July 13, 2002

My friend Scotty and I summited Mt. Morrison as a consolation prize after we were stormed off of Mt. Williamson. The T-storms started very early, and we thought they might continue, so we bailed off Williamson, and headed north toward home. The weather started to look better to the north, and as we neared Mammoth, it didn't look too bad. To avoid a peakless day, we decided to head up Morrison, a good looking peak (at least from 395). This was my 3rd attempt at Morrison, and my 2nd successful ascent. We headed out from the boat ramp at Convict Lake to the south end of the lake and proceeded to start a nasty bushwhack to the east. On our descent we found a brushless approach to the west slope. We cruised up to the hanging valley, past the base of the buttresses, and to the confluence of the hanging valley and the east slope. While in the valley, the T-storms caught up to us with big fat rain drops and marble sized hail, but we trudged on, hoping for a break in the weather.We turned right, climbed the east slope, and got the break we were looking for. During a short window of blue sky, we pulled up to the summit, signed in, took some photos, and headed for the car. We arrived back with an elapsed time of 5:35 roundtrip. The mileage was maybe 5 miles each way, or a little less, and the elevation gain from the lake was about 4,800'. For Scotty's take on this peak, click here.