This is definitely the most intense and rewarding climb in Southern
California... for that matter, it's one of the best non-technical climbs I've
done anywhere. The East Fork of Snow Creek runs straight up the north face of
San Jacinto. The route climbs something like 9600 feet in about 5-6 miles.
This impressive scarp is created by the San Andreas fault, which runs northwest
to southeast through the San Gorgonio Pass separating Mt. San Gorgonio to the
north (around 11500 feet) and Mt. San Jacinto to the south (about 10800 feet)
-- and the pass is only 1000 feet high!
I was absolutely obsessed with doing this climb for years until I finally
coerced my friend Chris into doing it with me. There's a little information on
the web (see below), so I won't go into detail on the route description. We
did it in September 2004, although it's supposed to be a fantastic winter
route, and most people seem to do it in April or thereabouts. Some might say
the technical crux is obtaining all three permits you need, and then getting
past the caretaker's vicious dogs at the bottom at the break of dawn. Don't
let this deter you from doing the route -- it is awesome.
There are two routes up. The obvious route just follows the creek drainage
all the way up. I did the start of this once on my own after another partner
bailed on me. It is extremely brushy and nasty. At about
3700-3800 feet you are forced out of the drainage anyway by a big waterfall.
Here you may discover the second, less obvious route, which follows the big
gentle plateau to the left (east). This is the one described on SummitPost
(see below), and this is the one Chris and I took.
I would like to add a few clarifying comments to the description posted on
SummitPost. The route is almost completely unmarked until you get near the
Isthmus, but that's not a problem because it's pretty easy-going up to that
point. At the Isthmus it's really narrow so you can't miss the start of the
extremely well-cairned route. The route past here is not shown on my map yet,
sorry. My map shows the route descending into Snow Creek drainage way too
early; it should contour and rise gently on the east side all the way up to the
"F" in "Fork" where it finally descends into the Snow Creek drainage at about
5200 feet. We think we got off-route about half-way up, and we had to do some
nasty scrambling before dropping into the little side-canyon. From there it is
obvious where to exit and scramble over the intervening ridge. This section
has the worst bushwacking along the route, and if you stay on-trail it isn't
very bad at all. In the canyon below you'll see a number of the nasty
waterfalls and cascades that you're bypassing by following the high route.
In the drainage at last, there is only one big obstacle left -- a huge
chockstone at 6000 feet. We did a 30 foot 5.2-5.4 route up the cliff beside it
that ended on a sloping ledge with an oak tree and a webbing sling. I strongly
suspect you could find even easier (but longer) routes farther downstream on
the right (west) side of the gorge. All other obstacles were easy third class
scrambles (at least without snow -- some might be tricky ice climbs in the
winter). Pay attention to the map on the way up. There are a number of forks
in the drainage -- the one that splits off to the right at 6400 feet that heads
toward the slopes of Folly Peak looks like it'd land you in some real trouble.
The others are less important, but if you choose well you'll come out right at
the peak. We found some really fun steep third class blocks at the very top.
The route description calls the last 5000 feet a slog up talus slopes. This
might be technically true, but it's misleading; we found almost everything
solid, with a lot of fun little slots, waterfalls, boulders, etc. to keep it
interesting. While it might be more wild and exciting in the winter, I would
still highly recommend the late summer ascent. The flowers and ferns are
magnificent, and the stream was running consistantly up to almost 9000 feet
making all sorts of pleasant pools and falls and cascades. There was even a
patch of lingering snow in a slot around 8750 feet. The gorge is deep enough
to provide some shade most of the way up.
This is definitely the most intense and rewarding climb in Southern
California... for that matter, it's one of the best non-technical climbs I've
done anywhere. The East Fork of Snow Creek runs straight up the north face of
San Jacinto. The route climbs something like 9600 feet in about 5-6 miles.
This impressive scarp is created by the San Andreas fault, which runs northwest
to southeast through the San Gorgonio Pass separating Mt. San Gorgonio to the
north (around 11500 feet) and Mt. San Jacinto to the south (about 10800 feet)
-- and the pass is only 1000 feet high!
I was absolutely obsessed with doing this climb for years until I finally
coerced my friend Chris into doing it with me. There's a little information on
the web (see below), so I won't go into detail on the route description. We
did it in September 2004, although it's supposed to be a fantastic winter
route, and most people seem to do it in April or thereabouts. Some might say
the technical crux is obtaining all three permits you need, and then getting
past the caretaker's vicious dogs at the bottom at the break of dawn. Don't
let this deter you from doing the route -- it is awesome.
I would like to add a few clarifying comments to the description posted on
SummitPost. The route is almost completely unmarked until you get near the
Isthmus, but that's not a problem because it's pretty easy-going up to that
point. At the Isthmus it's really narrow so you can't miss the start of the
extremely well-cairned route. The route past here is not shown on my map yet,
sorry. My map shows the route descending into Snow Creek drainage way too
early; it should contour and rise gently on the east side all the way up to the
"F" in "Fork" where it finally descends into the Snow Creek drainage at about
5200 feet. We think we got off-route about half-way up, and we had to do some
nasty scrambling before dropping into the little side-canyon. From there it is
obvious where to exit and scramble over the intervening ridge. This section
has the worst bushwacking along the route, and if you stay on-trail it isn't
very bad at all. In the canyon below you'll see a number of the nasty
waterfalls and cascades that you're bypassing by following the high route.
In the drainage at last, there is only one big obstacle left -- a huge
chockstone at 6000 feet. We did a 30 foot 5.2-5.4 route up the cliff beside it
that ended on a sloping ledge with an oak tree and a webbing sling. I strongly
suspect you could find even easier (but longer) routes farther downstream on
the right (west) side of the gorge. All other obstacles were easy third class
scrambles (at least without snow -- some might be tricky ice climbs in the
winter). Pay attention to the map on the way up. There are a number of forks
in the drainage -- the one that splits off to the right at 6400 feet that heads
toward the slopes of Folly Peak looks like it'd land you in some real trouble.
The others are less important, but if you choose well you'll come out right at
the peak. We found some really fun steep third class blocks at the very top.
The route description calls the last 5000 feet a slog up talus slopes. This
might be technically true, but it's misleading; we found almost everything
solid, with a lot of fun little slots, waterfalls, boulders, etc. to keep it
interesting. While it might be more wild and exciting in the winter, I would
still highly recommend the late summer ascent. The