“The Drain” is an aesthetic and spectacular route that ascends from the depths of the Ventana Creek Cirque to the summit of Ventana Double Cone in the most rugged coastal terrain of the lower 48. The route provides an authentic sense of adventure in a truly wild canyon that is rugged and unspoiled. The feature…

Tag: the window
Uncovered Route: The Window & Kandlbinder via Cabezo Prieto
Kandlbinder Peak and the Window are two of the more remote spots in the Ventana Wilderness. For extensive background on these spectacular locations see a prior post here. Prior to the Soberanes Fire the standard route to both Kandlbinder and the Window was via the Pico Scout Camp up the Little Sur River and then…
The Heart of the Ventana
Photos here. This post is the third installment of a series on the Ventana Double Cone region, which features arguably the most rugged and wild coastal terrain in the contiguous United States. The first post described a repeat of “The Drain” route with a mini-loop addition to visit the stunning “Ventana Spires” and the second…
The Drain & Ventana Spires
Photo album here. This post covers the first in a series of routes in the Ventana Double Cone region which features arguably the most rugged and wild coastal terrain in the contiguous United States. This first route is a repeat of “The Drain” route I did last year with Joey Cassidy with a mini-loop addition to…
Kandlbinder & Ventana Double Cone via “The Drain”
Intro: Building on our La Ventana Loop adventure, Joey Cassidy and I descended into the extremely rugged headwaters of Ventana Creek to climb Ventana Double Cone via “The Drain,” a prominent rocky gully that funnels all of the water in the wild cirque that stretches from Ventana Double Cone to Kandlbinder. From within this chiseled canyon, we gazed…
Ventana Double Cone
If Cone Peak is the King of the Big Sur Coast, Ventana Double Cone is the Queen of the Ventana Wilderness. Rising 4,853 ft above sea level, no other peak in the Ventana Wilderness possesses such a rugged face as Ventana Double Cone’s west and south aspects. Aptly named, the mountain features twin summits of…