The Mountaineer's Route on the Elephant's Perch (5.9)

August, '03

Mountaineering on the Elephant's Perch

with Koren.

The Elephant's Perch as seen from the approach trail.

     Koren and I had talked about climbing this route before we even arrived in Stanley. This was the classic 5.9 route in the range and
we had finally been able to scheduled a day with no field work so we could have a go at it. When the day came, the sky was clear and the shuttle boat was on time. Life was good!

     As advertized, this was a quality, moderate route up a big formation. I don't think I would call it the best 5.9 in the range, but it is
most certainly a wonderful climb. It's clean for an alpine route and more importantly, if you don't want to climb 5.10, this is your
only option. :) The views of Saddleback Lakes and the jaged peaks stacked to the horizion also add to the quality of the climb and of
the experience. It is a great place to be.

     My advice is to plan to stay at least 4 days and sample some of the other rock and routes in this basin.

Once you get there, you won't want to leave! :)

The Grand Mogul and Mount Heyburn from Redfish Lake. I took this while we waited for the shuttle boat, which saved us 5 miles of hiking each way.

The view of the Elephant's Perch from the main trail. The trail from this point to the base of the Perch is quite strenuous comparatively. Click Here to see this photo with the Mountaineer's Route Marked.

This is Korens Dad crossing the stream en route to the Perch. This picture is from a different trip.

Looking up at the Perch from the approach trail. This picture is available as a wallpaper.

Here is a picture of the first 5 pitches of the Moutaineer's Route with the route marked. Click Here to see a closeup of this picture with no markings.