Mount Lyell

Mount Lyell (13,114ft) – Highpoint of Yosemite National Park

Scrambling up below the Lyell Glacier

Eric Gilbertson – July 7, 2007

I was camping out in Tuolumne Meadows with Woody and a few other friends for a long July 4th weekend holiday. We’d driven up from JPL and done some cragging so far. Woody and the other guys wanted to go rock climbing but I was looking to do a long hike. Mount Lyell was the highest point in Yosemite and sounded like a fun objective. It was about a 30-mile round trip hike so would be a long day.

I left the campground at 5:30am and started hiking southbound on the Pacific Crest Trail. All the flowers were in full bloom and the snow had just melted from much of the trail. By late morning I reached a switchback just below Donohue Pass and left the trail hiking cross country. I scrambled over snow and talus until I reached the base of the Lyell Glacier. It wasn’t a big enough glacier to have crevasses, more of a permanent snowfield.

The snow had not yet softened up, so I scrambled up rocks below Mount Maclure to reache the Maclure-Lyell col. From there I scrambled up rocks to the summit.

After a short break I decided the snow had probably softened enough to glissade back down. I scrambled down a steep gully to the top of the Lyell Glacier then boot skied to the bottom. It was fun blasting through the sun cups, though a bit painful when they hit my shins.

I was soon back at the trail and had an easy hike back to camp, ready for some climbing the next day.