Draw” or the bowl that separates Jepson and Little Charlton.
All three of us soon agreed that we wanted to do a line/couloir on the west face of the north ridge instead of the one on the opposite side of that same north ridge as it was a very clean line that we could see from where we came over Christmas tree hill and we didn’t know what we might find on the other side. Soon we were headed up the now aptly named “Snaggle-Tooth” Couloir (Jeff and I agreed to let Zach Name it as he was the first to suggest it) as it had some jagged rocks near the top where it met the ridge line and it also had a couple of dead trees at that point as well. The total distance up this route was somewhere in the 800 to 900 foot range, with 30 – 45 degree slope near the ridgeline.
Our Route up Snaggle-Tooth
Once on top of the ridge it was another 800 feet to traverse to the summit. The ridge presented two sketchy spots with mixed ice that was nearly impossible to kick steps into so it was time consuming but we found ourselves on the summit by 11:30 AM and being blasted by winds in the 35+ range. After the celebratory summit pictures we circled northwest towards Charlton, dropped into that saddle, then dropped back into the bowl that is the “little draw” put our snow shoes back on as it was getting warm fast and that area had very little of the wind we encountered on the ridge and the summit.
Once we were back on the north side of south fork meadows we packed in the snowshoes and made great time, but at the west side of Poopout Hill we began to sink up to our knees as there we so many different routes leading down that hill that we end up taking the wrong one and paid the price of post holing for a half hour until we came across the road again, from there it was just a matter of slugging through the thin slushy snow and mud back to the car at the trailhead.
Other than one guy in the parking lot, one hiker on the east side of South Fork Meadows we did not see anyone else until just before the Poopout Hill (on the decent – four campers were heading up) all day. Then we ran into maybe 10 people in the last mile before the parking lot playing in the muddy snow and slush with sleds and snow shoes.
Rest of My Pictures Here
Who pissed-off the Snow God's? Baldy et al looked purdy from Jepson but the north face of San Jacinto looked weak. It appears SGW above 8200' is really the only decent place for snow in So Cal right now. 
