Trip Report
Thunderbolt to Sill: Palisades Scramble Redux
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Monday July 9, 2012 8:52pm
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I first started heading into the Palisades in high school.
Years passed, the routes got longer, some got harder, and some just became more meaningful because of the partners I tied in with or the solos I did to work through whatever else was going on at the time.
This past weekend, Rick Graham, traversed from Thunderbolt to Sill via Bishop Pass. We started from the parking lot at a little after 3 am and reached Mt. Sill at just about 4pm along with two other climbers, Ryan and James.
We headed south from Sill down a long, circuitous drainage, skirting cliffbands and contouring moraine fields until we reached Thunderbolt Pass at dusk, then back to South Lake by headlamp. We passed out at our car at midnight.
A quicker return would have been to retrace our steps over Polemonium and descend the west side of the U Notch.
All in all we were on the move for 21 hours and earned a thousand calorie breakfast down in Bishop the next day.
Here are a few images.
marty(r)
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About the Author
marty(r) is a climber from beneath the valley of ultravegans. |
Comments
Ezra Ellis
Trad climber
North wet, and Da souf
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Nice, way to earn your breakfast,
Thanks for sharing!!!
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rottingjohnny
Sport climber
Sands Motel , Las Vegas
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Was the thunderbolt register on the summit block..? I didn't do the summit block but if i remember correctly this guy in our group bouldered the block to grab the register for us..Thanks for the pictures..RJ
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
@dodrillphoto
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Nice Marty! Is t-bolt to sill more popular? We did it the other way.
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Jul 10, 2012 - 01:17am PT
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Palisades is a great place. Love it.
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Captain...or Skully
climber
Boise, ID
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Jul 10, 2012 - 01:23am PT
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It's Magic up there, huh? TFPU for a great TR, with some sweet pics.
Homan.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Author's Reply
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Jul 10, 2012 - 02:14am PT
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I didn't keep that close a count, but most summit registers were either gone all together, or stripped bare, perhaps a casualty of the Bancroft summit debates.
Maybe it feels psychologically easier to climb North to South, even though the sun is in your eyes the whole time. Not sure, but it does seem like more people opt to do this traverse that way. Then again, we weren't pullin' harder.
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Grampa
climber
from SoCal
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Jul 10, 2012 - 10:36am PT
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Anybody know what kind of large animal those bones are from?
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micronut
Trad climber
Fresno/Clovis, ca
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Jul 10, 2012 - 12:23pm PT
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Awesome. Yall are hard.
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Jaybro
Social climber
Wolf City, Wyoming
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Jul 10, 2012 - 12:34pm PT
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vegan breakfast?
Nice stuff Marty!
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westhegimp
Social climber
granada hills
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Jul 11, 2012 - 09:53pm PT
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Great job Marty and Rick!!!
Nice TR, thanks for the pics.
Congratulations
Wes
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Peek-a-boo Velcro
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Feb 11, 2015 - 10:42pm PT
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Yo Marty! Would it be a good idea to stash a car at Glacier Lodge and descend Sill down the L-shaped snow field and out past Temple Crag?
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Author's Reply
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Feb 12, 2015 - 02:38pm PT
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Hey VelcRo(n)~That'd be possible but I kind of like the simplicity of starting and ending at the same spot.
In 2006 I went in via North Fork and Sam Mack Meadow, then accessed the ridge up a long snowslope between Winchell and T-Bolt. I got as far as the U-notch before it got dark. Luckily I could kick-down-step and glissade to the mini-'shrund then hoof it out across the glacier before total darkness fell--wouldn't you know my headlamp would fail right then?--then got lost, then finally made it back to Bishop for a nap before the Bishop Grill opened for a mountain of pancakes. Just a healthy reminder that cardio fitness trumps all up there!
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=225441&msg=225441#msg225441
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JEleazarian
Trad climber
Fresno CA
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Feb 12, 2015 - 02:51pm PT
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How did I miss this the first time? Bump for an excellent (and enticing) trip report.
John
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Roots
Mountain climber
Somewhere Fun
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Feb 12, 2015 - 03:26pm PT
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Sounds like a successful long day - congrats!
What was in your kit?
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Marshall
climber
bay area
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Feb 12, 2015 - 04:36pm PT
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yeah marty!!!
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le_bruce
climber
Oakland, CA
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Feb 12, 2015 - 05:12pm PT
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Beauty! Thank you for posting, and for the bump.
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Larry Nelson
Social climber
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Feb 12, 2015 - 06:14pm PT
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I love the Palisades. TFPU.
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marty(r)
climber
beneath the valley of ultravegans
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Author's Reply
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Feb 13, 2015 - 09:18am PT
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Roots~Extra dry socks seemed to be the secret weapon. Also some beat up boardshorts, several powerbars, a 3 liter bladder, sunscreen and some five-tennies. I've gotten on that ridge four or five times and only took rock shoes once. Each of the cruxes--TBolt and the Milk Bottle--are doable in approach shoes and I've saved at least a few toe nails that way. The socks, though, are non-negotiable.
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!["[The Milk Bottle] is the best looking summit block in the Palisades a...](http://mail.supertopo.com/photos/13/33/254804_1597_L.jpg)
