Between the Creeks

Getting There

This route starts at the head of Virginia Canyon, and can be reached from Green Creek over Virginia Pass or from Virginia Lakes via Summit Lake and Return Creek.

Route Description

This route starts from just above the lake shown on the topo at 10,400+, near the head of Virginia Canyon.  The topo shows two creeks meeting just below the lake, one heading west (left) to Twin Peaks Pass and the other NNW (right) toward the low point between the "twin" peaks.  Just left of the right creek is a steep ridge running all the way up to the summit plateau; on the other (left) side of that ridge is a curving gully, wide and grassy toward the bottom and narrower and steeper farther up.  The gully leads to a notch in the ridge, just past the last (northernmost) of the pinnacles on the ridge between Twin Peaks Pass and Twin Peaks.  The center of the gully above the grassy section has some loose stretches, but once you reach the narrower upper section there is steady moderate class 3 climbing on solid rock on (climber's) left of the gully, virtually all the way to the notch.  Not as "spicy" as following the ridge all the way from Twin Peaks Pass, but pleasant scrambling all the way (with one tricky chockstone near the beginning of the upper stretch of the gully), more straightforward route-finding and a lot less distance.   

The route is roughly marked on the photo; the top of the right creek drainage is near the right edge of the photo.  The true summit is out of view behind the highpoint in the photo; the descent route between the peaks roughly follows the right creek (and will be a faster and easier way down for most, though it is loose).