Black Sister

"I was itching to do something new, so decided to head up Black Sister. I parked at a pullout on the Mack's Canyon Road & headed up a north ridge. Lots of steep, loose terrain. I also ripped the ass out of my shorts coming back down the very top part of the summit. It was quite warm up there today. I headed back down a pleasant & pretty canyon, but then had to walk for about a mile on the road back to my Jeep. This one was a low priority, but I'm glad I finally made it up there." — StudioHoodoo • Aug 18, 2019

"6.23.19....The “proper” Sisters Traverse w/The Masters Judy, Barb & Harlan. 7 miles, 2,600’ gain, 3 Peaks. The Finale of my local Summer Solstice mountaineering vacation that my Family allowed me to indulge in. 8 days, 70 miles, 22,000’ gain, 7 Peaks (including 3 Mt Charleston peaks, Griffith and the 3 Sisters peaks.) Thank you guys so much for inviting me. I never thought I’d ever get to this point in mountaineering. Last year Harlan took the time to go out to this mountain several times to assess things and prep to help me conquer this “proper” traverse. Each time I went with him, I cowered away in fear in the very beginning when you have to walk the plank. The exposure is mind blowing. I went alone last year and did a “brute force” version where I went below all the cliffs. It was respectable but not the proper way. You guys are so awesome to take me under your wings and show me how to roll. You are all gracious and kind. I’m beyond grateful. Thank you a billion times. I learned today that chatting about Chicken Salad when standing inches from a 500’ cliff can be soothing and informative. " — paula.raimondi • Jun 23, 2019

"Amber had never done Black Sister, so I agreed to go, as long as we tried a different route (one which didn't involve going over the other 2 sisters!) We started off up the wrong gully, but eventually made our way over to the correct one, where there was a dirt road to follow quite a ways back. Once back there, we made the steep, loose ascent, slightly aided by the recent rains somewhat consolidating the slope. There was a lot of smoke in the air from the California fires, so breathing was tough. Once at the top, we took a slightly different way back down into the gully, then hiked a bit of the road back to our vehicle." — Kevin • Aug 5, 2018

"Solo 4 Sisters Traverse 6.2.2018! (South Sister, lil So. Sister, North Sister and Black Sister) FINALLY!!! Harlan has tried to coach me through this traverse several times and I only end up at South Sisters. He has even gone on his own to scope out the best route. Today I felt obligated to put this project in the done pile so all his efforts weren’t wasted. It was one of the hardest hikes I’ve ever done. Mentally and physically. I, again, couldn’t bring myself to traverse over the top. It has so much exposure. So I went around. I desperately looked for an alternative and found one but it wasn’t easy. I traded frictional rock with exposure for loose terrain (talus, scree, pinecones, forest debris) which had me falling a lot. After the 1st 2 South Sisters I skirted below the cliffs on the NW side (after trying below the cliffs on the SE side).It was exhausting. After that it was even more tiring to route find, climb scary sections and find ways around obstacles without knowing the way or using a gps track. Harlan’s voice was in my head saying “there is always a way around a hard section”. I ascended North Sister and thought the final Sister (Black Sister) would be the easiest but No..." — paula.raimondi • Jun 2, 2018

"Climbed up the western slope from Mack's Canyon as part 1 of the Sisters. Traverse over to North Sister was a lot of tough, but fun route finding. Then over to Black Sister and back into Mack's Canyon." — vegasreo • Jul 15, 2017

"Hiked up Mack's Canyon & gained the ridge, then followed it around to the South Sister. From there, we traversed over to the North Sister & Black Sister before taking the Northwest ridge from Black Sister directly back to where we parked. Fun day & PERFECT weather!" — Kevin • May 31, 2013