OPPOSITE PAGE Fear of Flying (5.10c) is a severely overhanging Yosemite-style flare first climbed by Dennis Phillips in 1980. The route opens with butt-scumming around oddly shaped 4” double-cracks. Beyond the twin fist cracks you’ll find tenacious stemming and creative gear placements followed by a forearm exploding finger crack layback and a physical mantle over the lip. Pictured here, Luke Mast grabs a difficult onsight ascent. THIS PAGE On the far right side of the Lion’s Den cliff is Whirly Bird (5.12b), a taller route that features an excellent sequence of powerful and balancy moves up a gently overhanging and colorful wall. Although a few of the holds are sometimes greased with bird pee, Whirly Bird is well-worth a quick scrub and session. Shawn Snyder works the sequential moves above the crux.
A
web of fire and logging roads surrounds the June Lake Junction about 20 miles north of Mammoth Lakes. In the late 1970s and early 1980s California climbers Errett Allen, Scott Cole, Shawn Plunkett, John Bachar, Kevin Leary, Dave Yerian, Dale Bard, Dennis Phillips, Steve Schneider, Bill Serniuk, Russ Walling and Ron Kauk were among the first to scour these forest service roads in search of climbable stone. This was an era when strong traditional ethics still reigned supreme and influence and techniques gained from the nearby climbing Mecca of Yosemite National Park were the norm. Adhering to this staunch traditional upbringing, climbers of the day would often seek out splitter cracks that could be climbed using natural protection in a ground-up method. While thousands of cracks abound on the granite buttresses of the Sierra Nevada, uncovering naturally protected routes on the often soft, bulbous and pocketed volcanic rock formations near Mammoth Lakes was a rare occurrence. Then came 1980 when Dennis Phillips stumbled into the Lion’s Den; a discovery that lead to a newfound belief that quality cracks could be established on the Bishop Tuff.
A
s Forest Service Route 7942 sweeps northeast from Highway 395 near the June Lake Junction it makes a wide turn above a deep depression in a sandy, pumice-strewn hillside adorned with fragrant pine trees. From this vantage the small crag known as the Lion’s Den is virtually invisible, with its varnished gold summit blending perfectly into the adjacent hillside. A quick hike across the road leads to a steepening scree-slope that slowly reveals a west-facing and gently overhanging band of solid volcanic rock. The Lion’s Den is comprised of a 300 foot wide welded tuff cliff band with short, steep, heavily featured arêtes. These dramatic edges are separated by smooth golden faces that yield a small selection of striking corners and splitter cracks. Three of these cracks, Classic Crack (5.10a), Fear of Flying (5.10c) and Block and Tackle (5.12a) are considered among the finest naturally protected routes on the Mammoth area’s welded tuff.
CALIFORNIACLIMBERMAGAZINE.COM | 63