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Starting from Rowel Meadow trailhead, we took 2 1/2 days of backpacking to get to the top of Silliman Pass. One could get here from Lodgepole in less then a day (9 mile, 4000 ft climb). But we took our time enjoying the Sierra.
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From Silliman Pass we followed the ridge towards the summit of Mount Silliman. About a mile later Silliman lakes came into view. We dropped from the ridge, hiked by the lakes and up through the drainage to the saddle between Mount Silliman and the picklet to it's west. Mount Silliman is protected by a formidable cliff on its north and east sides. There is only one way to get to the top. It is a narrow couloir cutting through the cliff. The couloir is visible only once you have reached top of the saddle.
In spite of the hot sun, there was lots of snow in the area, ruminant of last winter's Al Nino. The slope of the couloir was about 30 degree, and the snow was hard, but it didn't look too difficult. Still we didn't have ice axes or crampons, and we were not about to use them anyway. Without the ice gear there was no way to continue.
It is worth noting that the west side of the ridge looks doable. We didn't have enough time to try it though.
Once back at Silliman Pass, we set our eyes on Twins Peak. Just 1/4 of a mile from the pass, and it looked like a reasonable class 2. We though it would be an easy consolation prize. But a closer look revealed no easy way up. We finally were able to follow the ridge line to the top. It was a reasonable but airy class-3 friction climb.
Participants: Ahmad & Nolan Zandi, Dennis & Matt Rosman, Ron & Ethan Karpel.
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