Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

August 7th, 2025 at 6:11 AMJohn Muir Wilderness, USFS, CA

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Info

Distance13 mi

Elevation gain5,200 ft

CruxClass 3

Route typeLoop

Duration11 hr

Quality8/10

Vehicle to trailheadCar

RegionCentral Sierra

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Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View of South Lake from the Bishop Pass Trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Leaving the official trail near this boulder field for an old, more direct trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Back on the Bishop Pass Trail, approaching Chocolate Peak.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Joining the Ruwau Lake Trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Passing Ruwau Lake.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Leaving the trail at the north shore of Ruwau Lake, headed toward the north face of Picture Puzzle Peak.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward Ruwau Lake as we start up the north face.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Approaching a minor cliff band.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Class 2 weakness in the cliff band.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Easy Class 2 boulder-hopping.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View toward Cloudripper's western escarpment.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Picture Puzzle Peak visible on the left.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Class 5 terrain along the ridge crest. We backtracked a bit and dropped down to the east side of the ridge.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward Cloudripper and Vagabond Peak.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View east along a moraine toward the upper Big Pine Lakes.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Traversing a Class 2/3 ledge system on the east side of the ridge.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Picture Puzzle Peak's summit ahead.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back at some spectacular, vertebrae-like pillars along the ridge crest.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Short Class 3 downclimb to a northern col of Picture Puzzle Peak.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Exposed traverse at the start of the ascent of Picture Puzzle Peak's north face.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Class 2/3 above the traverse section.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward the col.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Picture Puzzle Peak summit.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View south toward Aperture Peak and the taller Mount Agassiz.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View north toward Cloudripper (right) and Ruwau, Long and South Lakes (left).

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View east. Gendarme Peak is right of center.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Returning to the col, descending a partially snow-filled northeastern chute.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back up the chute. Picture Puzzle Peak is on the top-left. We stuck to the talus on the right.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Bearing right to minimize elevation loss.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Entering a bowl. Gendarme Peak is top-left.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Short snow field traverse.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View down the bowl.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Struggling up a crumbly slope to gain Gendarme Peak's west ridge.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Following Gendarme Peak's gentle west ridge.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward Picture Puzzle Peak.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Approaching the summit.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Gendarme Peak summit. View east toward a series of namesake formations along the ridgeline. In the distance are Big Pine Lakes.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View south toward Mount Agassiz and the Palisades Range.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Traversing to a gendarme that appears to be about the same elevation as the USGS labeled summit.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — From the gendarme, view back toward the summit.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View north toward Cloudripper.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Continuing south toward Aperture Peak.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Class 3 detour to climb a small bump (Peak 12856).

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Approaching Jigsaw Pass. (We would later begin our descent from a notch just past the pass.)

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward Gendarme Peak (right of center) from Jigsaw Pass.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Passing our chosen descent chute (indicated by a wooden post) as we start up Aperture Peak's north face.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward Jigsaw Pass.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Class 3 pitch.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — The route wraps around the back side of the large slabs above.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Exposed ledge just below the summit.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Aperture Peak summit. View south toward Mount Agassiz and the Palisades Crest.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View northwest toward Bishop Pass and Bishop and Saddlerock Lakes.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View northeast toward Sky Haven and Big Pine Lakes.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Summit register dating back to 1934.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Returning to the notch.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Starting down the steep chute, following remnants of an old pack trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back up the chute.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Entering a moraine. Mount Goode is top-right.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward the notch.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Leaping across a massive boulders field.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Hugging a cliff on the way toward the Bishop Pass Trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Approaching Bishop Pass.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back toward Aperture Peak (left of center, above the wide white rock band).

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Joining the Bishop Pass Trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Great view of the Bishop and Saddlerock Lakes basin from the trail.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Descending the switchbacks below Bishop Pass. Our descent chute is visible above.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back from a crossing of an outlet of Bishop Lake.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Saddle Rock Lake.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Long Lake.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — View back.

Picture Puzzle Peak, Gendarme Peak, and Aperture Peak — Returning to South Lake after closing our loop.