June Lakes to Banner Peak, Part 4

Ritter-Banner Glacier & Banner Peak, August 14, 2005

[Part 3]		[Part 5]
The upper part of Banner Peak's West Glacier from the pass. Norman Clyde found the Rettenbachers' bodies on this glacier, after a long search.
Brief rest at the pass.
The ridge that we have to cross on our way to the main glacier looks much steeper when you get close to it. A wrong step, and you could end up in a freezing lake.
Finally on the main Ritter-Banner glacier. Lake Catherine is still partially covered by ice. The glacier is more than 0.5 miles long. It connects the lake (11034 ft) and Banner-Ritter col (12028 ft).
The higher you get, the better view opens to the west. The closest peak on the right, in the sun, is a high point above the Mt. Davis plateau, just south of the summit of Mt. Davis. In the background are peaks on the Yosemite boarder: Electra Peak, Mt. Florence, and Rodgers Peak (left to right).
This is what brings fear in any mountaineer's heart: A storm cloud rising above the Ritter-Banner col, and we cannot tell what else is behind. Shall we continue or abort the trip?
We passed the Ritter-Banner col, and quickly continued up towards the Banner Peak summit. This is a view from the slope, back at the col and Mount Ritter. The apex of the snow field is the starting point of the 'classic chute' to Mount Ritter.
From near the top of Banner Peak: Garnet Lake to the east, San Joaquin Mountain in the background.
View west: Lake Catherine, and mountains on the Yosemite boarder. The rain is just about to hit them.
Clyde and Michael Minarets over a crag near the top of Banner Peak.
Reaching the top. It took us more than four hours to get here from our campsite.
Thunder could be heard from southwest. There is time for only a brief rest.
Mount Ritter (13157 ft) from Banner Peak (12945 ft).
From left to right: Nydiver Lakes, Ediza Lake, Iceberg Lake (barely visible), and Cecile Lake. The black mass in the middle of the picture is the Volcanic Ridge. Mammoth Lakes and Crowley Lake are in a distance, the upper left corner of the picture.
Mission accomplished!
No time to read the peak register, the storm is much too close.
[Part 3]		[Part 5]