16 Feb Black Mountain, January 2011
On January 25 and 26 Neal W. came out from Chicago with a flexible and motivated attitude! Looking for an enjoyable two day snow-and-scramble adventure, he and I got set up to climb something near Convict Lake. We had fast and firm snow conditions for the approach, and set up camp in the drainage between Morrison and Mount Aggie. We woke in the daylight, and started snow-shoe free climbing almost immediately adjacent to camp. Along the climb to the Morrison Saddle we discussed options and scoped the surrounding peaks. Black Mountain, opposite the imposing North Face of Morrison, seemed like the best option, so we went for it. A few pitches of shale scrambling brought us to the summit. From there we could descend entirely on snow to camp. We packed up camp and hiked out with daylight to spare! Perfect comfortable pacing and conditions, along with flexible objectives, sent Neal home satisfied and psyched!