Madera County, California
I was randomly scrolling Facebook one night and happened upon a post from my buddy, Dakota. "Anyone looking to get out for a quick Sierras trip?" Knowing how little experience I had in the Sierras, I knew this was a great opportunity to go with someone experienced. Little did I know I had to learn how to ski/skin because it was required as a flotation device the majority of the way (and that's all we had too). Learning to skin on the first day of the trip was mentally and physically exhausting and wasted a lot of time. It took so much physical effort to constantly pick myself back up and so much mental and physical effort not to fall. All that accounted for, we were just too slow and had to turn around about halfway through. But oh boy, what an amazing getaway and sufferfest!
Mt. Ritter is the highest peak in the Ritter Range and sits 13,149 ft tall. This prominent peak saw its first ascent by the legend John Muir in 1872 and has since become a classic. I believe the route we wanted to take was the SE Glacier but most people opt for the North Face for a great day of 3rd class scrambling. The trail starts at the Agnew Meadows Trailhead. You can park here if the road is open, otherwise you will need to pay for parking in town and take a free shuttle to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort. From there, you will need to skin/hike approximately 5 extra miles along Highway 203 until you reach the Agnew Meadows Trailhead. The trail follows the PCT for a little bit until it connects to the Shadow Lake Trail. You will pass Shadow Lake itself and connect briefly with the John Muir Trail until you connect back to the Shadow Lake Trail. Soon you will arrive at Ediza Lake where you should set up base camp and rest for a long day ahead! I really wish I wasn't so slow on the skis. I would have loved to bagged this peak. I'll be back with snow shoes!
This hike requires a Wilderness Permit between May 1st through November 1st! Stop by the Inyo National Forest visitor center to pick one up.
Distance: ~18.4 miles (Out-and-Back)
Elevation Gain: 5,574 ft.
Final Elevation: 13,149 ft.
Directions to the start of the trail (Agnew Meadows Trailhead): Use the directions feature in Google Maps and enter the following coordinates exactly as shown. This will take you straight to the parking lot at the beginning of the trail.
37.6828162, -119.0855354
Topo Map Courtesy of AllTrails
Taking a free shuttle from town since Highway 203 past Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort was closed.
Walking through the resort.
Start of an added 5 miles to our trip.
So much snow! Made it to the Agnew Meadows Trailhead.
Taking a quick breather at the Shadow Lake Trailhead.
All ready to go! Pretending like I know what I'm doing... (Thanks Kylie for letting me use your skis!)
What a huge snow field!
All smiles here.
First obstacle. Took off our skis and walked past the small waterfall. Had to work our way through some steep snow with crampons and an ice axe.
Crossed a bridge.
Steeeep!
Made it to a waterfall. Unfortunately we realized that we were moving too slowly and decided to bail. It is so beautiful here.
You can see Mammoth Mountain and all the progress we made.
#33.
Chris's Difficulty Scale (Approach Only) - 5/10 (Assuming you know how to ski... Without snow I don't see this as a difficult hike. It is just long...)
No comments:
Post a Comment