Follow the
Kilpacker Approach to the turn-off
for this route at 12,600' -
1. The turn may be marked with cairns, but it's not always easy to spot, as trail crews don't maintain this section. Photo
2 provides an overview of the route up the south slopes, as seen from just below the El Diente turn-off. Locate the turn and follow segments of loose trail between rock outcroppings (
3), then veer to the right to reach a large rock on your right -
4. Pass along the left side of the rock and angle slightly right toward a gray talus field near 13,200' -
5. Upon reaching the talus, ascend toward the cliffs ahead -
6. Before you get to the cliffs, turn left and continue west on the talus -
7. Traverse beneath the cliffs and climb to the base of a rib of red rock -
8.
Around 13,500', at the base of the rib
, the view broadens -
9. Take a moment here to identify the "Organ Pipes," a wide rock feature on the ridge above, as the route ascends to the base of the pipes -
10. Climb through gray talus and traverse left under some rock outcroppings, heading for a gully made of gray rock. Identifying this gray gully is important, as it leads directly to the base of the Organ Pipes. Reach the gully around 13,600' and climb it -
11 and
12. Once at the top, carefully navigate over larger rocks to reach easier terrain just below the Organ Pipes -
13. Turn left and scramble toward a rock passage resembling a chimney -
14 and
15. Climb through and continue to a section where you'll work around jumbled, stacked rocks -
16. After a short drop and re-ascent, follow a ledge and cross over an angled rock -
17. Then climb a short, loose gully that brings you to a notch in the ridge crest -
18 and
19.
At the 13,950-foot notch
, turn left to view the next segment of the route on the north side of the peak -
20. Follow a cairned route that leads to another notch on the north side of the summit area -
21. Scramble up to this notch -
22. With the summit now visible, climb the final pitch by passing through the notch and following angled rock on the left side of the dirt gully -
23. Near the top of the dirt, turn right and traverse a short distance before climbing left to the summit -
24,
25, and
26.