Mack's Traverse with Extra Credit

Pics by Harlan W S
June 2, 2020

The first people to complete the traverse were probably Mike Brooks, Jim Egan, and Ed Forkos, going N to S in 2002. I did the traverse S to N with Branch Whitney's group in 2007; Mark B. and I found a break in the cliffs, and we went along what is now known as the "easier" traverse. I've done the traverse many times, but since I was normally leading people, I never thought about going over the ruggeder route which crosses the very edge and northern part of the ridge, just before North Mack's. Today I opted for a more difficult version of that route. I used no ropes.

Today I went clockwise	Context	Heading WNW to S Macks. There is loose gully behind the diagonal ledge of trees.
View to N Macks, from below summit of S Macks	McFarland to WSW	3rd Peaklet as one heads N from S Macks
The last lump (middle) before one heads W to find cut through cliffs	I saw 2 people, the Harts, on N Macks but never caught up to them..	Now I've broken through the cliff, band and follow a shelf ESE, soon I will cut L...
...and descend this chute, and again walk a short ways and descend to lower cliff band. There was an old handline at descent point (which I did not use)	View NE, my route. I picked a slightly harder but more competent rock and ascended the 1st ridge pinnacle on the L (BW recommends R, light blue)	This is peaklet at top of dark blue line in previous photo. I didn't read the HLV instructions before I went.
This peaklet was not visible in previous route photo. BW instructs a climb-off to L before this pinnacle. Not knowing any better, I climbed over it. (N Macks is behind pinnacle, and has one loose class 4.)	Now I'm on that last pinnacle, looking SW. There is a sort-of easy climb-off to N of last pinnacle, then I climbed up class 4 gully of N Macks.	Now I'm on N Macks, view to Charleston (L) and S Macks (R)
	McFarland in distance	Heading down NE from N Macks summit, I'll go over very steep slabs and turn L just before little peaklet.
This shortcut was not good.