Mount Williamson, CA (14,379ft)
Mount Williamson by the numbers- 28 hours and 24 miles round trip, 1 overnight cowboy camp, 21 hours in ski boots, 11,800 vertical feet gained and skied, 20 transitions from ski’s to boot packing to crampons, 2 aborted couloirs, 12 @skoutbackcountry gels and 6 bars (amongst lots of other food!), and a successful summit and ski down from (just below) the 6th highest peak in the lower 48 and 2nd highest in California, Mt. Williamson (14,379ft)!
Last week I asked Conor, "do you have any big mountain plans for this weekend?" His response was, "Yeah, trying to go really big and do the Giant Steps Couloir off of Mt. Williamson's north side." I wasn't going to miss this one and glad that I didn't!
I started doing some research and quickly realized this was indeed a huge objective. First off, Giant Steps is "skiable" only on the best of years and still, conditions have to be prime. With three "steps" along the descent of the couloir, the chute wants to throw you out over cliffs on each of them. Truly a no fall zone, and navigating this beast would be just one of our obstacles. Along with this, Mount Williamson is the second highest peak in California (14,379ft) and the sixth highest in the lower 48. The elevation alone is brutal and the route to the summit is equally unforgiving.
We did our research, watched the weather all week, and all signs pointed to an awesome weekend of classic Sierra sunshine.
Friday morning we all (Conor, Will, and myself) packed into the Element and headed down to Independence, CA which is just south of Bishop/Mammoth and home to one of my favorite summer running routes, Kearsarge Pass. I was stoked and feeling great, energy levels high and ready to hit the trail. We made solid time, jabbing It up about skiing and sharing our hypotheticals on the objective ahead.
In this photo: Leaving the Shepherds Pass trailhead. Photo Credit: Conor Phelan, Mt. Williamson by Conor Phelan - Stories from Russia, Oregon, Montana, and more.
We got to Shephards Pass trailhead around 3:30pm and hit the trail around 4:15pm. After about two miles and four creek crossings, we took off the sneakers and slapped on the skins for our first main ascent out of the drainage. This was a steep slog through the trees and an eye-opener of what was to come.
A few hours after starting this ascent, we reached the first pass where we would ditch our shoes from our packs, click out of our skis, and begin hiking on a dirt trail again, this time in ski boots. Some four miles later or so we reach our camp site which was actually just a clear spot on the trail where we would lay three in-a-row up the trail. All crashing out under the stars cowboy style. After staring at the sky, seeing a couple shooting stars, and exchanging our far out thoughts, we all passed out under relatively warm mountain temperatures.
In this photo: Setting up camp. Photo Credit: Conor Phelan, Mt. Williamson by Conor Phelan - Stories from Russia, Oregon, Montana, and more.
We had a agreed on a 4am alarm and we were all eager to get up when the alarm went off. After a little coffee and snack, plus sourcing some water from the nearby creek, we ascended our way up the second pitch for what would be a long ascent to Shepherds Pass. The snow was very firm to start so we tossed on the crampons, which for me was a first (and boy was it obvious)..but hey, it was as good of day as any to learn! This main drainage to the top of the pass was essentially three main pitches that climbed about 4,500 vertical feet and by the top I was definitely feeling the elevation. However, the views of Mt. Tyndall, Mt. Williamson, and the interior Sierra were the perfect antidote to the early morning exhaustion.
In this photo: Skiing with Mt. Tyndall in the background. Photo Credit: Conor Phelan, Mt. Williamson by Conor Phelan - Stories from Russia, Oregon, Montana, and more.
Once we got here we soon noticed that our main objective, to ski Giant Steps Couloir, was out. There simply was not enough confirmation that there was snow on one of the lower steps, and without a rope, we had no way of repelling if we got there only to find a rock ledge. The only other option would be to boot back up the couloir but we all agreed we weren't interested in doing that either, so we began to make new plans.
In this photo: Touring over to Mt. Williamson with Mt. Tyndall in the background. Photo Credit: Conor Phelan, Mt. Williamson by Conor Phelan - Stories from Russia, Oregon, Montana, and more.
We settled on the West Couloir of Mt. Williamson. A beautiful walled in crack in the mountain that runs at about 40 degrees for 2,000+ vertical feet. To get there we had to descend into a basin then skin back out and up to the base of the west side where we would then once again transition from skins to crampons. Once here, we ditched a bunch off extra weight from our packs and decided we would pick it up on the way down. Conor led the ascent, with my in the middle, and Will following up the back. I was so stoked to be feeling great all day and I continued up the couloir hootin' and holler. It was hard to balance looking around in awe at the big mountain views with also paying such close attention to my footing. Basically, I was crossing back and forth across the couloir, ice axe in uphill hand, and crampons gripping into the steep slope, just trying to remember I told my parents that I would be safe. Forget the skiing part, that is easy, its the up that was challenging me today.
In this photo: Conor Phelan on the approach to Mt. Williamson.
Finally after about nine hours of total time, I reached Conor about five hundred feet below the summit. We were at the top of the Couloir, around 13,850ft, and it was looking like a summit go was a lock. We waited a few minutes for Will to reach us then we all ascended the final bit together, walking over rocks and scree, trying to stay clear of potential debris falls, and reached the notch above the Giant Steps Couloir which merged with our new objective, the West Couloir. It was so hard to look down this thing and not ski it. Luckily, we had to go back the way we came in order to retrieve our stuff. I think we all just wanted to get to the summit at this point so instead of sulking in our loss of the Giant Steps Couloir, we proceeded up to the summit under nearly calm winds and strong Sierra sun. The thing is, to get to the summit from this approach you have to do a short class three scramble at about 14,000 ft. Meaning, you can't mess this one up. Moving deliberately, we all made it through this section then continued the easy class one approach to the summit. I'll never forget getting to the top of Williamson. As the second highest peak in California, you can see far wide in every direction with your only block being Mt. Whitney, just a hundred feet higher and the highest peak in the lower 48.
It was amazing to be up there but after working so hard to get there and knowing the descent was still to come, it was hard to fully digest the experience at this point. I figured cell service would be strong so I FaceTimed Mom and Dad, we took a bunch of photos, then continued our way down off the summit, retracing our steps back to the top of the West Couloir.
Finally, we were in our skis, and our skins were off. Conor was first to go and I was frothing for my turn while also trying to remind myself of the inherent risk associated with the decision to ski this walled-in forty degree crack some 14,000ft in the sky. Fortunately, we all enjoyed some amazing turns all the way back down to our gear.
In this photo: Skiing down Mt. Williamson. Photo Credit: Conor Phelan, Mt. Williamson by Conor Phelan - Stories from Russia, Oregon, Montana, and more.
We were all so stoked but also exhausted so we boiled down some snow to make water and coffee then we continued our way out which would include a couple more climbs but also another 6,000vft or so of skiing.
Finally, at 8pm, we all returned safely to the car and headed off to the Brewery in Bishop. Full zombie mode, zinc still on the face, but utterly stoked at our accomplishment.
The mountains are great and I am grateful.
For another read on this, check out Conor’s (much better) post and YouTube video.