Mount Sill Via North Couloir | Sierra Nevada Mountains

Mount Sill via North Couloir, North Fork Big Pine Lakes , 05-30-23

I was the only person in the entire basin after the end of the holiday weekend, which is insane for Big Pine Lakes. I camped at Second Lake after being forced to drink my summit beer because it exploded due to the elevation (honestly, I wouldn't have had a summit beer in these conditions anyway). The plan was to camp at Third Lake, but a couple of backpackers in the parking area noted there weren't any dry spots there yet.
Started for the peak at 6:10 am. I went in the direction of Sam Mack Meadow but started to ascend toward the Palisade Glacier (as the crow flies) at the first snow bridge near the inlet of Third Lake. Continued traversing the cirque until reaching the chute toward Glacier Notch. I thought I might quit here due to poor conditions, but it went.
I reached Glacier Notch and told myself that if the snow was getting too slushy, I'd turn around. I could tell there was some warming, but I reached Apex Notch with no real issue.
I had written into my itinerary that I'd turn around at this notch due to the amount of snow still lingering on this arguable class 4 portion of the route. When I arrived, it looked sketchy, and I was actually hoping to have a reason to turn around, but after stepping foot on the route, the snow was holding. GREAT (Sarcasm)!
The remaining class 3 scramble to the peak was relatively painless, and I reached the summit at 11:46AM. The peak is as beautiful as the book says. There is more to look at on the Summit of Mount Sill than any other peak I had ever been on and with the amount of snow remaining in the Sierra, it really felt like the Range of Light.
However, I didn't get that feeling of elation I normally get at a summit. The snow was still warming, and I had to descend some steep terrain.

Trip Report (Same mountain, separate outing from 2017): https://www.trvrsoutdoors.com/blogs/s...

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