Mode of Travel: Hiking, Snow Climbing, Rock Climbing
Elevation: 14153 ft
Trailhead: North Fork of Big Pine Creek
Route: Swiss Arete
Technical Difficulty: 5.7 Grade II, Moderate Snow
Greg and I have been climbing together for a long time, and in the summer of 2019 we were looking for a challenge. We initially thought of doing part of the Palisade traverse, but being mostly unfamiliar with the Palisade region we scaled down our ambitions to Mt Sill, a big classic peak in the heart of the Palisades. Sill has a Paiute name, Nee-na-mee-shee, meaning Guardian of the Valley, and the peak does loom large among the palisades. We chose to climb it via the very classic Swiss Arete with a rope and light rock rack. We found a very long and challenging day in the spectacular setting of the palisade glacier, a few pitches of outstanding climbing on Mt Sill itself, and a nice hike out in the dark lit by headlamp.
We started out in the dark up the North Fork of Big Pine creek. Anticipating a long hike, we both put in earphones to listen to our podcasts and as we walked I heard Greg give the occasional chuckle. We were lucky to pass Temple Crag as the sun rose and lit up the huge towers and spires in pinks and oranges. We reached Sam Mack meadow later in the morning and were greeted by flowing water and wildflowers in bloom. When we hit the Palisade glacier, we removed the earphones and switched to crampons and ice axes. I was impressed by the size of the Palisade glacier and the imposing 14ers that ring it. We climbed up to Glacier Notch where we could see Sill on our right and Mt Gayley rising to the left.
After negotiating Sill's huge, suncupped L-shaped couloir we reached the route and started racking up and Greg led off into the first pitch. I stood there belaying him and looking out at Mt. Gayley when I noticed another person standing on the ledge with me. He had quietly soloed up to my position and as I scanned his very sunburnt face I recognized Brad Gobright on his way to completing the full Palisade traverse. We chatted briefly and I gave him some sunscreen before he smoothly continued.
At the summit, I found myself greatly intimidated by the panorama of the Palisades that lay before us. The ridgelines connecting the peaks are sheer and riddled with deep notches that must be negotiated to complete a full traverse. The thought of returning to climb the remaining peaks worried me. We began the descent, which required several rappels due to ice encrusted rock and general wussiness.
Even without adding any additional peaks this day still clocked in at ~ 29 miles C2C, surprising Greg who had never really traveled more than 20 miles at once.
Route: We started at the North Fork of Big Pine Creek and followed this trail up to Sam Mack Meadow. Here, we headed up a climber's trail to Glacier Notch, the ridge between Mt. Gayley and Mt. Sill. The notch required some wet class 3/4 climbing mixed with sloppy snow and ice. This will depend on snow conditions. From the notch, we used crampons and ice axes to cross the L-shaped couloir on Sill to reach the north buttress of Mt. Sill. We climbed dry class 3/4 rock to a large ledge that marks the start of the Swiss Arete. The descent off the back side of Sill was cairned, but steep ice forced us to make several rappels before we regained the couloir.
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