Mount Gilbert

2-Jun-56

By: George Wallerstein

From the Angeles Chapter Schedule

From his diary entries as retrieved by George Wallerstein in April 2005

(Having scouted the route on May 29, 1956, I found much snow even at moderate altitudes, so I changed the trip to a ski tour.)

Friday, June 1, 1956—Met Barabara Lilley, Jack Lasner, Bud Bingham, Tom Ross and Steve Wilkie at La Cañada and drove to Bishop. Camped at midnight.

Saturday, June 2, 1956—Drove to South Lake and carried skies & packs via Lower Treasure Lake to a camp at 11,400 ft. Snow flurries in the evening.

Sunday, June 3, 1956—The weather cleared during the night, and we started at 5:15 a.m. for Mt. Gilbert. Carried skis to the base of a couloir and used crampons up the couloir to the crest. From there, it was a walk to the top of Mt. Gilbert (13,103 ft.). A good view of the Black Divide, Mt. Goddard and the Palisades. Returned to the skis and had an excellent run back to camp and fair run down to South Lake. It was a very successful outing.

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Note: History-minded readers need to remember that the SPS gained final approval for its founding from the Angeles Chapter Executive Committee in October 1955. Officially scheduled trips began in 1956, and The Sierra Echo wasn't published until February 1957. Consequently, much of the early SPS trip information appeared in the Angeles Chapter Schedule or Southern Sierran. Other records exist only in the diaries of the respective leaders.