Mt. Wilson

I highly recommend Joanne Urioste's new book, Red Rock Canyon the Red Book Supplement. Beautiful pictures and descriptions of twenty six classic trad routes. It just came out last year and isn't easy to find. So ask your local shops to order it in and consider yourself lucky if you get a hold of one. These will probably end up being coveted like the original "Red Cover" Red Books are. Really nice work Joanne!

Ditto about Joanne's supplement to the red book: extremely well made, and a great selection of otherwise undocumented routes, mostly long ones. Very good and useful photographs as well.

I loved this book, kudos Joanne! I climbed most of the routes that you outlined and completely agree and appreciate your summary! Keep up the awesome work!

Went up to Willy's Couloir on Monday. The step across at the bottom of white rot gully looks really sketchy. However going up WRG 300 feet or so to where it opens up on the left and then going back down about half that got us back on track in 20-30 minutes or so. Definitely a bit faster on the way out as we had it wired.

Dose anybody know the descent information off Mount Wilson? I plan to climb the Woman of Mountain Dreams route in a month. I’m a little confused on the approach but I cant find any info on the descent.

My partner Andy and I climbed Resolution Arete a day or two ago. All we knew about the descent was hike towards the back of oak creek canyon and go down the third gully. We went down what we thuoght was the third gully, but in hindsight i think it was probably the second. It was the big gully that cuts accros the side of the mountain. Anyways... After our fate was sealed by a couple raps off slung chockstones, we found our selves in a narrow-cliffed out gully/corridor. As the light was fading, and the canyon floor was still quite far below us, we continued rapping, and fixed shit kept appearing. After seven or eight hair-raising rappels, a stuck rope and a wade through 20' of knee-deep water, we found our selves in fourth-class terrain. I would definitely avoid this descent option, as it has the potential for being a major epic. 16hrs car to car-five or six hours on the descent. Anyone know where we went wrong?

M-earle You were indeed in the desperate and often mistakenly taken 2nd gully. It really does look inviting doesn't it.
Newberry almost died descending the 2nd gully in a freezing storm. He rapped into a frozen pond only to have the ice break. The weight of his over stuffed haul bag took him underwater and held him there. He thrashed desperately till Madman could rap to him and haul him drenched and sputtering back to life. You don't want to get caught in those gullies in a storm.
You need to keep heading up stream all the way till you are in the limestone then look for the descent gully. It is a long descent but find the right way and it should be rap free.

Thanks Phil, thats good to know. We got pretty drenched, but lucky for us, there wasn't too much ice or snow. I believe we had to walk through that same pond you speak of.

By far the easiest descetn from Mt Wilson is down first creek canyon.
From the summit, head back toward the limestaone to a saddle in red sand. From here, follow gentle slopes and slabs (trail and cairns), into the top of First Creek canyon. Water can usually be found here into May. Scramble down the drainage to the first creek trailhead on the main road (easy, but long and with endless scrambling around boulders). Walk 0.5 mile up the road back to the pullout at the old Oak Creek Campground, and your car. Takes 3+hrs. Straightforward and absolutely non-technical. Can be done in the dark if need be, but it's best to plan to be in the drainage before dark.

I'm giving my vote for the Oak Creek Canyon descent. It's really quick and easy - only one rap is needed and it's a fixed line already set-up, it's really pretty and FUN (yes it's fun). We did it in 2.5 hours back to the car from the summit. Also, the walk to the car at the oak creek pull-out off the main highway is way shorter than the 1st creek slog. I've done it twice now.

Simple simple beta:
1.From the top, head down the gentle ridge until you are funneled into a gorgeous grove of ancient pine trees nestled in a medium sized ravine boarded by short cliffs on both sides.

2.Walk quite a ways staying near the edge of the cliff above oak creek (but never go down any gullies or anything remotely steep) until the sandstone abruptly turns to limestone. There will be a gully, possibly wet, with a white chossy limestone tower on the left and a gigantic boulder atop a small tower on the right. The boulder resembles a VW van and is almost as big. Go right around this tower and scamper down waterstreaks and slabs, doing one ez rap.

3. when you are almost out of the canyon, take a path right and trace below wilson and behind wilson's pimple, then back to the car.

We climbed Lady Wilson's Cleavage yesterday - I'm sorry that we didn't check here first to see the descent discussion. Amazingly, the day before we ran into the Urioste's at the First Creek pullout and got some descent beta from them. They recommended the Oak Creek Canyon descent and said it was faster but harder to find than the First Creek Canyon descent. They said to go back almost to the limestone to a gully marked with a stand of large ponderosa pines, passing by earlier tempting gullies. We tried to follow their beta, but I think we failed to find the correct gully because the one we choose cliffed-out. We ended up doing a single double-rope rappel - found a slung tree and left another sling & biner. Our descent took about four hours.