On Saturday, October 19, 2002, I finally stood on the summit of Mount Sill at an elevation of 14,153 feet; a moment I'd anticipated and strived for since October 1992, ten years of my life searching for fulfillment of a dream that most would consider pointless. But this mountain had become my Everest, a climbing challenge that had frustrated me since I first stood beneath the peak's vertical East Face at an elevation of 12,500 feet, wondering how I could ever expect to climb this mountain alone.

The guide book for the Palisade range indicates that the only "easy" route on the mountain leads up the southwestern slope; problem is, getting to that side of the range. It's a long, difficult cross-country hike and logistically demanding because of the number of days involved. Alternatively, it's possible to more quickly cross the range by accessing a few high elevation "climbing" Passes, which somewhat defeats the object of reducing the level of risk. I know, because I've tried a variety of tactics to get close to the mountain without killing myself, or my wife Lucy, who was with me in September of 1998 when we reached within 400 feet of the summit using the North Couloir route - but that was a dangerous day!

Having exhausted all "reasonably safe" options over the ten years of trying, the success this year was the result of taking the long route across Bishop, Knapsack and Potluck Passes to access the southwestern slope - and in the company of an experienced companion, Jim Slade. Notwithstanding, the four day climb, in excellent weather was very demanding, placing all camps above 11,000 feet, including one at 12,400 feet. There are many places below the peak where we were threading our way through a three dimensional labyrinth of car sized boulders; each move potentially hazardous to ones health - a good reason for not being in these remote areas alone.

The last section of the climb; the 400 feet to the summit, was a delight, despite a few route finding errors and the subsequent desperate (Jim's fine term for scary) moves required, particularly going back down. The guide book says that the summit of Sill provides the best view from any peak in the Sierras and we weren't disappointed - the outlook was spectacular in all directions.

Peter Tremayne, Vancouver WA, Nov. 6, 2002