Ralston Peak Climber's Log : Climbing, Hiking & Mountaineering : SummitPost

Ralston Peak Climber's Log

Scott Armstrong - Jun 21, 2012 12:47 am Date Climbed: Jun 14, 2012

From Camp Sacramento

Took the "death slog" south face trail from Camp Sacramento. Very steady, tiring climb. Was disappointed there wasn't a summit register but the views were fantastic.

GMAN54 - Sep 18, 2011 8:00 pm Date Climbed: Sep 19, 2011

Fall Hike

Perfect fall day to hike. Fantastic panoramic view as always.

tyler4588 - Jun 28, 2011 8:17 pm Date Climbed: Jun 27, 2011

Summer Snow

We started from the Pyramid Creek trailhead, climbed Horsetail Falls, then up the face of the ridge from Lake of the Woods. Lake of the WOods was entirely frozen over, and the hike up the peak itself required snowshoes. Awesome views, lots of fun, sketchy snow bridges.

calipidder - Feb 28, 2011 6:18 pm Date Climbed: May 18, 2002

Spring hike

Nice hike, trail clear at bottom, icy snowy slopes on the top. Used crampons last stretch for some simple traction.

lukenhampton - Jan 23, 2011 10:54 pm Date Climbed: Jan 22, 2011

Beautiful Winter Climb

We were blessed with amazing weather and clear skies. It was a much easier climb than expected. We summited in a little over two hours. Beautiful views from the top with a cloudless sky. We could see a lot of the Coastal Range, even further south than Mt Diablo.

fedak - Aug 27, 2010 8:51 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2010

Ridge Traverse from Echo Chalet

Followed the use trail from the Echo Chalet backpacker lot to Becker Peak. Then followed the ridgeline from Becker to the start of the talus field past Talking Mountain. (Lots more boulder scrambling along the ridge than I was anticipating- but that was far preferable to the chaparral on the south slopes) Opted to swing south around Cup Lake before gaining the Ralston plateau. Returned via the PCT proper.

Pics and commentary are here.

Igooooor - Aug 3, 2010 8:11 pm Date Climbed: Aug 16, 2009

Dropped our packs on the way up, lost them on the way down

Me and a buddy hiked in from 50 into the desolation and did the peak on the way out. We decided to leave our packs by the trail and just do a peak without them.

Well, on the way back we took a different way down and missed the trail our packs were on. This is easy in Deso since much of a trail is granite with only rock towers to mark the way. We were following random rock towers closer and closer down to the top of horse tail falls...

Eventually we found our trail and our packs but that was an exciting detour and a good lesson to not make the same mistake again. Next time I separate from my pack, I will make sure i know exactly how to find it.

winemanvan - Mar 16, 2010 10:53 am Date Climbed: Jun 15, 1973

Climbed Many Times

This is one of the 1st Sierra Peaks I climbed. My friends and I climbed it and road our sleeping pads down the snowfield. Once in 1977 my friend and I were climbing toward the summit and we heard the rapid deceleration of an aircraft, then a crash. We were sure a plane had crashed into Desolation. When we hiked out a couple of days later, we learned that a Dentist had crashed his Cessna into the middle of Highway 50.

littlefrantz - Jan 15, 2010 1:56 am Date Climbed: Jan 3, 2010

Fun ski

Fun chutes of north shoulder, and great bowls coming down to the lake.

bryangast - Jan 7, 2010 11:34 pm Date Climbed: Sep 8, 2007

Windy

Easy getting up, got a bit lost coming down.

bc44caesar - Jan 4, 2010 4:00 pm Date Climbed: Jan 3, 2010

North Face

Climbed Northwest Ridge from Haypress Meadows and skied the North Face from just below the summit rocks. One of the best ski descents I've done, and a great 3 day tour with Jeannie, Jason, and Scott!

Darren9 - Nov 7, 2009 3:30 am Date Climbed: Aug 3, 2009

great view

Great view from the top.

Adamus - Jul 2, 2009 8:42 pm Date Climbed: Jun 29, 2009

Main Trail

Second hike of the day after Little Pyramid.

fedak - Jun 20, 2009 10:07 pm Date Climbed: Jun 20, 2009

Main Trail

Beautiful clear day. Snow mostly gone on the trail except for a bit at the top of the ridge. Lillies sprouting but not in bloom yet.

Pics here: here.

Noondueler - Feb 5, 2009 12:39 am Date Climbed: Sep 22, 1997

Standard trail up

from the south

Jonodo - Oct 29, 2008 11:22 pm Date Climbed: Oct 29, 2008

Ralston Peak Trail

Very nice, warm day for the end of October. Fall is definitely my favorite time in the Sierra. Headed over to Mt. Baldy and Cup Lake to check things out. There was some limited but decent climbing on the ridge between the peaks. Fun day.