Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: July 7, 2002
Hiked in from Devils Lake TH and camped a quarter mile above Morine Lake. Headed for the summit early the next morning. Summited before the snow got soft and the freeway opened. One large snow field below the Lewis Glacier other wise not bad. This climb is blase, having summited on the North and Middle Sister in August 2000.
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: February 97
Snowshoed up, carrying my alpine skis and boots. I was too dumb back then to have backcountry bindings and boots. Still, standing solo on top of S Sister in perfect weather is a gift. And the descent was magnificent.
Day hiked it from Devil's Lake TH. Perfect weather - good enough to sleep for an hour or so at the summit. With exception of crater and Lewis glacier, saw NO snow on the hike. Underneath that white blanket covering it most of the time, there's a big, red, fat beauty of a mountain there. Scree was bad for the mutt - sore paws.
Route Climbed: South Side via Lewis Glacier Date Climbed: June 2000
The traditional South Side route is well-known but my climbing partner Eric (Washington) wanted to tweak it a bit by hiking overland from the Park Meadow Trailhead and Three Creek Lake south of the town of Sisters. This approach from the north was longer but we had it to ourselves and really appreciated the solitude. We hiked along the north side of Broken Top and then camped in the saddle between South Sister and Broken Top. It is above Green Lakes basin to the north.
On the next morning we dropped down to Green Lakes and then climbed up and over the Lewis Glacier where we eventually met the normal S. Side route up near the final cinder/scree slope. Crossing the glacier and kicking steps all morning made the route, though easy, more special and I highly recommend it.
On the way back the glissading was amazing! It would have been a nice ski/snowboard descent.
Route Climbed: South Route-Climbers Trail #36 Date Climbed: August 25, 2000
The wilderness area set aside for the Three Sisters is very unique because of the large number of volcanoes in that area. The view from the summit is fantastic! The climb is non-technical and straightforward in the summer. On this date Oregon's highest lake in the crater had just started forming in the weeks prior. The summit is very accessible and allows for travel either across the crater or around the entire uppermost ridge of the mountain. I forsee another trip to this beautiful wilderness area in the future.
Route Climbed: South-Side Climber's Trail Date Climbed: 07-01-01
Started this trip from Devil's Lake. Did the whole trip as a day climb/hike. Car-to-car round-trip took about 8 hours. Some snow was still left on the mountain, which made for some nice, but short, glissades. Views from the top were probably some of the best I have had so far. Could see the other two sisters (Middle and North), Bachelor, Broken Top, Thielsen, Washinton, Jefferson, Hood and Adams! Have plans to go back and do the Middle Sister next summer, too.
Route Climbed: South Route Date Climbed: 6/18/2000
This was my first attempt at a mountain without an experienced person accompanying me. My friend and I had been discussing the possibility of doing this relatively non-technical route. We had just enjoyed a successful climb of Mt. Hood a couple of weeks prior and were confident in our success.
We began our ascent from the Devil's Lake trailhead and hiked into our campsite several hundred feet above Moraine Lake. We were able to find a couple of flat, bare ground sites to make our camp. This was my first trip that I had carried a full pack into a mountain and it kicked my ass.
After a dinner of shared Mt. House Spaghetti with Zancudo, I enjoyed a good nights rest in my tent. The next morning we arose slightly before daybreak and made our way up the mountain. We could tell that we were ahead of other groups due to the headlamps below. As we made our way up, we realized that there was a couple moving up the Lewis glacier that would probably beat us to the summit, however we encountered a steep section of scoured hard snow that required putting on our crampons. We did this early in the section which allowed us to pass the couple that had been in front of us. The lady sort of freaked herself out traversing to the safety of a rock outcropping where she could put her crampons on safely. I thought for sure she was going to slip and take a ride back down the slope.
Nonetheless, after passing the couple we made our way up to the false summit and across the Summit crater to the true summit. The wind was gusting pretty good so we hunkered down at the summit for only a few minutes before heading back down to our camp. We were able to enjoy the summit by ourselves and only started passing people on the way down.
We descended pretty quickly to our camp and took a short rest before breaking camp. On the hike out, I hyperextended my knee and I thought I was going to die. The pain was excruciating. I ended up hobbling all the way out using my trekking pole as a splint/cane taking many breaks on the way. Finally we reached the trailhead and celebrated our joint success.
Brian Jenkins - Aug 26, 2001 8:16 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2001
Route Climbed: Southern Route Date Climbed: 8/26/01
Started off about 7 am from Devil's Lake Trailhead. Summitted about 10:30 am. Loads of people along the way. Summit Crater is great and could see all the volcanoes north to Adams in Washington. Tried to find the climbers route on the north ridge to continue on and do Middle Sister but never found it. Another time....
9/17/11 Climbed with Flanders, hiked in the day before to Moraine Lake. Cold night. Lenticular formed before we started in the morning and never left. Windy and viewless. Our left sides got covered with rime ice on the walk over to the true summit. Last summit of our annual hike this year.
Route Climbed: Southeastern between the Lewis and Prouty Glaciers Date Climbed: Augst 1998
Made the summit on a beautiful day in mid August. By chance, or perhaps by not paying attention, we ascended from the southeastern side between the Lewis and Prouty Glaciers. A gorgeous route featuring snowfields, small waterfalls and some class 4 climbing, we managed to avoid the crowds and most all the skree by missing the more popular southern route - which is a dusty choker that we experienced on the way back to our car at Devils Lake Campground. The round trip took a good long day – around 15 hours including a long stop at Moraine Lake. However, it's not technical. If you're climbing in August, bring the Deet - the 'skeeters are vicious; I've seen nothing worse in all the states.
Dynamic Duo - Jul 8, 2002 9:12 pm
Route Climbed: South Ridge Date Climbed: July 7, 2002Hiked in from Devils Lake TH and camped a quarter mile above Morine Lake. Headed for the summit early the next morning. Summited before the snow got soft and the freeway opened. One large snow field below the Lewis Glacier other wise not bad. This climb is blase, having summited on the North and Middle Sister in August 2000.
darinchadwick - Mar 29, 2002 6:23 am
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: February 97Snowshoed up, carrying my alpine skis and boots. I was too dumb back then to have backcountry bindings and boots. Still, standing solo on top of S Sister in perfect weather is a gift. And the descent was magnificent.
rpc - Feb 12, 2002 3:50 pm
Route Climbed: South Side Date Climbed: 10/06/01Day hiked it from Devil's Lake TH. Perfect weather - good enough to sleep for an hour or so at the summit. With exception of crater and Lewis glacier, saw NO snow on the hike. Underneath that white blanket covering it most of the time, there's a big, red, fat beauty of a mountain there. Scree was bad for the mutt - sore paws.
Noah (Oregon) - Feb 10, 2002 9:47 am
Route Climbed: South Side via Lewis Glacier Date Climbed: June 2000The traditional South Side route is well-known but my climbing partner Eric (Washington) wanted to tweak it a bit by hiking overland from the Park Meadow Trailhead and Three Creek Lake south of the town of Sisters. This approach from the north was longer but we had it to ourselves and really appreciated the solitude. We hiked along the north side of Broken Top and then camped in the saddle between South Sister and Broken Top. It is above Green Lakes basin to the north.
On the next morning we dropped down to Green Lakes and then climbed up and over the Lewis Glacier where we eventually met the normal S. Side route up near the final cinder/scree slope. Crossing the glacier and kicking steps all morning made the route, though easy, more special and I highly recommend it.
On the way back the glissading was amazing! It would have been a nice ski/snowboard descent.
markman - Feb 1, 2002 6:04 pm
Route Climbed: south slog Date Climbed: summer 94Summited as a day hike from Devils lake. Plenty of snow still and so much wind we could hardly stand.What a great time.
RStokes - Dec 22, 2001 4:10 pm
Route Climbed: South Route-Climbers Trail #36 Date Climbed: August 25, 2000The wilderness area set aside for the Three Sisters is very unique because of the large number of volcanoes in that area. The view from the summit is fantastic! The climb is non-technical and straightforward in the summer. On this date Oregon's highest lake in the crater had just started forming in the weeks prior. The summit is very accessible and allows for travel either across the crater or around the entire uppermost ridge of the mountain. I forsee another trip to this beautiful wilderness area in the future.
dshoe - Dec 21, 2001 9:55 am
Route Climbed: South-Side Climber's Trail Date Climbed: 07-01-01Started this trip from Devil's Lake. Did the whole trip as a day climb/hike. Car-to-car round-trip took about 8 hours. Some snow was still left on the mountain, which made for some nice, but short, glissades. Views from the top were probably some of the best I have had so far. Could see the other two sisters (Middle and North), Bachelor, Broken Top, Thielsen, Washinton, Jefferson, Hood and Adams! Have plans to go back and do the Middle Sister next summer, too.
Hammer - Oct 9, 2001 4:29 am
Route Climbed: South Route Date Climbed: 6/18/2000This was my first attempt at a mountain without an experienced person accompanying me. My friend and I had been discussing the possibility of doing this relatively non-technical route. We had just enjoyed a successful climb of Mt. Hood a couple of weeks prior and were confident in our success.
We began our ascent from the Devil's Lake trailhead and hiked into our campsite several hundred feet above Moraine Lake. We were able to find a couple of flat, bare ground sites to make our camp. This was my first trip that I had carried a full pack into a mountain and it kicked my ass.
After a dinner of shared Mt. House Spaghetti with Zancudo, I enjoyed a good nights rest in my tent. The next morning we arose slightly before daybreak and made our way up the mountain. We could tell that we were ahead of other groups due to the headlamps below. As we made our way up, we realized that there was a couple moving up the Lewis glacier that would probably beat us to the summit, however we encountered a steep section of scoured hard snow that required putting on our crampons. We did this early in the section which allowed us to pass the couple that had been in front of us. The lady sort of freaked herself out traversing to the safety of a rock outcropping where she could put her crampons on safely. I thought for sure she was going to slip and take a ride back down the slope.
Nonetheless, after passing the couple we made our way up to the false summit and across the Summit crater to the true summit. The wind was gusting pretty good so we hunkered down at the summit for only a few minutes before heading back down to our camp. We were able to enjoy the summit by ourselves and only started passing people on the way down.
We descended pretty quickly to our camp and took a short rest before breaking camp. On the hike out, I hyperextended my knee and I thought I was going to die. The pain was excruciating. I ended up hobbling all the way out using my trekking pole as a splint/cane taking many breaks on the way. Finally we reached the trailhead and celebrated our joint success.
Brian Jenkins - Aug 26, 2001 8:16 pm Date Climbed: Aug 26, 2001
Route Climbed: Southern Route Date Climbed: 8/26/01Started off about 7 am from Devil's Lake Trailhead. Summitted about 10:30 am. Loads of people along the way. Summit Crater is great and could see all the volcanoes north to Adams in Washington. Tried to find the climbers route on the north ridge to continue on and do Middle Sister but never found it. Another time....
9/17/11 Climbed with Flanders, hiked in the day before to Moraine Lake. Cold night. Lenticular formed before we started in the morning and never left. Windy and viewless. Our left sides got covered with rime ice on the walk over to the true summit. Last summit of our annual hike this year.
rbb7y - Jul 28, 2001 3:29 pm
Route Climbed: Southeastern between the Lewis and Prouty Glaciers Date Climbed: Augst 1998Made the summit on a beautiful day in mid August. By chance, or perhaps by not paying attention, we ascended from the southeastern side between the Lewis and Prouty Glaciers. A gorgeous route featuring snowfields, small waterfalls and some class 4 climbing, we managed to avoid the crowds and most all the skree by missing the more popular southern route - which is a dusty choker that we experienced on the way back to our car at Devils Lake Campground. The round trip took a good long day – around 15 hours including a long stop at Moraine Lake. However, it's not technical. If you're climbing in August, bring the Deet - the 'skeeters are vicious; I've seen nothing worse in all the states.