Mount Sherman

July 9, 1999 - via Leavick

(photos from June 2009)

I camped at the last legitimate USFS campground below the Leavick town site (perhaps 4 or 5 miles before Leavick) and got up early the next morning for an appropriate alpine start.  I parked at Leavick and was second on the trail that winds up the road to a set of mine ruins, before climbing up through the tundra and past a small lake.  It had been a good snow year and the lake was still surrounded by a large drift that I walked up and over before finding some more dry road all the way to the Hilltop mine, the ruins perched just below the Sherman/Sheridan saddle.  The slope up to the saddle was another large snowfield and I was unsure of the safest way to surmount that obstacle.  Rather than climbing the snow sans ice axe and know how, I took the scree scar that leads down from much higher on Sherman’s slope to the road/trail just before the Hilltop’s ruins. 

As I write this narrative years later, my route selection was neither the easiest nor the environmentally prudent option.  It proved to be a thigh burning slog and in some places, I found myself doing the rock grab and pull to facilitate the ascent.  I thought about cutting out and away from the dirt trough but the surrounding talus was “virgin” and not only did I not want to contribute to a new scar but it was really loose.  After an eternity of crawl climbing, I made the Sherman ridgeline and intersected the tourist trail that weaves its way up the shoulder of the peak to the summit.  I soon sat on top and snacked with the pair of climbers who had started just a bit earlier in the morning.  They were also axeless but noted that the snowfield was not icy but had a well tracked path switch backing once to drop to the bare slope just above the mine ruins.  I quickly settled on that option as my route of descent.

The trip off Sherman was fast and my descent was no exception.  Once I reached the Hilltop, the return was a just walk back to the car.  The lesson learned from this climb was that I had to learn about snow travel in order to take more exciting routes, more mountain friendly routes, and routes where the descent might best be accomplished on my butt.