A Ten Year Effort to Climb Mount Sill

On October 19, 2002, I finally stood on the summit of Mount Sill at an elevation of 14,153 feet; a moment I'd anticipated and strived for since 1992. Ten years of my life searching for fulfillment of a dream that most would consider pointless. But this mountain had become my Everest -a climbing challenge that had frustrated me since I first stood beneath the peak's vertical East Face, wondering how I could ever expect to climb this mountain alone.

The guide book for the Palisade range indicates that the only "easy" route on the mountain leads up the southwestern slope. The problem is getting to that side of the range. It's a long, difficult cross-country rock scramble from Dusy Basin and logistically demanding because of the days involved.

Alternatively, it's possible to cross the range more quickly by using a high elevation Pass like Scimitar, accessed from the South Fork of Big Pine Creek. However, this option somewhat defeats the object of reducing the level of risk. I know, because I tried this route in 1999 to avoid the hazards of the eastern face couloirs.

During September,1998, accompanied by my wife Lucy, we attempted to climb Mt Sill from either the Southeast or North Couloirs. In the event, we did reach within 400 feet of the summit using the North Couloir route, but that was a dangerous day-not to be repeated. So, having exhausted all reasonably safe options over the ten years of trying, the success this year was the result of taking the long route across Bishop, Knapsack and Potluck Passes to access the southwestern slope - and in the company of an experienced companion, Jim Slade.

Notwithstanding, the four day climb in excellent weather was very demanding, placing all camps above 11,000 feet, including one at 12,400 feet. There are many places below the peak where we were threading our way through a three dimensional labyrinth of car sized boulders; each move potentially hazardous - a good reason to not be in these remote areas alone.

The last section of the climb - the 400 feet to the summit was a delight, despite a few route finding errors and the subsequent desperate (Jim's fine term for scary) moves required, particularly going back down. The guide book says that the summit of Mt Sill provides the best view from any peak in the Sierras and we weren't disappointed - the outlook was spectacular in all directions.

©PeterTremayne, Reno, NV 2012