As the Clouds Roll In
Mount Silliman
May 1-2 1999
Ron Karpel
We were supposed to climb Mt. Shasta that weekend, but got
an unfavorable weather forecast, so we decided to climb Mt. Silliman
instead. We thought Shasta, Silliman, what's the difference?
Reading
through the many trip reports for Silliman and talking to people
about it, it becomes clear that Silliman is not as easy as one
would expect. Although, the statistics of 4,500 ft. and 10 mile
round trip imply a relatively easy mountain that could be climbed
as a day hike, in winter or early spring things can be quit different.
The rout is covered with snow that makes progress difficult. Worst,
the weather pattern seem to be clear in the morning, but getting
cloudy and stormy in the afternoon. Many trips to Silliman end
with a statement such as: "We made it about 80% of the way
to the summit, but alas we did not beat the clouds closing in
on an otherwise perfect-weather morning." (Rich Calliger)
Our
plan was to make this into a 2-day trip, and attempt the summit
early on Sunday before the clouds have a chance to play their
dirty trick. We started Saturday morning under bright blue sky
on the Twins Lake trail. The trail was free of snow until it bends
north at the end of the long assent. From there it was mostly
firm snow 2-4 feet deep. The trail was marked by an indentation
in the snow, but we managed to loose it at one of the creek crossing.
We left the main trail at Silliman Creek and followed the drainage
high on the right bank. The use trail was not visible as was the
main trail to Twin Lakes, and snowshoes were needed to avoid post
holing. We setup camp in a nice flat area on the north side of
the creek just after it makes the sharp bend to the east.
The
bright blue sky that greeted us when we started the hike quickly
turned into a complete overcast. By 10 AM the clouds hovered at
around 8,500 ft and would have made summiting impossible. This
served as a warning for the following day, the summit day.
We
finally got rolling at 6:30 on Sunday. The clouds were already
forming on the west. We started climbing the steep slopes of the
canyon heading to Silliman Lake, and so were the clouds. It was
a race against the clouds, so we allow ourselves only short breaks
as we were climbing. After staying on the right, we crossed the
creek on broad snow bridges well below the lake and continued
on the left were there was an open couloir about 25% which made
the climbing reasonable. Once we reached the top of the couloir
we could see the summit and continued on the left side of the
bowl towards the tree area, which covers the southwest slopes
of Silliman. We reached the summit a little after 9:00. The clouds,
having lost the race, were getting closer by the minutes. We can
see them as a wall rolling towards us. There was not much time
for celebration. We took a few photos, signed the register, and
headed down. By 9:45 the clouds reached the summit, and a few
minutes later the summit was out of view.
A
series of long glissades got us back to camp in about an hour,
and we took our time heading out. I got back home by 9:00 PM,
not a common thing on PCS trips.
Participants: Ahmad Zandi, Nancy Fitszimmons, Scott Kreider,
Stephan Meier, Stephane and Kirsten Mouradian, Ted Raczek, and
scribe Ron Karpel.
Back to Ron Karpel's Page
Reading
through the many trip reports for Silliman and talking to people
about it, it becomes clear that Silliman is not as easy as one
would expect. Although, the statistics of 4,500 ft. and 10 mile
round trip imply a relatively easy mountain that could be climbed
as a day hike, in winter or early spring things can be quit different.
The rout is covered with snow that makes progress difficult. Worst,
the weather pattern seem to be clear in the morning, but getting
cloudy and stormy in the afternoon. Many trips to Silliman end
with a statement such as: "We made it about 80% of the way
to the summit, but alas we did not beat the clouds closing in
on an otherwise perfect-weather morning." (Rich Calliger)
