Mt Stanford
Notes by piero scaruffi | Travel resources | Other California destinations | Other California trailsPictures of the hikes
Mt Stanford (4259m) can be reached from either Onion Valley (2800m), near
Bishop, or Roads End (1534m), near Fresno.
Eastern Route (via University Pass)From Onion Valley take the trail that goes to Robinson Lake. This trailhead is hidden inside the campground (in 2010 it was between campsite #7 and #8). From Robinson Lake follow the drainage southwest to the end. After scrambling over a couple of moraines, you will reach the point where the two University passes are (people call them different names). The left one is extremely steep and full of skree. Usually it has no snow in the summer. The right one is a bit less steep but still very steep and it usually has snow year-round. The right one is probably the fastest one. To avoid the snow, you can also just climb the rocky ridge to the left of the snow (class 3).  Be aware that the name "pass" is misleading. On the other side there are many steep chutes full of skree and loose rocks that take you down to a little lake. The descent can be longer and more dangerous than the ascent. Once at the lake head straight east to the right of Center Peak (the huge mountain right in front of the passes). To the left of Center Peak is the Center Basin with more lakes and a great view of Mt Keith.  Keep to the right of Center Peak and try to lose as little elevation as you can while you circle it, but probably the best way is to walk along the tree line. Eventually you'll see the John Muir trail below you. Mt Stanford is very visible on the other side of the valley. Walk south on the trail till the trail makes a sharp left (eastward) turn. In front of you is a fist-like peak and to its right is a massive wall.  Leave the trail here and climb towards the fist-like peak, but turn right over the massive wall as soon as you can. You are coasting a lake at 3560 meters of elevation. Coast the lake to the north and try to stay close to the edge of the massive wall in order to avoid the moraine. Contour the moraine to the north and then head southwest towards Mt Stanford. The southeast face is a class 2-3 scramble.  When you reach the top of the east face, most likely you will hit the ridge between Gregory's Monument and Mt Stanford. You still have to climb to your right (class 3) to the summit. If on the way back you are too tired to do the very steep University Pass, you can follow the JMT to Vidette Meadow and then up to the Kearsarge Lakes and on to Kearsarge Pass. This is all on well-maintained trail. The trail ends at Onion Valley again.
Western Route (via Harrison Pass)See this page for the trail from Roads End to East Lake. The trail is well-maintained to East Lake and marked with cairns beyond that. The old trail to Harrison Pass has all but disappeared. In fact, there is no sign marking the left turn for it (and in 2009 there were no cairns either). Basically, continue south from East Lake towards Lake Reflection and leave the trail before the tributary that comes down from the eastern peaks. This tributary causes a number of small crossings on the trail between East Lake and Reflection Lake. Shortly before this watery part, the trail requires 50 meters of bouldering. You are best off leaving the trail exactly before the bouldering part. Leaving the trail just before this bouldering/watery part (about 2 kms before Reflection Lake), one climbs up a steep slope to the left. If you are lucky, you will hit a use trail (presumably the old trail) that makes your life easier. If not, just coast the creek to the north and you'll get to the oblong lake from which it flows, Lake Jimi Hendrix. Coast Lake Jimi Hendrix to the left/north (you may find a sort of natural "road", a wide flat path) heading southeast. There is a tiny lake above to the left. Ideally you want to head for the land between the two lakes. Head east and you'll be facing the massive western face of Mt Deerhorn. After passing between two large lakes, Deerhorn 1 and Deerhorn 2, the route turns south towards Harrison Pass. You still don't see the pass because there is a colossal wall in front of you with a waterfall in the middle. Once you reach the top of this wall, you are at the twin lakes, the glacier of Mt Stanford. As you look south Stanford is the mountain to your left, Ericsson to your right. Harrison Pass is the 800-meter barrier that separates the two. That's a steep climb, and often involves going around snow/ice even in summertime because it faces north. This might be the most difficult part of the hike. If it looks passable, climb and then turn left on the ramp to Gregory's Monument from which you can reach the summit of Mt Stanford.Harrison's Pass from the south:
Once on Harrison Pass, ascend the slope to the left until you reach Gregory Monument. The traverse from Gregory Monument to Mt Stanford is obvious but not easy. First you have to lose elevation on the north side of Gregory Monument whichever way you can to reach the point where the two ridges join. This involves dropping to the east to avoid some major cliffs, and you may have to deal with soft snow patches. To regain the ridge, you need to climb a class-3 chute. Once you have bypassed this obstacle, the climb continues slightly to the east of the south-to-north ridge with some exposure but not major difficulty.
If Harrison Pass looks impassable, consider the north ridge.
From the second of the twin lakes, look northeast, behind the back of Mt Deerhorn. You will notice the
gentle slope of Stanford's north ridge. That's easy to ascent. Alas, you reach
the north summit, not the real summit. Just below the north summit there is a
way to descent to a saddle and climb the real summit. This is the only difficult part: it is to traverse towards the real summit but difficult to climb its (vertical) western side, so you have to work around to the east side.
There are also several chutes that rise from the twin-lake glacier.
However it's hard to tell is there is any snow/ice into them just from looking
up from the glacier. This is the recommended one:
Mt Ericsson and Harrison Pass from Caltech Peak:
Mt Stanford from Caltech Peak:
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Topomap of Harrison Pass:
Camping at Onion Valley is difficult. The caretaker of the local concentration camp (in 2010) does not let people camp in the parking lot (the environmentally friendliest way of camping). Unlawfully, you can head for campsites 7-8. Look for the sign "trailhead". Hike 50 meters and you should find flat spots to camp. The unfriendly caretaker is not paid to patrol the trail so he won't bother you. If you want to be 100% legal, get a (free) permit for overnight camping on the Robinson Lake trail and you can camp anywhere along that trail (e.g., 50 meters from the campground). |
