With my only two days this week Friday and Saturday, and with a storm rolling in Friday, I prayed that if I got an early enough start on Friday morning I might be able to make the climb before things got really bad. Waking up at 4:00am everything seemed fine - no rain, no snow, nothing. Driving up to Bakerville the roads were dry, and when I pulled in at Bakerville there was only a light dusting of new snow. My window, however, was soon to close, as everything was socked in and the snow was starting. I took off with extra determination, making my way up to the summer trailhead in good time. It was snowing, but I could still make out the ridgeline of McClellen Mountain so I knew I might still have a chance. No one had been up past the summer trailhead in a couple days, as the "trail" was totally unpacked. Soon, about half way up through the willows, the snow and atmosphere started to close in. If I hadn't already done the peaks a ton and had the route wired, it would easily be possible for someone to get lost in the absolute white of the basin, wandering around in the willows. I know a few of the scraggy trees/willows by heart, so I could just make them out and link the route together. Conditions started to get worse at the Big Sign, as the snow really started to fall. I took a couple shortcuts, and then got on the east ridge before heading straight up the face of Grays and bypassing most of the summer switchbacks. Topping out on the summit was disconcerting, as you could only see a few feet in front of you and the snow was accumulating fast. I flew over to Torreys, slidding down Gray's north ridge and reaching the summit before turning around and trying to figure out the way down. It was like climbing blind, moving by feel alone as I couldn't see anything beyond a few feet. I knew I needed to re-hike up Gray's north ridge a couple hundred feet to safely cross over onto the face before descending the 2,000' back down towards the valley, but I had no idea where since I couldn't see. Finally, I picked a spot and just went out onto the face, hoping that I had climbed high enough to avoid most of the slide hazard. Thankfully, after 28 times I have a pretty good idea and was not too far off. The storm had really rolled in, and I was amazed at how much snow had already fallen in just the last hour or so. By the time I was back down into the valley floor, my tracks were totally covered and there was already about 4-6 inches of fresh powder. When I got back down to the car at Bakersville, it was chaos as I-70 west bound was closed due to multiple crashes and trucks on the side of the road. Luckily, east bound was still open and I was able to make it down before they closed that. A day that would not have been possible if I had not just spent the past 28 weeks on the mountain.
Snow is starting, but I can still make out the ridgeline so it's not that bad yet...
This was taken looking at Grays and Torreys from the top of the willows...
This is the big cairn just on the Gray's side of the G&T saddle...
Summit of Torreys...
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