20080502-03 San Gorgonio NUMBA THREE

Post by **Taco** » Sun May 04, 2008 11:20 am

So, He219 set off for our second attempt (my third) on San G. We were socked-in last time, with everything above Dry Lake being a big cloud of constantly falling snow. PITA.

All was well this time. He took pics, as my new, non-gigantic camera hasn't yet arrived in ze mail.

Went from South Fork, up to Dry Lake. Camped, drank our beer (Sapporo) and sake (Hakutsuru, filtered, not Nigori), and had our meals. Woke up, ate a bit and had some tea. We wanted to do Jepson Peak's North Ridge, but we ended up going for San G's North Ridge instead.

Friggin' sun formations (sastrugi?) were a BIG PITA, really annoying. We hit the ridge proper and avoided as much as possible. Did some scrambling on the ridge that overlooks the bowl between Jepson and San G (Big Draw?) with crampons on. Easy, fun, and not as crappy as the insanely crappy snow on the left of the ridge proper. Continued up, hit the top (like a big football field), and went to the summit. Busy-ish day, I reckon. Two Russians, two Rangers (friendly folks), some other guys, one with a rolly backpack and some sorta puzzlemaster jacket (like the bro's at Glamis wear). I removed the tattered American Flag from the summit, as it pisses me off to see my flag torn up. I now have a reason to come back, to replace it with a proper one with a real pole.

We went down the east side, and routefindededededed (route-found?) our way to... uh... more stuff. Followed the ridge, went down crappy snow, ended up doing a standing glissade WITH crampons, which was dandy but cautious. Went down into Mineshaft Flats or whatever (now known as either Manshaft (not mannschaft) or meatshaft flats... family friendly yes yes yes), and up to one of two saddles west of Lake Peak. Zippity zop, went down and moved to Lodgepole, then to Dry Lake, where the Rangers we met were talking to folks (in a friendly way). Had a good conversation with them. Took a quick break, broke down camp, and left Dry Lake at 7pm, arriving back at my wonderful Nissan Silvia S13 at 9pm. Supah-good speeduh!

Easy peasy. I don't care if I catch some sorta FlaK (Fliegerabwehrkanone, just the guns and not the projectiles? Sheisse!) for this, but San G seems like a really damn easy mountain. There are some nice looking areas on the Northeast Face (big stuff) that look a bit more fulfilling, but damn. WEAKSAUCE. Like a fat kid on a tricycle who just gave up with the stairmaster.

I'm sure that bothers someone. I do not care. Wee!

Dragons Head... now THERE'S a harder looking mountain.

Added to next winter's list! Hell yeah. (Miguel knows what I'm talking about.)

And now for something completely different...

Post by **HikeUp** » Sun May 04, 2008 12:46 pm

TacoDelRio wrote:...PITA...ze....(Sapporo) and sake (Hakutsuru, filtered, not Nigori)...sastrugi?)...PITA...Busy-ish...rolly backpack...puzzlemaster ...Glamis...routefindededededed...Manshaft (not mannschaft) or meatshaft...Zippity zop...Supah-good speeduh!...Easy peasy...Fliegerabwehrkanone, just the guns and not the projectiles? Sheisse!...WEAKSAUCE. Like a fat kid on a tricycle who just gave up with the stairmaster. I'm sure that bothers someone. I do not care. Wee!...And now for something completely different...

Condensed version of your TR.

Learn a few new words every day!!!

Congrats on bagging the easiest 11,500 footer in SoCal.

Post by **Taco** » Sun May 04, 2008 1:14 pm

HAH!

BTW, AlanK, saw your signature in the summit register a few times. 8)

AlanK · Post by **AlanK** » Sun May 04, 2008 1:20 pm

TacoDelRio wrote:BTW, AlanK, saw your signature in the summit register a few times. 8)

I have visited San G a few times. After all, it is "The easiest 11,500' peak in Southern California!"

Post by **Taco** » Sun May 04, 2008 3:14 pm

Yeah, all those other 11.5's are a helluva lot harder. Gotta jump REALLY HIGH.

He219 · Post by **He219** » Sun May 04, 2008 3:18 pm

Looking for the other +11.5K peaks in SoCal ...
8)

Suncups, then worse ..

Freakin' neve penetentes everywhere ..

Jepson

Big Draw

Finally a little decent hardpack/ice for the Sabretuths to bite into (top 100 feet)

TDR sleeping off altitude

Baldy in ze back

Bigbear Lake and not so Dry Lake. No mas igloo.

Edema setting in ..

Alas!

Torn Old Glory. Sacrelige!

Up with ze new; Free Tibet!

Random Summit Register; You put your _ in it!

Medicine.

+10 Power!

San Jacinto

Ze Tarn and Dragon's Head.

Bushwacking it back ..

Demon Killaz. Game over.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Sun May 04, 2008 3:40 pm

Holy cow, those sun cups and nieves penitentes are out of control! They look like an army of gnomes ready to take over the world.

I did the same route as a day hike in early April. The nieves penitentes were way smaller back then. I actually agree that San G from that side isn't that technically difficult if you take the main chute up...it's just a really long ass hike. Btw, the igloo was already gone by then too.

In all my years of hiking, I have never, ever seen a ranger on any SoCal trail. Did they say why they were there? Were they checking permits?

Post by **Taco** » Sun May 04, 2008 3:40 pm

Demon Killaz. Onikoroshi Mutha Truckahz. Skizzle dizzle.

He219 · Post by **He219** » Sun May 04, 2008 3:49 pm

Tim wrote:In all my years of hiking, I have never, ever seen a ranger in any SoCal trail. Did they say why they were there? Were they checking permits?

They never asked for permits and said they were checking the 'conditions of the trails' and nodded us on into neve penetente/bushwacking misery down below Mannschaft saddle.

When we returned to camp they were talking with some of the two dozen people that arrived; all official looking in USFS garb.
Nice Guys.

JMunaretto · Post by **JMunaretto** » Sun May 04, 2008 5:18 pm

how do those snow formations occur? someone mentioned something about particles from wind settling in spots and varying the melting time...

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Sun May 04, 2008 5:59 pm

From Mountaineering, Freedom of the Hills:

Nieves penitentes: When sun cups grow up they become nieves penitentes (nee-EH-vays pen-ih-TEN-tays, from Spanish for "penitent snow"). Nieves penitentes are the pillars produced when sun-cup hollows become very deep, accentuating the ridges into columns of snow that look like praying statues. They are peculiar to snowfields at high altitudes and low latitudes, where solar radiation and atmospheric conditions conductive to sun cups are intense. The columns often slant towards the midday sun. Nieves penitentes reach their most striking development among the higher peaks of the Andes and Himalayas, where they may become several feet high and make mountain travel very difficult.

Sun Cups: Where sunshine is intense and the air is relatively dry, sun cup depths usually increase with increasing elevation and decreasing latitude. On the ridges of each cup, sun-heated water molecules evaporate from the snow surface. In the hollows, water molecules released by solar heating are trapped near the snow surface, forming a liquid layer that promotes further melt. Because melting can occur with only one-seventh of the heat that is required for evaporation, the hollows melt and deepen faster than the ridges evaporate. The hollows are further deepened by differential melting when dirt in the hollows absorbs solar radiation. The sun cups melt faster on the south (sunny) side of the northern hemisphere, so the whole sun-cup pattern gradually migrates northward across a snowfield.

Post by **Taco** » Mon May 05, 2008 12:16 am

Yeah, read that bit on the sh*tter a few times today.

The'yre like Sastrugi, only vertical, and formed by sun and not wind. So, they're like suncups, but they're really more like Penetentes, since they're vertical. However, they're not developed enough to really be penetentes yet, so they're more like Sastrucuptentes. 8)

hvydrt · Post by **hvydrt** » Mon May 05, 2008 6:04 am

did anyone one top say anything about conditions on vivian creek?

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Mon May 05, 2008 7:31 am

TacoDelRio wrote:Yeah, read that bit on the sh*tter a few times today.

Did you actually read it more than once while on the sh*tter or did you go to the sh*tter more than once reading it once each time? or was it printed on your sh*tter?

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon May 05, 2008 9:50 am

TacoDelRio wrote: Dragons Head... now THERE'S a harder looking mountain. Added to next winter's list! Hell yeah. (Miguel knows what I'm talking about.)

We'll look forward to your SE face ascent TR soon. No fair waiting until next winter.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Mon May 05, 2008 10:02 am

Tim wrote:In all my years of hiking, I have never, ever seen a ranger on any SoCal trail. Did they say why they were there? Were they checking permits?

Lol. USFS Rangers in the actual back country are few and far between. The one place I have seen them a few times is in the SGW; usually checking permits. Most of the time volunteers, but sometimes an honest-to-goodness gov't employee.
Never seen even one USFS ranger in all my years in San Gabs in back country.
NPS and State Parks -- different story. Particularly at San J, seen a lot of rangers at the little CCC haus in Round Valley.

Ever wonder why, when a trail is re-routed for some reason, that re-routes are so crappy??! No rangers ever hike!! Don't get me started.

Glad to have backcountry and not too much over management.

Post by **Taco** » Mon May 05, 2008 11:19 pm

Hikin_Jim wrote:
TacoDelRio wrote: Dragons Head... now THERE'S a harder looking mountain. Added to next winter's list! Hell yeah. (Miguel knows what I'm talking about.)
We'll look forward to your SE face ascent TR soon. No fair waiting until next winter.

Yeah right! Nothing on it but some rotten snow. Next winter... if a "pure" approach is in order, it'll be ludicrous. Probably gonna do something a tad easier to get to it.

But yeah, SEF.

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:30 pm

Sastrucuptentes says it all. Nice meeting ya!

Post by **Taco** » Tue May 06, 2008 8:47 pm

Right back atcha! Good meeting folks out in them thar hills.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:00 am

TacoDelRio wrote:
Hikin_Jim wrote:
TacoDelRio wrote: Dragons Head... now THERE'S a harder looking mountain. Added to next winter's list! Hell yeah. (Miguel knows what I'm talking about.)
We'll look forward to your SE face ascent TR soon. No fair waiting until next winter.
Yeah right! Nothing on it but some rotten snow. Next winter... if a "pure" approach is in order, it'll be ludicrous. Probably gonna do something a tad easier to get to it.

But yeah, SEF.

Heading from Mill Creek Jumpoff ("A") to the Dragon's Head ("D") ought to offer plenty of challenge. There's a ravine ("B") that points first N and then NE and winds up at a saddle ("C") SSE of the summit ("D") that looks like it would be an interesting approach.

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.08988,-11 ... ntain%20CA

The area that trends SE from the Dragon's head is gnarly.

The most common approach (that I know about) is from the Vivian Creek trail, leaving the trail at "A", countouring to "B", proceeding up the drainage to the saddle N of the summit "C", and then proceeding WSW to the summit "D":
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.08963,-11 ... ntain%20CA

Post by **Taco** » Wed May 07, 2008 2:06 pm

Stop being so damn helpful, Jim!

I had thought of some cross country easy land nav mixed with bushwhacking to make it down to the base of Dragons Head. That's the route I have locked in thus far.

Gnarly = awesome

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Wed May 07, 2008 2:26 pm

TacoDelRio wrote:Stop being so damn helpful, Jim!

Sorry, didn't mean to mess things up like that for ya. I'll try to be more obfuscatory next time.

OK, here's your new route, with free Parking at the Cabazon outlet mall.
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.00856,-11 ... ntain%20CA
I'll be lookin' for dat TR real soon.

Post by **Taco** » Wed May 07, 2008 6:39 pm

That's more like it!

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:12 pm

Not wanting to give you too much beta, my limited experience (1st solo winter trip in CA) was that the route to the Jumpoff is quite rotten & therefore scary in places....(I missed the turnoff to Vivian Creek and went exploring.)
I recall being miserable, probably because I packed in both shoes and skinny skis -- "just in case" -- and had far too much additional gear to boot. A great early CA skiducation!

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Wed May 07, 2008 8:13 pm

Hey eman? Are you lookin at me? Looks like you are lookin at me

Wait a sec.............. ya I think you're lookin right at me. I keep movin from side to side, close the computer lid, restart, and when I come back, no matter what I do or how hard I try to hide, you are still peekin out from under that hat. AT ME. DUDE I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU. WHAT EVER YOU THINK I DID, I DID NOT DO IT. OK?

EManBevHills · Post by **EManBevHills** » Wed May 07, 2008 9:50 pm

I'm not looking at you!

But I must say that I have the utmost respect for Ian and his talent.
I chose his avatar because I named my bicycle after his steed in LOTR.

At the risk of being redundant, I'm not looking at you. You're so vain......

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:40 am

So that's not you? and you're not lookin at me? Ok. Just that every time I read posts and that pic is on the screen it seemed that someone was staring at me. With an evil eye. It's cool. Btw, that hat is cool, I think the color matches the nose on Tacos avatar.

FIGHT ON · Post by **FIGHT ON** » Thu May 08, 2008 4:45 am

So that's not you? and you're not lookin at me? Ok. Just that every time I read posts and that pic is on the screen it seemed that someone was staring at me. With an evil eye. It's cool. Btw, that hat is cool, I think the color kinda matches the nose on Tacos avatar.

Post by **Hikin_Jim** » Thu May 08, 2008 9:51 am

TacoDelRio wrote:
Hikin_Jim wrote:
TacoDelRio wrote:Stop being so damn helpful, Jim!
Sorry, didn't mean to mess things up like that for ya. I'll try to be more obfuscatory next time.

OK, here's your new route, with free Parking at the Cabazon outlet mall.
http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=34.00856,-11 ... ntain%20CA
I'll be lookin' for dat TR real soon.
That's more like it!

Let's just say that it would be seriously awesome.
(awsome=gnarly)

He219 · Post by **He219** » Thu May 08, 2008 1:49 pm

TacoDelRio wrote:Yeah right! Nothing on it but some rotten snow. Next winter... if a "pure" approach is in order, it'll be ludicrous. Probably gonna do something a tad easier to get to it.

But yeah, SEF.

something like this perhaps?
8)

Hires