The Southern Sierra High Route – A Guide (a southern extension of the Sierra High Route to Mt. Whitney and beyond)
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Southern Sierra High Route – A Guide
http://www.adventurealan.com/SoSHR/
(a southern extension of the Sierra High Route to Mt. Whitney and beyond)
by Alan Dixon and Don WilsonRoute description, full mapset, and other materials freely available.
First light approach to climb the Mountaineer’s Route on Mt Whitney. On this trip we summited with full packs. But rather than exiting at the traditional Whitney Portal we traversed the Whitney Crest and continued south to exit the high peaks near the shoulder of Mt. Langley 14,026' (4,275 m), the southernmost 14er in the Sierras.Overview of the SoSHR, Southern Sierra High Route
“It’s always confused us that the Sierra High Route neglects the highest and grandest section of the High Sierra, including Mt. Whitney the highest peak in the lower 48 and the traditional finishing point of the JMT.”
When climber Steve Roper conceived of the Sierra High Route (SHR) almost 40 years ago, it was a visionary concept—encouraging backpackers (not just hardcore climbers) to get off of crowded trails and follow higher and cleaner lines in the Sierras. With a goal of “loosely following the John Muir Trail (JMT) but frequently going off trail, higher and closer to the Sierra Crest when reasonably possible.” It challenged backcountry travelers with class 2 and 3 passes, and difficult navigation over tough terrain—but with high rewards of beauty and solitude for doing so. We are both native Californians, and cut our backcountry teeth on the SHR and routes like it. The SHR has likewise transformed many trail-plodders into high country mountaineers. We are all indebted to Steve Roper and the many backpackers and mountaineers before and after him that contributed to the SHR.
But the southern terminus of Roper’s SHR is well north of most of the highest and finest crest of the Southern Sierras and Mt. Whitney. This year we decided to see if we could put a line together that extended the SHR to the south, traversing near the crest to Mount Whitney and beyond. A good look at the maps revealed a beautiful line that weaves across the Sierra crest numerous times, maintaining the spirit of the SHR, and offers hiking as good or better than any portion of the SHR. Our Southern Sierra High Route (SoSHR) extends south from Upper Basin, where the SHR turns west and goes toward lower terrain. It traverses the highest part of the range, mixing travel on the JMT with many miles of superb off trail hiking.
The SoSHR is a route in keeping with the spirit of the original SHR, and a route we believe would be close to John Muir’s heart. It starts high in the Palisades, the most rugged sub-range in the Sierra, and offers a summit of Mt Sill 14,154' (4,314 m). According to R.J. Secor in his must-have book The High Sierra, “Mount Sill has the best summit view of any peak in the Sierra.” The route also includes an ascent of the Mountaineer’s Route up Mt. Whitney 14,505' (4,421 m) and a traverse across its summit, before continuing on to exit the high peaks near the shoulder of Mt. Langley 14,026' (4,275 m), the southernmost 14er in the Sierras.
Compared to the the JMT from LeConte Canyon to Whitney Portal, the SoSHR is much higher, crossing the Sierra crest 7 times versus the JMT’s single crossing of the divide near Mt. Whitney. In addition, the SoSHR is more remote, with significant travel off trail, and travel on lesser used unmaintained and decommissioned trails. The landscape is more spectacular, the hiking is more challenging, and the solitude intensifies your experience.
BASIC STATS: SoSHR vs. JMT from LeConte Canyon to Whitney Portal
From LeConte Canyon to the southern terminus, the SoSHR stays closer to the crest and significantly higher than the JMT. The SoSHR can be done as an elegant route in its own right—about 100 miles of hiking from end to end. Or it can be appended to the SHR to create a route paralleling the best of the Sierra – a spectacular ~270 mile route stretching from Twin Lakes in the north to Cottonwood Lakes in the south.
A friendly update here for anyone attempting this option.
Alan writes, " We now believe the best option to cross to Baxter
Lakes is to head directly west from the south end of Stocking Lake, and ascend a
relatively low angle weak point in the ridge that heads west and north from the
summit of Acrodectes Peak. Once on the ridge, the route descends to the
unnamed lake that lies directly west of Acrodectes Peak. From that lake, continue
descending south to Baxter Lakes and the trail to Dollar Lake. This route over the
ridge is reportedly class 3, but holds less snow and has more stable terrain than
the north side of Grasshopper Pass."
Virginia and I attempted the Acrodectes High Route during our southbound thru-hike of the SHR-SoSHR last month, and after a very nasty scramble on steep, loose talus (even by Roper standards) we arrived at the base of the ridge running north from Acrodectes Peak and found it to be impassable. Alan states in his description that while he and Don scouted this section, neither crossed the ridge here. On a topo this looks very doable, but what the map doesn't show are the several hundred feet of contour lines that are stacked on one another. If there is a crossing here, it's far beyond the realm of class 3 and doesn't seem suited to a backpackers route.Map
Reality
As usual, the photos don't show the scale or true angle of the wall. The "low angle weak point" seen in the second photo, looks ok from a distance, but up close is a series of very exposed, crumbling vertical cracks. We spent the better part of a day on the approach and subsequent backtracking.
On another note, we just completed Dixon's high route through the Winds and had a lovely time!
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