It was July of 1995. We hiked in over Kearsarge Pass to Vidette Meadows. The mosquitos were far worse than anything I later experienced in the Alaskan interior during my honeymoon. It was a struggle to breathe! The next day we hiked to East Lake. The crossing of Bubbs Creek was quite dangerous--water to crotch level. I set out the following day by myself up the East Ridge. I took Secor's description a bit too literally and followed Ouzel Creek for way too long. The route I took was class three in many places, which was fine but it slowed me down. After the heavy winter, there was still too much snow to follow the correct route. I made it up to the last steep section before the summit ridge and had to turn around. If I hadn't turned around my partner would have started trying to find me in the dark. It was so frustrating! A bear tried to break into our tent at Kearsarge Lakes on the way out.
It was a very stressful trip which my partner didn't really want to be on.
Route Climbed: NW Slope (ascent) / East Ridge (descent) Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2004
North Guard/Brewer dayhike out of Cedar Grove. Spent thirty minutes perched amongst the boulders on the NW slopes while it thundered around me; with an apparent break in the weather, I headed up to the summit to then see lightning striking South Guard. Needless to say, I didn't stop to sign the register or take many photos, but instead scurried down the East Ridge to Ouzel Creek as fast as I could...
Route Climbed: South slope Date Climbed: July 2000
This was a fun one! I climbed the class 2 south slope from a small tarn at 12,000 ft. on day 3 of a six day Brewer area backpacking trip. Because of a route finding-screw-up (that’s another story), I spent my fourth night on the ridge above Ouzel Creek on the east side of the mountain. On the bright side, I awoke during the early dawn hours the next morning to a spectacular sunrise, the best I’ve ever seen! From my sleeping bag, I saw the very early morning orange light above the Sierra Crest stretching from Mt. Darwin south to the Whitney region.
Route Climbed: South Slope (ascent), Northwest Slopes (descent) Date Climbed: Aug 27, 1999
This was a long day climbing South Guard, Mt. Brewer, then North Guard, starting from Thunder Pass. By far, North Guard was the most fun, even though I was dead tired by then!
Romain - Jun 23, 2007 12:01 pm Date Climbed: Jun 21, 2007
East ridge (solo)Great route, enjoyable terrain, straightforward routefinding. 3.5 hours from East Lake. Trip report.
Kerstin - Sep 23, 2006 4:15 am
Failed attemptIt was July of 1995. We hiked in over Kearsarge Pass to Vidette Meadows. The mosquitos were far worse than anything I later experienced in the Alaskan interior during my honeymoon. It was a struggle to breathe! The next day we hiked to East Lake. The crossing of Bubbs Creek was quite dangerous--water to crotch level. I set out the following day by myself up the East Ridge. I took Secor's description a bit too literally and followed Ouzel Creek for way too long. The route I took was class three in many places, which was fine but it slowed me down. After the heavy winter, there was still too much snow to follow the correct route. I made it up to the last steep section before the summit ridge and had to turn around. If I hadn't turned around my partner would have started trying to find me in the dark. It was so frustrating! A bear tried to break into our tent at Kearsarge Lakes on the way out.
It was a very stressful trip which my partner didn't really want to be on.
I really want to go back to this area though!
Samantha - Sep 8, 2006 4:11 pm Date Climbed: Sep 1, 2006
NW slopesgreat view
lakenyon - May 14, 2006 10:42 pm Date Climbed: Sep 24, 2005
East RidgeFrom East Lake.
tdoughty - Oct 16, 2005 12:20 pm
Route Climbed: east ridge Date Climbed: july 2004one of the best views ever
lefty - Sep 26, 2005 12:24 am
Route Climbed: East Ridge Date Climbed: September 24, 2005tiogap - Sep 7, 2005 12:44 am
Route Climbed: south face Date Climbed: May 31, 1981SPS Emblem
murraymcleod - Jun 23, 2005 3:54 pm
Route Climbed: East Ridge from East Lake Date Climbed: July, 1983A long time ago...climbed with Mark Danner from East Lake. Must have been a great view (I just don't remember - I'll have to dust-off the slides....)
Matthew Holliman - Nov 17, 2004 11:28 pm
Route Climbed: NW Slope (ascent) / East Ridge (descent) Date Climbed: Aug 14, 2004North Guard/Brewer dayhike out of Cedar Grove. Spent thirty minutes perched amongst the boulders on the NW slopes while it thundered around me; with an apparent break in the weather, I headed up to the summit to then see lightning striking South Guard. Needless to say, I didn't stop to sign the register or take many photos, but instead scurried down the East Ridge to Ouzel Creek as fast as I could...
Dave K - Nov 6, 2002 12:09 pm
Route Climbed: South slope Date Climbed: July 2000This was a fun one! I climbed the class 2 south slope from a small tarn at 12,000 ft. on day 3 of a six day Brewer area backpacking trip. Because of a route finding-screw-up (that’s another story), I spent my fourth night on the ridge above Ouzel Creek on the east side of the mountain. On the bright side, I awoke during the early dawn hours the next morning to a spectacular sunrise, the best I’ve ever seen! From my sleeping bag, I saw the very early morning orange light above the Sierra Crest stretching from Mt. Darwin south to the Whitney region.
Bob Burd - Aug 22, 2001 9:25 pm
Route Climbed: South Slope (ascent), Northwest Slopes (descent) Date Climbed: Aug 27, 1999This was a long day climbing South Guard, Mt. Brewer, then North Guard, starting from Thunder Pass. By far, North Guard was the most fun, even though I was dead tired by then!
Trip Report