Clyde Minaret, Southeast Face. Kim Schmitz and I made the first winter ascent of this route in February. We were surprised that this most prominent of High Sierra wall climbs had been left alone in winter. Not only was it selected as one of the “Fifty Classic Climbs of North America” in Roper and Steck’s book, but also it forms the spectacular backdrop for tens of thousands of winter visitors to Mammoth Mountain ski area. The sheer 1000-foot face rarely ices up, for it faces south, is made of dark meta-volcanic rock that acts as a heat sink, and lies west of the crest where it is influenced more by Pacific than cold Great Basin air. One of the major difficulties of a winter ascent of Clyde is a Forest Service regulation prohibiting overnight parking on the road leading to Mammoth. Except for the banker’s hours of the ski area, no public transportation is available to or near the roadhead. We made elaborate plans with local friends to drive my car to town after we left it at dawn, then return it to the roadhead on the third day. To reach Clyde we skied with a full complement of winter climbing and camping gear down to Agnew Meadows and back up to Iceberg Lake. The ten miles took from dawn to dusk. At sunrise the next day we were on the trail, skiing to the base of the face. With boots and heavy clothing, the F8 climbing was near our limit. Without bivouac gear, we moved consistently but not quickly up a route that was far from obvious. The difficulties began about midway up the wall in a smooth dihedral. Tiny holds and cold fingers did not work well together. A boot welt perfect for ski bindings made narrow crack climbing more exciting. When we reached the summit we saw a gorgeous sunset, but we knew exactly what it meant to be watching such a spectacle without bivy gear on top of a 12,281-foot peak in winter. The guide description for the descent suggested a long ridge scramble into a distant notch. We dropped straight down the southwest face onto steep, hard snow. Kim used an ice tool and I used an alpine hammer as we kicked steps rapidly toward a gully that led to our headlamps and skis at the base of the wall. The gully itself had a few 60° pitches that would have been terrifying just a half-hour later in the dark. By the time we reached our skis, we had to use lights just to get into the bindings. A cold wind blew as we descended by kick-turn and long traverse by headlamp. The next day we skied out, very pleased with what we consider the most pleasant winter wall climb in the Sierra Nevada outside of Yosemite.

Galen Rowell