Quick Stats: 10.6 Miles & 4,244′ gain via the NW Slope from the Ice House Canyon Trail.
Last year during December I didn’t do a whole lot of trips out because I didn’t feel like I had the skills necessary to tackle the start of the Winter Climbing Season. This year is shaping up in a similar fashion. This is my only adventure out so far, and it’s based on a number of reasons: Scheduling, a surgery on December 21st, and the gnarly conditions out in the High Sierra. I wanted to spend all day out in the mountains since my time out there is so limited right now, but the conditions aren’t the best for a full day of peakbagging. . .
So I opted to do something local: Cucamonga Peak. I’ve been there before, but I didn’t take a summit photo when I did because I did it solo; at the time I wasn’t doing any new summits that Sarah might want to do with me, so I tagged the summit and continued onward to Etiwanda Peak that day.
Now it was time to return for a winter mountaineering ascent. I set out from Ice House Canyon Trailhead sometime around 3:30 AM in the morning– I love alpine starts anyway, and in the winter they’re a necessity. In the dead of night (or morning depending on how you look at it) I made my way out. The ground was frozen over with ice, which made walking a bit precarious in spots. I could stick to the rocks and snow on the edge of the trail, and did just that until I got just inside the wilderness boundary. Now there was a consistent snowpack on the trail; however the bootpack was stamped hard enough that it might as well have been ice. I stopped to replace the battery in my headlamp and put on my crampons; then I was off toward Ice House Saddle!
Continuing up the trail I encountered two interesting sections: One was an obvious avalanche runout that had obviously released recently; the second was a spot where chunks of ice were collecting from up slope. It reminded me of belaying while ice climbing.
When I got to about 0.6 miles from the saddle at the junction with the Chapman Trail I realized where those chunks of ice were coming from: Frozen ice blocks on trees were being knocked loose in the wind and falling. I noticed because one smacked my hand and hurt pretty bad. I backed up a bit, put on my helmet, and was now ready to continue. Good thing I put my helmet on; I got a few loud dings on my helmet from falling ice.
It was still pitch black when I got to the saddle. I took a minute for a quick breather and then started off toward Cucamonga Peak. The first section of the trail had some foot steps for me to follow, and I trusted my poles for this section. Then I got further than others before me had– it was up to me to break trail from here to the summit. I stowed my poles and grabbed my trusty ice axe and continued onward.
It was impossible to know for certain if I was following the trail, but there are some clues that can help guide you. Not that you have to follow the trail in winter, but this is usually going to be the better line to take if you can follow it. (Looking at the GPX after the fact I followed the trail pretty closely for most of this part of the adventure.)
The snow quality along this section was pretty fantastic! I was getting great purchase from my crampons, and it was a good way to practice my technique since the slope was pretty steep even when I was just traversing across. The only rub with this was that my ankles aren’t used to cramponing, so I had to take a break or two to let them relax since I was standing on them so often.
When I got to the base of the final snow climb to the summit I decided to make my own line. I couldn’t see where the trail went, and I also a lower angle slope with less trees dropping bombs above me. I angled out a bit to climber’s left of the trail and went up a baby gulley. Here is where the snow quality got very variable: Sometimes it was solid quality snow; sometimes it was pure ice; and sometimes it was a combination of ice or quality snow with a layer of powder on top. It really forced me to make sure I was using good technique, which made it a fantastic adventure for the start of the winter climbing season. I kept going up, trying to stay on the lowest angle line possible. . .
. . . and then I was on the summit. I was thirsty and hungry, so I found a rock to sit on to enjoy a meal. I learned in that moment that a small piece of sleeping pad is going to be a part of my winter kit on day trips so I can sit down without freezing.
I ended up spending almost 30 minutes at the summit taking it all in before I started down. The sun was out, but I wasn’t getting any solar input yet since it was overcast. It was only a matter of time before it cleared up according to the forecast, and I wanted to be out of the risky zones before the sun came out to play.
I descended the aspect of the slope where the trail would be, at times sticking to what actually was the trail. It was along here that I found a couple slabs while plunge stepping, which made me a little concerned. I didn’t have a Cal Topo Map with the slope angle shading, so I wasn’t entirely sure how much risk was involved here. . . but I shouted out asking if there was anyone below me.
No response. I then tried stomping on the slab to see if it would release and it wouldn’t. When I encountered another, much deeper slab I did the same thing. Still not releasing. I now felt more confident about this descent route and made short work of it. At the base of the slope I caught up with the Cucamonga Peak Trail and was back to the saddle in no time at all.
After a little rest I made my way down the trail. It was pretty well trafficked at this point with people heading up though I only encountered one other person that really looked prepared for a major winter objective; the rest had microspikes on questionable footwear with poles and no axe.
Just past the wilderness boundary I ditched my crampons, and then I was back to the car after a very nice adventure.
I made a Reel on Instagram about this, but I wanted to also share it here too: I got spoiled over the summer. I spent so much time in the High Sierra over the summer that now local adventures just don’t excite me as much. Last weekend, and this weekend, I was obsessed with the idea of sneaking off to the Sierra to do something crazy, but it wouldn’t have worked with my schedule. Being out there for Cucamonga Peak was a blast, and it was a reminder that I can have a lot of fun in the local mountain ranges as well. I may not have as much gratitude in the summer when they’re just hikes, but right now there are plenty of winter mountaineering adventures available locally, and I’m grateful that they can be a part of my life.
