My sib showed up on Friday (9/10) as planned at 6am and we hit the trail:
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 Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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The Little Lakes Valley is quite scenic:
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 Morning reflection - Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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The N Arete is the prominent steep buttress, the NE Ridge diagonals in from the left, and the E Ridge follows the left skyline. The bits of snow we encountered were soft and grippy:
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 Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Fun scrambling and third classing - some sections blocky and broken, and others wonderfully steep:
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 Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Some really finny sections which we mostly took straight on:
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 Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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The views kept coming with nice exposure in spots:
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 Looking down and across the NE Ridge on Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Some ups and downs, but mostly up:
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 View down the NE Ridge on Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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 Upward - Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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The N Arete:
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 N Arete on Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Looking up towards the merge of the NE Ridge with the N Arete:
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 Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Spire Lake and Split Lakes in the distance below:
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 Spire Lake and Split Lakes from NE Ridge on Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Where we'd been:
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 Looking down NE Ridge on Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Shoes with sticky rubber (mine) were helpful. Non-sticky rubber shoes require a bit of additional attention and add some thrill to the scrambling:
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 Some of that fun, steep terrain on the NE Ridge of Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Joining up with the fourth class upper portion of the N Arete:
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 Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Found some very exposed spots:
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 Exposure on Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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The summit:
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 Bear Creek Spire summit "block" - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Got out the climbing shoes for the ~5.6 summit moves:
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 Bear Creek Spire summit moves - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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Another perfect day in the Sierra, blue skies, little wind, and nice views. Feather Peak and its couloir off in the distance... looking kind of appealing. I wonder, what if my weekend partners with their out-of-their-control schedules were to not be available?
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 Merriam, Royce, and Feather Peaks in the distance - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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The sandy trail to the notch and trail back to Mosquito Flat:
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 On the trail again - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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 Looking back at Bear Creek Spire - 9/10/10 Credit: BMcC |
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SUMMARY:
Excellently fun route. No need to stand around in the chilly shade, shivering while belaying. Just scrambling along enjoying the movement, exposure, and views. A bit less than a leisurely eleven hours car-to-car with a pleasantly light daypack, without breathing hard or rushing. The NE Ridge is a classic route that I'll be doing again.
