Jakes Peak? Jakes Peak! Well still not quite on the very top...

Since I missed the true summit of Jakes Peak here, I wanted to go back and give it another try. This time I was aware and conscious of where to "find" the true summit. However, the very top of Jakes Peak remains unvisited by 360, this time I didn't quite succeed, because the technical difficulties for the last few meters to the highpoint were a tad too difficult for me to climb in my ski boots.

The general circumstances on this tour are pretty much the same as during my last Jakes Peak visit/trial. Today the temperature is much warmer though and the well packed snow has already undergone a view melt-freeze cycles. At my arrival time around 8:30 AM (position of the sun 7:30 AM), the steep east facing slopes on Jakes Peak are already quite soft and for skiing down it was nothing to write home about. I guess I underestimated the power of the Californian sun in Mid March...

The first half of the ascent is more or less the same as the last time. At the plateau at an altitude of around 7800 ft I take a short break and then continue west to the base of the bowl which comes down between Jakes Peak and its southeast summit. In order to avoid some very steep sections I take a little detour north and then turn left up the hill. One short section at around 8600 ft is quite steep (35°-40° for about 200 ft) but the rest is mostly below or around 30°.

I take my skis off about 100 yards before the actual summit and continue by foot to the distinct summit rocks. The highpoint is the annotated rock in this picture. Getting to the base of it is relatively straight forward and not too steep, but climbing the very last 3-4 meters are quite tricky. I'd say it's definitely a II+, maybe even a III; too hard for me to climb with ski boots on my feet. I guess I have to come back in the summer again and give it yet another try with the proper footwear...

After a relatively short break (it is very warm already and the snow isn't getting any better) I ski down more or less along the route I came up and as I said already, the snow is too wet and soft so that skiing back to the car is more of a torture than pleasure.