Mt. San Gorgonio, NW Ridge

On June 6, 2014, I scrambled up the Northwest Ridge of Mt. San Gorgonio. I had no plans to climb the route when I left the South Fork trailhead at 5:30AM. But when the line came into view, and I had no information about the ridge other than what I could see, I sensed an opportunity for modest adventure that should not be missed. Thus it was that mere minutes later I was thrashing through brush to the base of the ridge.

The north side of Mt. San Gorgonio. The NW Ridge forms the right skyline.

The bushwhacking actually wasn't that bad, but I didn't know that prior to bee-lining it toward the ridge. Once on the ridge, I found the class 2-3 scrambling to be very enjoyable. In fact, I felt that it was the most rewarding route I'd ever done on San Gorgonio. It wasn't until the upper third of the route that I began to see signs of prior travel. This gave the route a wild, backcountry feel that can be elusive in southern California.

Looking back at the approach to the ridge. It involved some bushwhacking, but surprisingly not that much. 

Jepson Peak from the NW Ridge

Looking down the NW Ridge

 A moment of backcountry bliss on Mt. San Gorgonio

Gaining the crest, it was an easy plod to the summit, which I reached at 10:45AM. I then took the line of least resistance straight down the scree on the north side and was driving home by 3PM. All in all, it was a surprisingly great day in the local mountains.   

The final plod to the summit of Mt. San Gorgonio

San Gorgonio, Northside Chute

It had been nearly two years since my last trip to the San Bernardino Mountains, primarily because worthwhile outings there require a full day.  And this was not to be an exception.  A 2:45AM alarm was necessary to start hiking from the South Fork trailhead before 6:00.  By 8:30, we were replacing shoes with boots at Dry Lake.

The snow was mostly firm until we reached the open moraine above Dry Lake.  From that point on it was variable with an abundance of sudden postholes through seemingly firm crust.  The conditions improved as we ascended the chute.  The snow petered out a few hundred vertical feet below the crest, providing an hour of classic scree climbing (reminiscent of the slog to Mt. Russell's East Ridge).  A little after noon, we were relieved to step onto the 11,490 foot summit of San Gorgonio. 

The joy of glissading down the north side was short-lived, as we immediately found ourselves mired in unconsolidated mush.  After a solid hour (or two?) of regular, albeit unpredictable, postholes, we stumbled back to Dry Lake.  By 5:30, we were on the road, ingesting caffeine and pretzels.  Miraculously, I was back in south Orange County at 7:15PM (much better than the three hours it once took me to drive home from there).   

The numbers: 4600+ vertical feet; 11+ hours round trip.

 Patrick at Dry Lake.

 Stepping into the uncooperative snow above Dry Lake (Jepson Peak on the left).

 Approaching the chute. 

 Following a glissade run up the chute. 

Mt. San Jacinto from near the summit. 

 Patrick taking time to savor a posthole. We ascended the chute second from left and glissaded the far left chute. 

 The calm before the storm (Jepson Peak).

One last look back at Mt. San Gorgonio.