Mount Bernard, Trojan Peak, Mount Williamson

7-May-93 (California Mountaineering Club)

By: Dan Richter, Barbara Cohen

Barbara Cohen, myself, Erik Siering, Tom Randel, Jim Fujimoto, Bobby Heath, and Keith Martin met at 6:30 a.m. Friday morning at the trail head. Thus began the mother of all bushwhacks. This year's wet weather had spawned a bumper crop of brush and brambles in the fire damaged lower canyons. The heavy winter snows combined with the current hot weather had filled George Creek with an excess of melt water and the mandated stream crossing were only achieved with much slipping and wading. After a long scramble we began to encounter patches of snow at 7,500 feet. By staying on the south facing side of the canyon above 8,800 feet we were able to reach our camp at 4:00 p.m. without switching to snow boots. We chose a lovely stand of trees at 9,900 feet with good access to all three peaks.

Saturday morning was clear and beautiful. Robby had already climbed Williamson twice so he slept in. Jim and Keith had crampon problems which in Jim's case proved unfixable, so he had to stay in camp. With the equipment sorted out we were off by 7:00 a.m. moving quickly on crisp snow up the canyon to a spot at 11,200 feet where we began the climb toward the top of the south east ridge and the bowl east of the summit. As we passed just to the east of the large horn below the ridge the snow gave out and we scrambled over rock and scree to a level spot on the ridge. We switched backed up the snow on the slope above the bowl east of the summit and were regaled with the superb vista of the snow covered central Sierra from the windy corniced summit at 2:00 p.m.. Hooting and hollering we scrambled and glissaded back to camp where we arrived at 5:00 p.m.

Sunday morning we set out for Trojan and Barnard at 6:15 a.m. with a well rested Robby out in front with Tom and Erik. The morning snow provided good climbing and we were soon on the large couloir leading up to the bowl between Trojan and Barnard. We stayed on snow to the top of Trojan and were all on the summit by 12:45 p.m. Serious SC and UCLA rivalry broke out when Keith pulled out a SC banner and a pennant which he tied to his ice ax for a photo opportunity. A UCLA graduate, who shall remain nameless, left a foil wrapped latex sex aid in the register. We glissaded back to the bowl, where we left our packs and snow boots. From there we climbed the talus and scree of Barnard's north east slope, which was completely bare of snow, and reached the summit by 3:30 p.m. The return to camp provided some of the best glissades of the trip. We had a 1,200 foot unbroken slide down the big couloir. Two more slides had us back in camp by 6:00 p.m.

Monday morning we left for the cars after breakfast and all had lunch in Lone Pine before returning to the Los Angeles area.