If you can spare a few bucks for those affected by the Pack Fire, a little bit goes a long way ❤️

Mokelumne Peak

Mount Kaweah Day 3: Exit

Mount Kaweah Day 2: Mount Kaweah

Mount Kaweah Day 1: Approach

Mount Winchell:
- Climbed from our camp at fifth lake, so that meant walking down a little bit to the trail junction and then up to Sam Mack Meadow.
- At Sam Mack Meadow a nice french man passed us. We were all quite surprised to learn that we were all trying to climb Mount Winchell, a relatively obscure peak, at least compared to Sill or North Palisade. He was moving much faster than us.
- Above Sam Mack Meadow, we left the trail a climbed up a gully with snow and boulders next to a creek. This would be a bit sketchy early in the season when melting snow thinned to the point of covering the stream, but not supporting the weight of a person. It was fine this time of this year, though.
- Then we passed a nice bright blue lake before climbing up the terminal moraine of the Thunderbolt Glacier.
- It was really slow going across the moraine. The boulders were large and loose, and there wasn't a great other option.
- Eventually, we reached the base of the route, which is around a rib and not really visible until you are near the Thunderbolt Glacier. Here the two chutes were visible, though they looked terrifyingly steep. We started up the talus slope to the right chute.
- As we made our way up, our french friend was coming down, providing a nice perspective for how steep and long the chute was (not that steep and not that long).
- We met him at the base of the class 3 stuff and chatted for a minute, he relayed that it really wasn't that hard, confirming Secor's description.
- So, up we went, and it wasn't so bad at all. Eventually we reached the white rock where we climbed up some tricky class 3 stuff to a notch and then traversed the head of the left chute before gaining the arete which we climbed on the left. It was easy, but kind of exposed, and very fun.
- The summit had a lovely view which was somewhat obscured by the North Palisade massif to the south and Mount Agassiz to the north, but there as a nice view of the Black Divide, and most of SEKI.
- Way down was fine, a little tricky downclimbing the class 3 white rock and very slow across the moraine but otherwise nothing to think twice about.

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Iain Macdonald

Palisades Day 2: Mount Winchell

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If you can spare a few bucks for those affected by the Pack Fire, a little bit goes a long way ❤️

Mokelumne Peak

Mount Kaweah Day 3: Exit

Mount Kaweah Day 2: Mount Kaweah

Mount Kaweah Day 1: Approach

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