Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt. Muir

Heading to Whitney next week. I'd like to try to summit Mt. Muir as well. Suggestions on how to?

Go back to page 16 and read Muir by Jim R. April 17th. It has information about Muir, and most important the link to Bob R.'s Mr Muir route photos..the best you will see anywhere. You can also find it by searching for "Muir" above in the search program.

Thanks. It looks steep. True?

I think so. You do get different opinions as to the difficulty. Hellwig and McDonald's book says it's mixed Class 2 and Class 3 climbing, but some think it's easy class 4 climbing. I'll print Bob R's route photos and take them with me, but I won't make a final decision until I get there and see it in person. I'd like to bag it while I'm up there, but with a wife and 4 kids, I'm not gonna kill myself trying!

Rhett, after walking for eight hours on the Main Trail, at 14,000 ft, it looked even STEEPER to me! I was all psyched up to go for it, but decided to wait till I do a three-dayer. I would have rather followed someone who had been there before too. It looked like sandy "trails" weaving through large rocks at the bottom. More like that "easy Class 4" near the top. Good luck, and let us know what happens.

Having wanted to bag "Muir" for many years, I have read much on the subject. Bob R. (I would consider him an expert) said if someone says they feel Muir is class 4 he doesn't argue. He comments on the slings left over on the route. That makes sense if you look at the photos and imagine getting off the best route a little. The Mountaineers route is listed as 2/3. Muir looks much harder then that. The real question is if you have the skill to do class 3/4 for 50+ feet.

Jessica, I agree with you. Bob R knows what he's talking about, and if he won't argue with it being class 4, then I'll assume it is class 4. I think I'll look at it very closely when I'm up there at the end of the month, take into account how tired I am from summiting Whitney, and make my go/no-go decision then.

I've only done Muir once, but I feel a class 4 rating is excessive. Knowing the route, I would never lug up a rope to do it. Not even any hardware, either. Of course, you can get off-route, and the top part is very exposed. Sitting on the summit, a careless or vertigo-inclined person can roll off for a thousand foot drop. But then I see many people on Whitney sitting on the edge of the precipice, no problem.

Since we already have great pictures, I won't direct you to any more. I wouldn't know how to post additional shots, anyway, given this newer set-up, versus the old board.

Not being a rock climber I have always limited myself to class 3 or below. Some class three seems easy (like the portions of the MR). Others, due to the exposure factor have brought fear into my heart (like the East Russel Route or the Mt. Leconte traverse over the shelf). Based on what I have experienced, reading the reports, looking at the pictures, I feel Mt. Muir will be for me difficult class 3 with some exposure. Maybe you don't need ropes (like class 4), but it certainly is not for beginners, or folks more used to trails. It requires more adventure and more experience then that. How comfortable I feel when I get there is not yet known. I hope I have the courage to complete the route.

My opinion is that the climbing on Muir is class 3, but steep and exposed. So much so that, after the ascent, some would prefer to rappel rather than downclimb. Since this requires a rope, without pro, that makes it 4th class.

Everything depends on your reaction to exposure. If you're not overly bothered by it you will say it's class 3. If you're spooked, class 4 will probably be the ticket.

This is one of those climbs where the difficulty is in the eye of the beholder.

That is what I love about Bob R. He manages to explain in practicle terms what it really is like and why. A real big help if you are wondering if you can do something.

I have been doing my homework on muir in hopes of giving it a go soon. What I have read is that the route from trailcamp (east butress) is steep and exposed 4th class. From the west side (main trail) I've heard solid 3rd class and many have said "I wouldn't do it alone".

I climbed Muir two weeks ago as part of a trip from Cottonwood Lakes to Whitney Portal (see the trip report at <A HREF="http://www-db.stanford.edu/~crespo/Pictures/Langley03/">http://www-db.stanford.edu/~crespo/Pictures/Langley03/</A>).

In my opinion, the climb of Muir has exposure, no doubt about it. But, it's all Class 3 exposure (for me class 3 exposure means that if you fall, you may break some bones but you won't die; while class 4 means that if you fall, you will die.). If at anytime you find yourself with significant exposure (a drop 1000ft or so) that probably means that you went into the East face of Muir and you are off route. Finding the route can be challenging (even frustrating) as there are many different ways of approaching this peak. However, if things look too hard, just look around a little bit more, maybe even retreat a little, until you find a good way to the top. As you can read in my trip report, we did quite a bit of searching until we found "the" route.

Thanks to all responding members of the hiking climbing community. All comments point to the fact that most important piece of equiment is that which we carry between our ears. I am supposing the summit will be a no go (combination of the incline, inexperience, and chicken-bone), but I am planning to ramble up the slope as far as caution will let me.

How high is the exposure on the West side? Is it more than about 50 ft?

Rhett - did you try Muir while you were up there? If so, how did it go? Any suggestions? Looking to try it this weekend. Hope you had a good trip!

To reach the top of Muir takes only about 20 minutes from the Whitney trail. About half the time you are walking up scree; the other half you are scaling a rock face. However, there is always a good hold within reach. When you are almost to the summit, there is a lot of exposure, but no equipment is required.

Just did Mt. Muir after Whitney. There's a huge cairn now that marks the point where you leave the main trail and head up an obvious x-country, sandy trail. Plenty of good hand holds as you ascend to the top, but definitely exposed class 3. If you haven't had any experience of high altitude combined with exposure I would proceed with caution, but it's really where your comfort level is at. If exposure is not a problem, then I would highly recommend doing Muir.