Obscure Classics in the High Sierra

One of my favorite mountain adventures is hunting the “obscure classic”: climbs that are just as good as the best in the range, but for whatever reason never got popular. Maybe they were put up recently and haven’t gained significant attention yet; maybe they’re a little out of the way and require a long approach; some routes used to have loose rock that’s been cleaned up after a few ascents, but nonetheless haven’t shaken the sub-par reputation. Sometimes, there’s no obvious reason for their obscurity – through some weird coincidence of guidebook selection and groupthink, a stone cold classic somehow slips through the fingers, avoiding classic status and living in obscurity.

The latest High Sierra guidebook that just came out in June includes our local Sierra stomping grounds – basically everything from Bishop in the south to Sonora Pass in the north. Coming in from Reno and Tahoe, it was the book that I was most looking forward to seeing, and it does not let down. This book has been the genesis of three climbing trips already this year! Looking through its pages, it really felt like a lifelong to-do list, replete with beta, topos, and inspiring pictures. Time to go climbing!

I was on the approach of Inspired Sierra Trip #1 when I got a text from Lorenzo, a client and friend with whom I shared some adventures in the past couple years. Turns out he just bought the new guidebook and was also scheming a Sierra trip. The last time we climbed, we crunched a four day traverse into two days – two BIG days. Quantity, baby! This time around, we were more excited about more difficult high quality technical climbing. Here’s what we fit into three days in the Sierra:

We tossed around a few ideas for the main focus of the trip, and eventually landed on a 500-foot route hidden in plain sight. Simply put, it was a blast. An easy three-hour approach makes this one of the more accessible Sierra routes around. Routefinding would also prove to be quite easy: the route is basically a 4-pitch corner from bottom to top–one giant corner, straight-outta-Yosemite crack climbing. It was never too hard, but consistently physical climbing slowly takes it out of you. Despite warnings of loose rock from past climbers, there was literally not a single loose rock during the first three pitches. And the fourth pitch was no slacker – double-cracks of fists and tips! Holy moly this was classic climbing. A quick high five and four rappels brought us easily to the base. Not too shabby.

While I will be the first to recommend many of the five-star mega-classics the Sierra has to offer, I think I have the most memorable experiences on the obscure classics. Maybe it’s because you’re nearly guaranteed solitude in the country’s most populous state. Perhaps it’s because there’s still a sense of adventure that in some way that you just don’t get on the popular climbs. Or maybe it’s because it feels like you’re getting away with something – truly a climb this good should have a crowd and chalk everywhere! That is one of the things that makes the Sierra so special – there seems to be a lifetime of exploration tucked in to its glacier-carved valleys and soaring ridges, so many high country granite faces, towering buttresses, and alluring ridges to explore, and so darn many excellent routes that beg to be climbed. Thanks again to Lorenzo for stoking the fire of backcountry passion and having the fitness to back it up. What a weekend!

To book one of our High Sierra trips, from mellow single-day trips to several days of adventure, call us at 877 873 5376 or send us an email at info@alpenglowexpeditions.com .