Climbing Bear Creek Spire

The following morning we rolled up to the trailhead at Little Lakes Valley in the eastern Sierra Nevada and organised ourselves for Phase 2, climbing Bear Creek Spire. In this easily accessible and wildly popular valley lies a string of lakes, each more beautiful than the last, surrounded by the high peaks of the Sierra crest. The rugged pyramid of Bear Creek Spire, at 13,700 ft, dominates the end of valley. We set off at the crack of noon amidst every man and their dog enjoying the easy ramble up the valley. Fortunately, our route took us off the main trail and cross-country past the aptly named Gem and Treasure lakes to Dade Lake at the base of Bear Creek Spire.  Setting up camp at the lake at about 4pm, we were surprised to see a party of 3 climbers beginning up the Spire. Alistair had climbed this route before a couple of times and thought that an average party would take about 5 hours to the top and a couple of hours down the talus slopes to the lake. It got dark at 8pm and the party did not seem to be moving especially quickly….

Camp at Dade Lake with Bear Creek Spire behind. The Northeast Arete follows a line on the center-left of the peak.

Over the course of the evening, a steady stream of parties descended past the lake, mostly destined for the trailhead.  At 9pm, the late party was only reaching the summit ridge – they faced a tricky traverse and descent in the dark and we didn’t envy them. The only explanation we could think of for such risky behaviour was the difficulty in getting permits for overnight camping (meaning that unlike Al and I, most people had an additional 2 or 3 hours hike in and out) combined with the increased popularity of the peak (thanks, Supertopo) and the long weekend: if you weren’t quick off the mark in the morning, you could find yourself at the end of a long queue of climbers, unable to get off the ground until recklessly late in the day. It was certainly a different scene from the last time Al was there a decade or so ago, when there was no one else around.

Packed and ready to roll, the route is directly behind us

Despite intentions for a 6am start, we slept a little later and got going at 7am. The plan was to ascend the North-east Arête, a relatively easy route (5.fun).The catch was that we needed to carry full packs (including sleeping bag, shelter, bear barrel+food, etc.), as from the top, I was carrying on over the divide and traversing the range (across trail-less valleys and passes) to come out at the west side whereas Al was going back to the car and heading home to retrieve the kids. Thanks to Al’s ultralight gear and a minimum of climbing equipment, this only amounted to 20 or 25 lb each. We huffed and puffed up the talus to the base of the route, donned gear and headed up the low angle 4^th class ground until the route steepened sufficiently to need a rope. A few super fun hours of winding around towers and teetering across exposed ridges on white granite followed. The weather was perfect as we moved up past 13,000ft in t-shirts with the Little lakes Valley spread out below in High Sierra splendour. What a glorious day!  I had been battling an undiagnosed and pernicious degenerative condition affecting my forearms and ability to grip for the past 3 years which had ruled out the gym climbing and cragging that had been such a huge part of my life for 20 years. So it felt like such a joy and a triumph to be able to move up this alpine terrain and to cast off that heavy mental mantle of injury, if only temporarily. Life was good.

 Moving on up the arete - can you spot the climber? 

Near the top with Little Lakes Valley spread out below.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves." — John Muir

We topped out a little before midday…..or rather almost topped out. I declined to clamber the last exposed five feet to the true top of the summit block (yep, I’m a wimp) and satisfied myself with touching the top instead.

Wimpy girl....tagging the top.

A quick rappel off the summit led to sandy talus slopes on the edge of the Sierra crest and we worked out way down to the notch that marked the descent route to Dade Lake. This was our parting point. We enjoyed a quick lunch together then Al rappelled down the notch to the east and was gone. 

Al about to head off down the notch. Bye Al!

I turned to the west.

The last non-selfie of the trip!