Mount Tom 13,658′
Sierra Nevada
Total Time: 9:10
Distance: 13.0 miles
Elevation Gain: 6200′
Crux: Class 3
Trailhead: Horton Lakes- no services
Winter was coming to the Sierra Nevada, with the first dusting coming in early October and a round of storms about to make the high country much more inhospitable. I was looking to get in one more 13er for the season and settled on Mount Tom 13,658′. A hulk of a mountain, the visually prominent peak rises over 8,000′ above the town of Bishop directly out of Owens Valley, forming the right side of the Bishop skyline. However, although visually appealing, the mountain is known as a bit of a slog, requiring at least 6,000′ of gain from any trailhead and plenty of loose talus cross country. So I went into the day expecting mostly type II fun, which is more or less what I got. I decided to climb Mount Tom out of the Horton Lakes trailhead, one of the worst roads in the Eastern Sierra, although only a little over a mile from the better road cutting through the Buttermilks. I left Mammoth well before dawn driving through the Buttermilk Boulders in the dark and turning right onto the signed Horton Lakes Trailhead road. I made it about a half mile in before I decided that I could walk faster than the speed I was crawling and I pulled off near an Aspen grove and finished the road on foot. The start of the trail switch backs up the eastern escarpment of Basin Mountain, a slightly shorter summit south of Mount Tom that is also a bit of a slog from the north, although reportedly has an excellent snow climb from the east. After climbing a little under 1,000′ from where I had parked, the trail cut north entering the Horton Creek drainage, the sun rising high enough to kill my headlamp for the day.
The Horton Creek drainage was quite beautiful, Four Gables at the head of the canyon, and the summit of Mount Tom atop the craggy slopes to the northwest. I paused for a break about 2 hours in above the larger of the Horton Lakes, the main trail not going to the lake directly with some short spurs down below. This was also just below the steep series of switchbacks leading up to the saddle between Mount Tom and Gable Lakes Peak.
I slowly worked up the switchbacks, a strong and cold wind pushing me and making progress slower than I would have liked. It was shortly after 9 AM when I reached the saddle and I took cover behind some rocks for another short break, the winds even stronger and colder compared to below. The summit of Mount Tom was now clearly in view, and the slopes leading up looked like a slog as advertised.
A wide mining road left the saddle to the northwest, and I followed it until it ended at the old Tungstar Mine, one of the larger mines I’ve come across in the high Sierra, with plenty of equipment strewn about and what looked like a fairly deep mine shaft, partially caved in. I was glad to find this slope was mostly out of the wind, and after another short break, I picked up a use trail behind the mine and started up the slope.
The summit was still about 1,800′ above, and I quickly found the trail to be loose and not all too helpful, with better traction and more solid rock on a rib of rock to a bit further to the north. The going was slow, as I had lost most of my acclimatization since my last time at 13,000′ roughly two months prior in August.
The rib of rock ultimately joined with the main southwest ridge of Mount Tom a few hundred feet below the summit, and I followed this with a little bit of easy class 3 to the high point. It had taken me 2 hours from the mine, slower than I expected due to strong winds and wearing heavier winter boots. To my surprise, summit was incredibly free of the wind I had been battling all day, and one of the best views I’ve had in a long time. To the south-southeast, I could see the entirety of the Palisades, from Agassiz to North Palisade and Mount Sill, along with Middle Palisade and Split Mountain to the south. I could even make out Mount Williamson and Mount Whitney in the far distance. To the south-southwest was the rest of the Bishop skyline including Mount Humphreys. Northwest was Bear Creek Spire and the Mount Abbot group, both high on my to do list. And further north was Red Slate Mountain covered in snow, along with Ritter and Banner in the hazy distance. The White Mountains across Owens Valley even had some early snow, and I spent a while taking in the views before starting back down.
I had hoped to make up some time on the descent, and as I scrambled back down the southwest ridge, I looked down the steep chute splitting the south face. From above, it looked like it would go all the way down to Horton Lakes, and I thought I had read Mount Tom was loose class 2 from the south. So I started down the wide gully, finding some rock loose enough to plunge step, although the majority was a bit too packed to get into any fast rhythm.
There was a narrowing about a third of the way down that was easily bypassed on ledges to the right before the slopes opened up. I found good loose sand just above the lowest part of the drainage, and I was able to quickly plunge step down and boot ski back to the trail just above Horton Lakes, dropping over 3,000′ in well under 2 hours.
I paused to empty the rocks out of my shoes before heading down the trail, enjoying the fall colors and pockets of Aspen that had been in the darkness on the ascent. As I left the Horton Creek drainage and had a direct line of sight on my car, I started cutting the switchbacks heading directly cross country towards the pocket of aspen where I had parked.
Considering the area was clearly used to graze cattle with numerous game trails, it was hard to feel too bad about cutting the switchbacks. From the summit it only took me about 3 hours to descend over 6,000′ back to my car, and I was pleased that my descent time made up for my slow ascent, at least somewhat. After taking a few photos of the aspens, I drove down the road, through the Buttermilks and back to Mammoth.
