Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Has anyone climbed Whitney recently?

mrcs congrats on your trip, pictures were fantastic. I'm heading out there on March 4th and plan to leave there on the 11th. I'm meating a guy who lives in the area and we plan on trying the MR. Your pics are a great inspiration for me. We are also looking for more to join our group, the more the better to break trail. This winter in the White Mts of NH we have very little snow but very,very artic cold temps. Breaking trail in the Whites is of very little concern due to the high number of hikers and the low snow fall. It is also great reading everyone elses advice and posts, thanks to all.

Thanks for understanding. I think that every mountaineer should be able to handle any conditions in case if he/she gets stuck somewhere because of a bad weather, for instance. That's the reason I try climbing even in the bad conditions. However, as long as you have a choice you may retrieve any time. You set the boundaries that you would not like to cross. The boundaries that in some cases make you softer, in other save your life; can't be sure. Regardless how far you go, you gain a survival experience that my save your life if you are in a serious trouble. This time I moved down the boundary just to the location of my last camp. At that point after assessing the feasibility of the rest of the climb and taking under consideration my current mental and physical states, I decided to retrieve.

Now it is easy, even for me, to speculate if the decision was right or too "soft". But the meaning of "soft" changed immediately after I got out of the mountains and even more after I came back to a worm and quite home. However, so far my instinct has been keeping me alive and without single harm. I hope it would stay that way for ever.

mrcs were you as cold as the last time you were at Mt. Shasta?

It's kinda nice to have a friend to pull ones leg out of a hole with your foot stuck under a rock like you did for me.

I'm glad you're back safe!

ExtremeHiker.com

Mt. Shasta is one of my favorite mountains to climb because it's only five hours away from my place (San Francisco), it's over fourteen thousand feet tall, and it has some glaciers even with crevices. There are some quite challenging routes. My favorite route is Whitney glacier; I love crevices. Every year I climb the upper part of that glacier (not very dangerous). I approach it through Hidden Valley (from Bunny Flat and Horse Camp). The real route, however, goes from the Bolam trailhead (north side), but getting to the base of the glacier is kind of painful. I did it once in the middle of the summer. I've climbed Shasta different routs numerous of times between May and November. Shasta is my warm up place before I go to North Cascades.

For a novice person I would strongly recommend the classic route--Bunny Flat, Horse Camp, Helen Lake, Red Banks, Misery Hill, the summit, and back the same way. There are no crevices on this way. I call it the easiest (meaning the safest) route on Shasta. However, depend on the season and snow conditions something like a bergschrund may open just above the Red Banks. Additionally, if the weather is "bad", the area above the Red Banks may be even a life threatening, especially for those who are not familiar with the mountain. Normally, in such conditions people do not summit, with a few exceptions, of course. The Helen Lake camp (there is no lake) is my favorite place to observe, so many colorful tents and smell and sound of cooking and eating meals. I can easy find someone to talk with. There is always at least one ranger on the route and at the camp. The whole trip should take 2-3 days with the standard approach.

Once a year I take people there just for fun. So if you are interested (or anyone) just email me and we will set the right time. The best time (as "they" say) is from May through July, after avalanches and before rock-falls, but everything is relative. I prefer Shasta with a lot of snow. She (as I gender it) looks most beautifully with a long, white dress. Just remember, even on Mt. Shasta people die.

<a href="http://www.worldofadventures.com/marcus/trips/shasta/helen_lake/" target="mrd">You may find a short trip description on my website here.</a>

<a href="http://www.worldofadventures.com/marcus/pictures.htm" target="mrd">You may also read a story written by one of my friends (this was his introduction to mountaineering) I took on Shasta a few years ago here.</a> and click on Mt. Shasta (Helen Lake) | 06/1-3/2001 | Anthony Lawrence. <font size=1 style="font-size: 6pt">(he changes the URL and I upgrade it on my website that way this link will not become dead)</font>

Mr_Man,

Anthony is it you? Want to climb the Casaval Ridge next weekend?

No, I was not cold at all, except when I took my gloves off to take pictures or to do something. Also the last night my feet were cold because I did not have hot water to put into my double sleeping bags.

Awesome pictures. I tried the MR last March and I my feet became very cold. I was wearing thick leather boots - Solomon Super Mountain 8's. Did you wear plastic double boots for your trip?

kimjo2000

Yes, I have Koflach Vertecal. I ought them like two or three years ago. Before I had leader boots from HanWag, but they got too tight and it was painful to climb with them especially with crampons. It was a difficult decision for me to try plastic boot. Now I do not regret it.

MRCS,

Thank you for your detailed log. I've checked out your website, and would like to email you additional questions. Thanks again!

Chris

MRCS....no CELLPHONE on your dangerous trip?

Well, no CELL, no any other communication device. I've been thinking about it, but then, it would not be so exciting. On the other hand, why to risk other people lives?

This trip, even though I did not summit, was not the scariest. I think my scariest climb was soloing Adams Glacier, Mt. Adams, a few years ago. It was cloudy, freezing, and the wind was blowing like crazy; I run out of time, had no flashlight, could not find my tent, hallucinated from tiredness, and still did not give up and made the right decisions. Before I finished ascending the glacier, I promised myself that if survived, I would've never climbed again. It took me about two to three weeks to start climbing again. Now, however, I always (99%) take two technical axes, so the ice would not surprise me. <a href="http://www.worldofadventures.com/marcus/pictures/mrd/adams/200307/index.htm" target="mrd">Last summer I climbed Adams Glacier again and could not believe how much fun I had this time, even though the mountain was throwing ice and rocks at me.</a>



"What can't kill you will make you stronger."