Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Some questions about the Palisades

Well, summer is just over and I’m already day dreaming about future peakbagging prospects while I’m stuck in Indiana for college. One of my main objectives is Mt. Sill, but I would like to do it via the Big Pine Creek trailhead. I have heard that this can get up to class 4, which is no joke. I turned around on a class 4 route on Humphreys last summer, so I want to feel confident that I can do this unprotected. Has anyone done Sill through this route before? How was the climbing? Did it feel solid? Did you encounter any real trouble where you may have thought “geez, I wish I had a rope”?

I know I can do Sill through the cross country route via Bishop Pass, but I’d rather endure short, exposed scrambling than miles and miles of Boulder hopping. By the way, if anyone else is interested in doing Sill with me this upcoming summer, let me know.

Also, I was also thinking about North Palisade and the Palisade Traverse. It looks like beautiful and gnarly. It’s honestly my ultimate goal in the Sierras (besides getting all the CA 14ers). But I don’t have the proper alpine climbing experience for this. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to acquire the proper skills to do this traverse within the next few summers or so? Do you need to know trad climbing or just know how to make an anchor to rappel? If you’ve done it, how was it? Would anyone be willing to bring an ambitious 5.10c toproping noob to a climbing trip over the summer? I can carry the rope for the entire way so I’m not dead weight!

Cheers