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Day 5: Mount Agassiz

August 21, 2005. We headed out early today to hike to the Bishop Pass from South Lake and then summit Mt. Agassiz (13,891 ft.). The hike/climb was about 5 miles and 4000 ft. (one way), with the last 2000 ft. being the west face of Mt. Agassiz itself. As it was the first respectable class 2/3 we ever did (and the fact that we missed the typical class 2 ascent path), Agassiz took us the better half of the day. But the view of North Palisade from the summit is great.

Bishop Pass Trail

[Morning at South Lake]
Morning at South Lake: Still dark at the trail head.
[Views from the Trail]
[Views from the Trail (1)][Views from the Trail (2)][Views from the Trail (3)][Views from the Trail (4)]
Views from the Trail: My Dad stares at Chocolate Peak on the left. (1) Chocolate Peak and some flowers. (2) Outflow into Saddlerock Lake. (3) Small waterfall at the top. (4) Water rushing down.
[Approaching the Bishop Pass]
Approaching the Bishop Pass: Sun rising quickly in the east. Mt. Agassiz is the right-most peak in the cluster on the left.
[The Bishop Pass]
The Bishop Pass: Looking back at the Bishop Lakes.

Mount Agassiz

[Ascent]
[Ascent (1)][Ascent (2)]
Ascent: We ate an early lunch, refilled out water, and started the ascent. (1) Taking a break somewhere on the west face. (2) View of the Dusy Basin and the Lakes on the Bishop Pass trail from the south-west ridge line near the summit.
[The Summit]
[The Summit (1)][The Summit (2)][The Summit (3)][The Summit (4)]
The Summit: My dad holding the register with North Palisade in the background. (1) Me with Mt. Sill and North Palisade. (2) The cairn marking the summit. (3) Panorama of the view to the west. (4) Looking back at the lakes along the trail.
[The Palisades]
[The Palisades (1)]
The Palisades: Mt. Sill, North Palisade, and Mt. Winchell towering over the Palisade Glacier. (1) Detailed profile of the North Palisade peaks.
[Palisades in Context]
[Palisades in Context (1)][Palisades in Context (2)][Palisades in Context (3)]
Palisades in Context: Looking south east we see all the way to Temple Crag. (1) The large snow pack this year left enough to make this little icy lake. (2) Lake at the end of the Palisade Glacier. (3) Sam Mack Lake, Third Lake, and Second Lake, I believe.
[Descent]
Descent: We glissaded down the large snow pack near the base of Agassiz to save some energy. Unfortunately the deep suncups made it a bumpy ride.
[Finished]
Finished: Late in the day, back at the base of Agassiz, we started our hike back to South Lake.

Go to Day 6.

Last modified: Mon Sep 19 11:20:57 CDT 2005