xharv - Jun 20, 2009 12:18 pm Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2009
So close, yet so far away
In the last hundred years, this was one of coldest and wetest Junes in the Northern Sierra. All creeks and the Walker River are swollen along the route from Leavitt Meadow to Tower area, and solid snow starts in Tower Creek Canyon at 8600 feet. I reached Tower Pass and Tower's North Ridge, but got stopped at NW chute. The upper part of the chute is covered by snow and ice, and too risky for a solo climber to attempt. As consolation prize, I took the higher (and simpler) of two 'watchtowers' that guard the northern end of Tower's North Ridge (see Jeff Moore's photo from June 2004). It may take a few more weeks before NW chute is clear and dry.
YEM - Jun 20, 2008 5:43 pm Date Climbed: Jun 16, 2008
NW Chute
My first Sierra Peak. What a way to start! We came from Leavitt Meadows and the water was quite high along the way. We took a short cut at the base of the Watchtower to the snow. Very mellow snow and class 2 rock led to the top. Thanks Matt Moule and Greg Reis from the Mono Lake Committee.
Hapey McHape - Feb 27, 2008 12:51 am Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2007
NW Chute
Cold and windy near the top but otherwise it was a great hike.
derbilly - Aug 21, 2007 6:59 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2007
NW Chute
Great peak, great views and great weather. Continued on to Craig and Snow. Getting down from Tower presented much more difficulty than the very easy cls3 route up.
Jonodo - Oct 29, 2006 8:14 pm Date Climbed: Oct 28, 2006
NW Chute
Climbed with EJ from Tower Pass. Some snow from a few weeks earlier made the chute more dicey. We followed the NW ridge most of the way into the chute. The climbing was solid class 3 and really fun.
96avs01 - Aug 28, 2006 6:19 am Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2006
NW Chute via Dorothy Pass
Climbed the NW Chute route, with a variation from Dorothy Pass. This was a combined backpacking/climbing trip covering ~42 miles over three days. All of the travel from Dorothy Pass to Tower Lake was off-trail. It was one of the most satisfying trips I have ever taken!
tb00957 - Jun 21, 2006 11:02 pm Date Climbed: Oct 3, 2004
NW chute
some snow the previous night made the class 3 slightly interesting.
Fall '05 with my buddy Lighting Bolt. Climbed the Chute after Hawksbeak and Ehrnbeck. A rad three day, three peak, 55 mile weekend away from TML. Entered at Sonora ended at Hetch Hetchy.
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: 24 September 2005
I climbed this as a SPS trip. We took our time and did it over 2 1/2 days which made it enjoyable. The approach was very beautifull along the Walker River.
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: 4-September-2005
Backpacked into Tower Lake, then in the morning scrambled up to the summit and packed out.
The lingering snowfields on the north side of Tower Pass could be entirely skirted via use trails. Came up around the other snowfield on the right side (slabs). Windy and cool but otherwise excellent day. Descended on the climber's left (talus and slabs) of the snowfield.
I was amazed to find rock-walled bivy sites on a flat spot near the summit.
Route Climbed: East Slope to North Ridge to NW Chute Date Climbed: July 12, 2004
Dayhiked from Twin Lakes (Bridgeport) with ScottyS. Along the way, we stopped off at Center Mountain, Hawksbeak Peak, and Ehrnbeck Peak, and traversed from Ehrnbeck to Tower on one of the most tedious ridge routes I have ever been on (via Peak 10,654). Not technically difficult, just nasty routefinding with a seemingly infinite array of obstacles (trees, brush, sheer walled gullies, short steep little headwalls). Crossed the East Slope to the North Ridge and thence via the NW Chute. Descended the same until the tower, then off to the east to avoid steep slabs and snow. Cross-country to the trail that heads into Buckeye Canyon, a long slog up to the canyon head, and a forever walk out of that dry, dusty, miserable canyon. We left a car at the Buckeye Trailhead, and we arrived there after 19:45 hiking time, covering 35-37 miles with 10-11,000' of elevation gain/loss. Even after 2 days of forgetting about it, I can't recommend this route to anyone else. Especially the Buckeye Canyon portion. Scotty has a trip report coming soon.
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: June 19, 2004
I think that the walker river approach is actually quite nice save the copious amounts of horse shit blanketing the trail. Great climb with nice rock, the north ridge is a nice way to go. PICS
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: July 2, 2000
Camped at Tower Lake and ascended via the NW Chute. It was a little more than my friend wanted to tackle, so I left him on the ridge and made the final ascent myelf. Clouds moving in fast from the east, so I could only stay on the summit for 10 minutes. Great climb though...!
a 13hr "warmup" for the 2003 Sierra Challenge, this took longer than any of the Sierra Challenge hikes/climbs with the exception of Mt. Tyndall. One must travel the length of the West Walker River at least once in a Sierra career, but doing it twice just shows you haven't learned anything. The climb itself is fairly easy and barely earns a class 3 rating. Great Views. Along with Michael Graupe's dayhike 4 days earlier, this is likely the first time the peak has ever had three dayhikes in one season. Some pics.
A long dayhike (14 3/4 hrs CTC). I can't believe the guy who described Virginia's South Ridge as "easy class 3" used that same phrase for this walk-up.
xharv - Jun 20, 2009 12:18 pm Date Climbed: Jun 18, 2009
So close, yet so far awayIn the last hundred years, this was one of coldest and wetest Junes in the Northern Sierra. All creeks and the Walker River are swollen along the route from Leavitt Meadow to Tower area, and solid snow starts in Tower Creek Canyon at 8600 feet. I reached Tower Pass and Tower's North Ridge, but got stopped at NW chute. The upper part of the chute is covered by snow and ice, and too risky for a solo climber to attempt. As consolation prize, I took the higher (and simpler) of two 'watchtowers' that guard the northern end of Tower's North Ridge (see Jeff Moore's photo from June 2004). It may take a few more weeks before NW chute is clear and dry.
YEM - Jun 20, 2008 5:43 pm Date Climbed: Jun 16, 2008
NW ChuteMy first Sierra Peak. What a way to start! We came from Leavitt Meadows and the water was quite high along the way. We took a short cut at the base of the Watchtower to the snow. Very mellow snow and class 2 rock led to the top. Thanks Matt Moule and Greg Reis from the Mono Lake Committee.
Hapey McHape - Feb 27, 2008 12:51 am Date Climbed: Nov 25, 2007
NW ChuteCold and windy near the top but otherwise it was a great hike.
derbilly - Aug 21, 2007 6:59 pm Date Climbed: Jul 5, 2007
NW ChuteGreat peak, great views and great weather. Continued on to Craig and Snow. Getting down from Tower presented much more difficulty than the very easy cls3 route up.
Jonodo - Oct 29, 2006 8:14 pm Date Climbed: Oct 28, 2006
NW ChuteClimbed with EJ from Tower Pass. Some snow from a few weeks earlier made the chute more dicey. We followed the NW ridge most of the way into the chute. The climbing was solid class 3 and really fun.
96avs01 - Aug 28, 2006 6:19 am Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2006
NW Chute via Dorothy PassClimbed the NW Chute route, with a variation from Dorothy Pass. This was a combined backpacking/climbing trip covering ~42 miles over three days. All of the travel from Dorothy Pass to Tower Lake was off-trail. It was one of the most satisfying trips I have ever taken!
tb00957 - Jun 21, 2006 11:02 pm Date Climbed: Oct 3, 2004
NW chutesome snow the previous night made the class 3 slightly interesting.
mountainmatt - Mar 18, 2006 6:13 am
NW Chute.Fall '05 with my buddy Lighting Bolt. Climbed the Chute after Hawksbeak and Ehrnbeck. A rad three day, three peak, 55 mile weekend away from TML. Entered at Sonora ended at Hetch Hetchy.
Michael Graupe - Oct 19, 2005 9:35 pm
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: August 3, 2003Loooong dayhike (14h CTC) from Leavitt Meadows.
Eric L - Sep 25, 2005 10:43 pm
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: 24 September 2005I climbed this as a SPS trip. We took our time and did it over 2 1/2 days which made it enjoyable. The approach was very beautifull along the Walker River.
rhyang - Sep 5, 2005 11:24 am
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: 4-September-2005Backpacked into Tower Lake, then in the morning scrambled up to the summit and packed out.
The lingering snowfields on the north side of Tower Pass could be entirely skirted via use trails. Came up around the other snowfield on the right side (slabs). Windy and cool but otherwise excellent day. Descended on the climber's left (talus and slabs) of the snowfield.
I was amazed to find rock-walled bivy sites on a flat spot near the summit.
ScottyS - Jul 19, 2004 1:12 am
Route Climbed: Traverse from Ehrnbeck to North Ridge Date Climbed: July 12 2004Peak #4 of a long day out of Bridgeport. Read the trip report!
bearbnz - Jul 14, 2004 5:00 pm
Route Climbed: East Slope to North Ridge to NW Chute Date Climbed: July 12, 2004Dayhiked from Twin Lakes (Bridgeport) with ScottyS. Along the way, we stopped off at Center Mountain, Hawksbeak Peak, and Ehrnbeck Peak, and traversed from Ehrnbeck to Tower on one of the most tedious ridge routes I have ever been on (via Peak 10,654). Not technically difficult, just nasty routefinding with a seemingly infinite array of obstacles (trees, brush, sheer walled gullies, short steep little headwalls). Crossed the East Slope to the North Ridge and thence via the NW Chute. Descended the same until the tower, then off to the east to avoid steep slabs and snow. Cross-country to the trail that heads into Buckeye Canyon, a long slog up to the canyon head, and a forever walk out of that dry, dusty, miserable canyon. We left a car at the Buckeye Trailhead, and we arrived there after 19:45 hiking time, covering 35-37 miles with 10-11,000' of elevation gain/loss. Even after 2 days of forgetting about it, I can't recommend this route to anyone else. Especially the Buckeye Canyon portion. Scotty has a trip report coming soon.
Felsberg - Jun 21, 2004 1:51 pm
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: June 19, 2004I think that the walker river approach is actually quite nice save the copious amounts of horse shit blanketing the trail. Great climb with nice rock, the north ridge is a nice way to go. PICS
Alpinist - Sep 11, 2003 8:15 pm
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: July 2, 2000Camped at Tower Lake and ascended via the NW Chute. It was a little more than my friend wanted to tackle, so I left him on the ridge and made the final ascent myelf. Clouds moving in fast from the east, so I could only stay on the summit for 10 minutes. Great climb though...!
Bob Burd - Sep 7, 2003 11:11 pm
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: Aug 7, 2003a 13hr "warmup" for the 2003 Sierra Challenge, this took longer than any of the Sierra Challenge hikes/climbs with the exception of Mt. Tyndall. One must travel the length of the West Walker River at least once in a Sierra career, but doing it twice just shows you haven't learned anything. The climb itself is fairly easy and barely earns a class 3 rating. Great Views. Along with Michael Graupe's dayhike 4 days earlier, this is likely the first time the peak has ever had three dayhikes in one season. Some pics.
Matthew Holliman - Sep 7, 2003 8:47 pm
Route Climbed: NW Chute Date Climbed: Sep 6, 2003A long dayhike (14 3/4 hrs CTC). I can't believe the guy who described Virginia's South Ridge as "easy class 3" used that same phrase for this walk-up.
Great views, and a truly beautiful peak.