Cloudripper, 13,525 ft.

Cloudripper, 13,525 ft. living up to its name.

With my summer drawing to a close after so many great adventures it is hard to believe that one more opportunity was just around the corner for me. Having started the summer with a Memorial Day birthday trip to Mammoth for skiing and mountain biking, followed  a month later by a trip to climb Halfdome in Yosemite, then another month later to spend a fabulous week on the John Muir Trail with many of my friends. Throw in a couple overnight backpack trips I led for the Boy Scouts  to the Bridge to Nowhere and then cap it with a full week Sierra Trek I led for the Scouts and I must admit, I had already had one heck of a summer!

While cruising through REI to stock up for one of the fore mentioned trips, I bumped into my friend Edd who asked me if I wanted to go on a Sierra Club hike he was leading to summit Cloudripper. Fortunately my wife Denise was standing beside me, he told me the date and she said, "sure, go for it." Well getting permission had never been so easy so I jumped on the opportunity immediately! One grand finally to climb a substantial peak before the summer season drew to an end. My Boy Scout Trek had me in the vicinity of Cloudripper just a few weeks prior. I  told the boys the reason I would not be at the next Court of Honor was because I would be climbing that, as I pointed to the peak towering above us at 13,525 feet with what looked like a near vertical face on the western side.

Just a week and a half after returning from my week long Boy Scout trek to Long Lake and vicinity I was yet again on my way up highway 395, my fifth of the season! This was to be a 3 day hike, quite leisurely at 6 miles per day and no more than 3,000 ft. of elevation gain per day with a base camp among the Big Pine Lakes, an area I had never been to before. We all met up at the trail head  and finished packing and were ready to head out. We were a group of eleven, I knew the Sierra Club leaders on the trip, and a few of the others. One included Bill Burke, the oldest American to have summited Mt. Everest as well as one of the very few to have summited the highest peak on every continent. It is not every day you get to travel with someone with that kind of resume and I was looking forward to talking with him on the trip as I had met him at a seminar he did on Everest a couple years prior.

Edd and Erica pose by Big Pine Creek.

The hike included a great opportunity to follow along Big Pine Creek as we made our way up to the Big Pine Lakes for an easterly approach on Cloudripper. We followed Sierra Club hiking rules, not unlike the Boy Scout protocols I must follow, taking regular breaks, not separating and stopping at all trail intersections. It is slow travel but all for good reason. We stopped for lunch after having gained over 1,500 ft. and doing half our distance and put our feet in the creek and enjoyed some shade on this rather warm day. I had an opportunity to talk to Bill about Everest and ask some different questions than your typical stuff which led into a very interesting discussion on many Everest topics. What a great way to spend lunchtime!

Want to swim?

Shortly after heading out from lunch we got to see some of the lakes. Several of these lakes are glacier fed from several of the glaciers here in the Palisades region of the Sierra Nevada. The water in these glacial fed lakes is unlike any you have ever seen before. When the sun is shining on the water it takes on an almost iridescent green color. Interesting as on the JMT trip we came across a different glacial fed lake, Lake Catherine, that was so medium blue in color it looked fake. I guess it depends on the amount of silt and the contents of such silt as to how the water would be colored. I knew I would have to swim in one of these before the trip was over, cannot pass up on opportunities like that!

Fresh pizza from the oven! Backpacking food at its best.

As we headed back toward lake 4, the views of the Palisade Glacier appeared and the towering ridge above it, home to several fourteeners, came into view. We hunted for a good spot to make camp to comfortably hold all eleven of us and finally found the perfect spot. As we all settled in for the evening we also got out our cooking stuff as tonight was happy hour at 6PM followed by our dinners. We all gathered in our common kitchen area and let the sharing begin. A plethora of cheeses came out, crackers, meats, nuts, chocolate and ..... whiskey. I contributed some melba crackers with some of my chipotle brined smoked chicken which is always a big hit. Following happy hour I set up for the coup de gras, a fresh baked smoked bbq chicken pizza! I had fabricated a little oven by using a pot and lid upside down, a small spacer in the bottom and a piece of sheet aluminum for a cookie sheet. I had tested this at home successfully and wanted to try it on the trail. I had made my own wheat pizza dough at home and wood fired it on my Weber bbq so I had a great crust. I topped it with a little olive oil, garlic powder and salt, spread some bbq sauce from Lucilles on it, topped with fresh mozzarella, my smoked chicken and green bell peppers. In the oven it went over my near 30 year old MSR XGK stove and about 20 minutes later out came a gorgeous trail pizza! I had some and shared the rest and proceeded to make another and do the same. For dessert I took a lesson from my pal Clark and made fresh popcorn and once again shared that. Dinner on the trail had never been so good!

Erica lectures Bill Burke, who has summited Everest,
on the dangers of the final ridge traverse.

On the summit, overlooking where I was with the Scouts
two weeks prior.

Fourteeners abound, Split on the left, Sill in center,
and Starlight, Polemonium, North Palisade and Thunderbolt.

The following morning it was an early start, on the trail by 7AM to head out for Cloudripper. Fairly early on, the trail vanished and it was class 2 from here on out. We first had to climb a fairly steep talus field to gain the ridge that would lead us to the summit. This was a little difficult as not only was it steep but the upper section had many loose rocks and we did not want to dislodge them and send them down toward the rest in our group. We made the ridge and then had to do a little route finding to make our way along the ridge towards the summit. We finally neared the summit block and scouted out the best way to get there. The final 100 feet or so along the ridge involved some easy class 3 climbing provided we were on the correct route. It was at this point that Erica, always looking for a good joke, lectured Bill Burke on the dangers of this final ridge to the summit. We all got a great laugh and Bill, who has been to Mt. Everest the last 6 years and summited back in 2009, just sat there and listened to every word with a smile on his face. We all made our way over and touched the summit right at noon. Cloudripper at 13,525 had been summited! What was better was that nobody seemed to be suffering any altitude issues at all which can be common over about 10,000 ft. We all took pictures of the surroundings and each other. I could look down upon where I had been just two weeks prior with the Scouts, see Chocolate Peak that I led a couple of them up and all the lakes we had explored that week. I could look to the south and see Thunderbolt Peak which eluded my friend Jason and I a year ago just 100 ft. from the summit as well as Split Mountain further south that we tried to summit and ski off the top of but only made it to 12,000 ft. before weather turned us around. Other fourteeners in view included Sill, North Palisade, Starlight and Polemonium. What a great view! We rolled off the peak and over to a nearby flatter spot on the ridge for some lunch. Before long rain was visible nearby and it was time to head down. We got back into camp at about 5PM with light rain falling occasionally. Too late for a swim again, it was time to pump water, clean up, and make dinner.

Dinner that night was not near as exciting but I did make my trail tacos which are always a hit. A lot of food sharing took place and I once again made popcorn to share. Rain just started to fall as we finished up so it was off to the tents for an early night. After a long day off trail and big summit we were all tired and welcomed the early night.

The lake for the final swim. COLD!!!

The hike out the following morning was nice and included a little exploration of the meadows and lakes in the area. I finally got in that swim I was hoping for but it was so cold it did not last very long. It did not help that the sun kept ducking behind the clouds and then rain began to fall as I wanted to warm up in the sun and eat lunch! Back down the trail we went, in and out of the edge of the rainfall and sun. Another stop was made to soak our feet in the creek in the shade as it was getting hot and of course after a little while the rain caught us again! Down we headed all the way back to the cars for the drive home.

Big Pine Creek on the way out as rain
began to fall.

This was a fantastic trip, an area I would like to explore much more in the future. It might even be the location for a future Boy Scout Sierra Trek. The summit was spectacular and hiking with both new and old friends was great. The trail cooking I did was really fun and something practical on a short hike like this. With no future hikes to the Sierras planned I am afraid my summer backpacking season has come to a close. With predictions of an El Nino year in the long range forecast I am hoping to get back up there, or even locally, with the backcountry skis for several adventures this winter. Every cloud has a silver lining as they say, I just hope this winters include a heck of a lot of moisture to go with that silver!

The full set of pictures are available to view by clicking here.