Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board traverse from trail camp to iceberg lake?

Greetings,

First of all I must add my thanks to Doug Sr. for all his efforts on this message board.

I'm planning a trip for this season and I'm wondering if anyone has ever gone up the Mtnr's Route and left a tent at Iceberg, summited via the MR, and then gone down the main trail until Trail Camp and then traversed over the Pinnacle Ridge back to Iceberg (or UBSL)?

The idea would be that you wouldn't have to take a full pack up the Mtnr's Route and you wouldn't have to go down it either. But I have a feeling there's a reason why I can't find information on the idea...

Ellen

Hi ellenclary: I remember seeing your name in the rock creek canyon discussion.

The answer to your question is yes, it can be done. It is not however the easiest thing to do and would require an extra 3-4 hours or so, some of it cross country. If you leave your backpacks up at Iceberg lake it is way easier to just return to Iceberg lake the same way, down the MR.

However that being said, what you are proposing would end up being a hike of exploration. For sure it would be different then the usual experience. Some do this so that they can go to Mt. Muir and experience trail crest, the 97 switchbacks and trail camp.

From the top of Whitney down over trail crest to trail camp is about 4.7 miles with an elevation loss of about 2450 feet or so. Trail camp is a little lower the Iceberg lake, by about 550, so you will have to go back up hill some. From Trail Camp you head north (to the west of Wotan's Throne) over a series of boulder fields. From the top looking down the boulder look very flat. But up close they are perhaps a few hundred feet high. On the south side the pinacle ridge is very gradual, even though it is steep on the north side. Before you get to the ridge you turn east until you get to the pinacle pass. You can tell where it is because it is the low point, with a pinnacle point sticking up on the west side.

The south approach to the pinnacle pass is quite easy climbing. On the north side it is steep class three climbing for the top 50-100 feet or so.

Once over the pass it would take another 45 minutes or so to walk across the scree field and go back to Iceberg lake. You need to go back up hill 200-400 feet or so, depending on how high you stay after you come over the pass.

I have a few pictures of the pinnacle pass, which we came over twice from Thor peak on our way to Iceberg lake.

http://client.webshots.com/album/215977132YyrhmI

I found this picture we took from the summit of Mt. Russell. In the back top of the picture you can see Mt. Irvine (toward the left), Arc's pass and Mt. McAdie (toward the right). A little more to the right is where the 97 switchbacks come down to trail camp. The lake you see on the other side of the pinnacle ridge is a hidden lake just to the south of the pinnacle ridge. It is not the lake next to trail camp. Wotan's throne is behind the Pinnacle pass...it is not visible.

Follow the pinnacle ridge to the left until almost the edge of the picture. The low point is pinnacle pass. You can see it is a ways from the Whitney/ Keller Needle/ Mt. Muir row of peaks. Follow the route from Pinnacle pass back over to Iceberg lake. In this picture you can see it down in the cirque but it still is frozen (looks all white).

http://client.webshots.com/photo/220811305/220848176iFptWK

Snow Nymph took this photo looking down the pinnacle pass. You can see the more gradual south side and the steeper north side. Follow the pinnacle pass down toward the east. You can kind of pick out the low point

http://community.webshots.com/photo/181412214/182010465kySCuW

I did this traverse in 1982 with a lady climbing friend; it is a lot of fun and a great mountaineering experience. It is fairly straightforward...moderate class 3 getting over Pinnacle Ridge (similar difficulty to the Mt Muir headwall done earlier in the afternoon while descending from Whitney). I know that Voge, Roper, and Secor all call it a class 4 traverse, but it just didn't seem that bad. Depending on how early in the season you go, and considering how high the snowpack is this year, you might be able to do as we did then...namely, bypass the switchbacks below Trail Pass and just glissade down the slope to the north of them. It's a bit steep, so I'd recommend an axe, but it shortens the descent to a few minutes rather than trudging down the 97 for the better part of an hour. The views from the Ridge are truly awesome and unique.

In terms of time, I seem to recall it took us about 8 hours (including breaks and lunch) to make the circuit.

Thanks for the links Kashcraft. I've only had a chance to look at the first set but this one really caught my attention as a traverse would be going down that slope. Yikes.
http://client.webshots.com/photo/215988012/215988012efyYWI
Still it would be fun. Maybe I'll do the down of the MR route before I attempt something like that, or explore the ridge by climbing Thor.

Ellen

Kashcraft that second photo of the ridge is fantastic (http://community.webshots.com/photo/181412214/182010465kySCuW ). It really shows the detail.

You point out the low point (the "pass" if you will) in the upper left of the photo - are you saying that's not Thor Peak? There's a bulge on the north side of that low point and I was wondering if that was an obstacle or not.

In this particular photo the actual pass is where you thought, although it is not that easy to pick out the exact details. Thor peak is out of the photo, being another 1/4 mile or so further to the left.

Take a look at this other photo

http://community.webshots.com/photo/173208815/173865064CTxAIT

This photo is taken from the top of Mt. Whitney looking west. Most of what is in the Pinnacle Ridge picture is covered up by the summit rocks. You can see the low spot of Pinnacle pass almost in the very center of the photo. Going from the center you follow the ridge to the left. There is a shadow on the north side of the ridge going down to Barney Girl Scout lake. At the left end of the ridge and plauteau is Thor Peak.

Another picture kind of showing the same thing is found in Bob R's Jan 17th photo Album @ club photo....picture #42 Looking east

http://members12.clubphoto.com/robert634908/1110559/guest.phtml

In this photo Thor peak is visible, with the sun shining on the west plauteu area. At the right side of the photo you can see the dip down to the Pinnacle pass, just before going off the edge of the picture. Iceberg lake would be below the picture about 1/4 of the way from the left side.

opps: on that second photo you would be looking EAST off the front of Mt. Whitney (not west) looking the direction of Whitney Portal.

Ellen: I downloaded 8 more pictures of the Pinnacle Ridge/ Pinnacle Pass area in my Thor peak photo album. They are the last 8 pictures in this photo album. They will give you a little more detail of the pass itself, from both sides.

http://client.webshots.com/album/215977132YyrhmI

Actually, I ended up adding 15 pictures to the end of the album, mostly of the Pinnacle pass area

Thanks so much. I see that getting over the Pinnacle Ridge is a rewarding project in itself so maybe it would be better for me to spilt the trip into two trips, one one the MR, and the other climbing Thor via Pinn. Ridge.

I see that you all (though I don't know which one you are) used a rope during a portion of the climb, but weren't using harnesses. Did using the rope that way (it looks like just around your wrists) help?

If Evan in photo 31 is glissading with crampons, remind him never to do that as it's just asking for it. Take the crampons off before glissading. (I swear I'd make a good camp mom.)

Back in those days I was not that aware of the danger of glissading with crampons on....it can actually be very dangerous if it is icy and your cramon catches on something.

We climbed over the pinnacle pass the first time with our backpacks, thinking it would be fun to go over to Mirror lake and down the trail. We didn't have a rope that visit. That certainly is not a short cut.

The other two times we went down the Pinnacle pass on our way to Iceberg lake from Thor Peak. One of those trips we lowered our backpacks down with ropes just before we reached pinnacle pass. Some of the boys felt a little more emotionally secure with a rope on them. I climbed down afterwards with no rope. It wasn't a big deal.

The other trip we climbed down at the actual pass itself, right next to the Pinnacle point, another 30 feet west. That time no one used a rope, but we had lightened down our backpacks considerably on our second visit one year later.

It is not a bad idea to carry a short piece of rope just in case. We often do, not knowing just exactly what we will run into we we are climbing here and there and exploring. Most of the time we don't use it, but it doesn't hurt to have it along.

Kashcraft,

Great pics by the way.

Just curious, when you went from Thor to Iceberg via Pinn. Ridge which way did you take to get to Thor?

Also is the Pinn. Pass the notch that's just above the unnamed lake on the south side or is it the low point that's closer to Thor (I'm looking at photo #60)?

Ellen

On the first trip up to Thor peak on our way over the Pinnacle pass to Iceberg lake we started up the descent route on the east face...eventually getting into the center rocks. It would have been easier to stay in the descent route.

One the second trip we camped at Lone Pine lake so we went up the southeast chute. That is always one of my favorites.

In this photo album

http://client.webshots.com/album/215977132YyrhmI

Picture #59 shows the pass area the best. This actual Pinnacle pass is almost in the top center. There are two low points in the center. The one on the right is the pass. You can tell because just to the right the Pinnacle point is higher.

In Picture #60 you see the Pinnacle ridge in the front and behind you can see Thor Peak. Between those is pinnacle pass. It is not in the flat low point area next to the lake. From there you would travel east until you reach the pass area.

What's with the ads at "Webshots?" I know they've always been there, but now they're getting really annoying!

Yeah they're annoying, put it in slideshow mode and you won't get them.

Hi Kashcraft,

If you'll tolerate a few more questions.
(you've been very helpful)

From you pics it looks like once you find Pinnacle Pass that the climb on the northside doesn't look bad at all, yet the less steep south side looks like it has some challenging sections. (Photo #56 implies this). Was that your experience? From the topo map it looks like the south side of the pass could be climbed by traversing northwest until you're west of the pass and then turning right and continuing northeast up to the pass. Too much talus that way?

Using #59 as a reference, I assume that photo #63 looks south (it says north side anyway) and photo #55 looks north and is just on the south side.

And photo #62 must be that other notch that is in the center of #59.

Thanks for all the assistance. This is like a virtual climb.

Ellen

Climbing over the Pinnacle ridge from the north side is by far harder. Close to the Whitney ridge there is a section with 500 feet of class 3/4 boulders that may have a route you could discover. On the other side of this section (where the hidden unnamed lake is) the pinnacle ridge is flat and gradual and you could walk right up to the edge to look over.

In the middle section, from there to the pinnacle pass itself, there are a bunch of cliff type class 5 areas, not possible to climb without rock climbing skill. both sides are steep and difficult.

At the pass itself, the north side is by far the hardest, climbing up or down. On the south side of the pass (which I have only been down once) I remember it as large boulders but easy to get down.

#59 and # 63 are both on the north side looking up (toward the south)

#62 is the notch area on the left side, as you suspected, not the pass itself.

You can get to the Pinnacle pass from Mirror lake by climbing to the west/ northwest up the slabs and steep hill.

You can also get to the Pinnacle pass from Trail camp easily by making your way through the moraine field and slab area (going west of Wotan's throne) It is necessary to turn east once you are between wotan's throne and the pinnacle ridge crossing between the two until you get to the pass itself.

If you desire to go over Thor peak on the way down from Iceberg lake you would climb to the north side to the pass and travel along the pinnacle ridge itself until it opens up into the plauteau. Once on the plauteau you go east until you see the break in the rocks. A chute goes up until almost the summit. Once on the top of the chute turn left and follow the rocks to the top.