The 14ers for a Noob: Using California’s 15 Highest Peaks for Stepping Stones

December 4, 2009

     California has 15 mountains that stand higher than 14000 feet, and this last summer I had finally set foot onto the summit of the last of them. For the past few years, California’s “14ers” have occupied much of my time and thoughts, something I never would have predicted in what seems like a short time ago.  Including mountaineering seminars, multiple attempts, and repeats, I’d spent 72 days on these 15 mountains. I’d gone from knowing absolutely nothing about being in the outdoors to spending almost 15% of my time climbing, hiking, and just being in the mountains. The experiences I’ve had on California’s 14ers have led to many things, including higher mountains around the globe, the desire and motivation to learn to rock and ice climb, photography, and the ability to be able to introduce others to something that has had such an impact in my life.

Ice and Glamour

June, 2007

     Since I began reading  about mountains, shortly after I began climbing them in June of 2003, Mt.  Baker  held a certain magnetism. There is something about it, its location, its shape, its climate.  There is just something about it that pulls at me. 
     Mt. Baker is a 10778 foot volcano that lies 35 miles east of the Pacific Ocean and 20 miles south of the Canadian border in the state of Washington. It is the second most glaciated peak of the Cascade volcanoes, and with the exception of Mt. Rainier, has more ice than the rest of them combined. It also holds the world record for snowfall in a single year, with 95 feet of snow in 1999. With almost 9000 feet of prominence (the distance that a mountain stands above its surroundings), it is the 5th most prominent mountain in the continental U.S. and can be seen from over 100 miles away.

Lonely at the Top

May, 2007

     At 14375 feet, Mt. Williamson is the second highest peak in California and is arguably much more challenging that it’s vertical superior, Mt. Whitney, just a few miles away in the Sierra Nevada. I wanted to climb Mt. Williamson via George Creek, a cross country can’t-keep-your-hands-in-your- pockets kind of hike that follows George Creek through a narrow canyon before heading up onto the Williamson massif.  Due to the bighorn sheep mating season, this area is legally open from December 15^th - December 31^st, and April 15^th - May 15th of each year. There is no trail. There are only use paths from previous visitors, and the terrain is masochistic.  Everything that a peak-bagger dreads is here: loose dirt and rock covering steep slopes, thick brush with long thorns, challenging stream crossings, and monster elevation gain. It is sometimes hard to imagine why someone would want to come here.  Or why I would want to come here 3 times. Williamson and I have a history.  I’ve attempted Williamson twice before, and twice before Williamson spun me around and sent me home. 

Our Date with the Demon

October, 2006

     Our goal: Climb the Checkered Demon in a day, a 13100 foot peak in the Eastern Sierra with an interesting feature: two 1000 ft ice couloirs. Weather advisory for the weekend: High winds and a cold front moving in from the East. 

     In September I was surfing the web and came across a trip report on the Checkered Demon. It read that the angle of the ice was pretty mellow, 45 degrees or so with a max of 60 degrees near the top, and it had been recommended to somebody as a first multi-pitch ice climb. I had been doing some light mountaineering for the past few years, rock climbing semi-regularly, and had taken an ice-climbing seminar earlier that spring. I decided that I was ready to step it up and that the Checkered Demon would be that step. I called up Phil, a close friend who is always up for an outing.