The Sisters Elephants Back (is) Round (on) Top - Snowshoe Hike in the Mokelumne Wilderness

The Sierra Nevada hasn't gotten much snow so far this season. In fact it looks like this will be the driest year on record (all over California). Therefore the amount of snow in the Sierra is rather meager and after my last weeks test of the snow up there, I decided to not scratch my skis any further until some serious snowfall hits the area around Lake Tahoe. Therefore I packed my snowshoes instead of my skis and drove up to Carson Pass where I wanted to explore the Mokelumne Wilderness a little bit. My goal for the day was primarily the Round Top summit, but since Elephants Back and the two Sisters are right around the corner, I added them to my agenda too, the first one as an "appetizer" and the sisters as my "dessert".

At Carson Pass I start walking along the trail towards Winnemucca Lake. At this point I don't need my snowshoes yet since the trail has been used by skiers and other snowshoers and it is rather hard. Shortly after Frog Lake, I have to put on my snowshoes, because I leave the trail and head directly to the N-ridge of Elephants Back. The direct ascent along "the elephants trunk" is rather steep (probably around 35 degrees or even a little more) and requires save avalanche conditions. A little more than half way up I have to take my snowshoes off again, simply because there is no snow any more and I reach the top of Elephants Back by foot.

It's quite windy and I'm eager to get to my main goal and therefore I don't loose much time here. So I walk down the elephants back towards Winnemucca Lake where I have to put on my snowshoes on again, because there actually is quite some snow in this area. From here I start my ascent to the West ridge of Round Top taking a rather direct and steep route instead of going west towards the lowest point between Round Top and The Eastern Sister. Shortly before reaching the W-ridge at around 10150 feet, I need to take off my snowshoes again due to the lack of snow.

I follow more or less the West ridge all the way to the top of the West summit which is pretty straight forward and doesn't pose any technical difficulties (T3). The crux of the route is to get from the West to the slightly higher East summit. However, I find it not quite as difficult as one of the users at summitpost describes it. Even though I haven't really mastered the class 1/2/3/4 scramble scale yet, it definitely doesn't feel like a class 3/4 scramble to me. I find my way on the southern side of the ridge and climb the final part to the highest point directly from South veering slightly left. The rock there is pretty solid and the climbing difficulty is not more than a one. Also, it is way less exposed than I expected it to be. I would rate this as T4+/I max. However, with snow and ice present crampons and an ice ax might not be a bad idea.

The view from up here is marvelous. Unfortunately it is quite windy here too. The summit register was last singed about a month ago. After taking some pictures and enjoying the view, I scramble my way back to the West summit (this time a little directer route more or less along the ridge) and from there down to the saddle between the Eastern Sister and Round Top. From here I follow the ridge all the way to the east and later west peak of the two Sisters, which is not very difficult (T3) and mostly snow free. For my way back to Carson Pass, I then go back to the saddle between the two Sisters where I put my snowshoes on again and walk down to the Winnemucca Lake (the first few meters are rather steep, but the rest is less than 30 degrees) and then follow the trail back to the parking lot.