Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Whitney mountaineers route-seeking information

I am planning to attempt the mountaineers route the third week of April. If anyone can advise on the following I would greatly appreciate it.

(1)Planning to acclimate Wednesday evening at the portal allowing 2 days to summit and return to the portal (Thursday and Friday). Respecting the difference in travel time for individuals--is 2 days possible given the snow conditions

(2) Snowshoes suggested or required- in order to reduce weight would prefer to forgo unless absolutely needed

(3) An earlier post showed rope being used to climb and ascend the summit--is rope a necessity to summit and if so, what length rope is recommended

(4) Is there any water sources available or is melting of snow the only option

(5)Any other things worth mentioning....

Thank you in advance for any information. I will be sure to post conditions after my travel.

I took a trip up the MR on 3/15 (see earlier posting with info and photos) and conditions have invariably changed so I can offer limited input.

Here are a few comments on your questions:

- A 2-day trip is aggressive for most but realistic for people who are in great shape and acclimatize well

- Snowshoes/skis were required for our trip but conditions have changed

- we didn't use a rope to ascend but did use one to descend; not necessary for an astute climber but I wouldn't have proceeded without one; we used 1 60m rope; having 2 would be ideal but wasn't worth the extra weight between 3 people

- water is flowing at Lower Boy Scout; above that we melted snow

- time your approach/descent well to travel on hard snow conditions; our return to the portal was hot and slushy; I couldn't imagine going up in those conditions!

Good luck.

Mike

Thank you for the excellent info--appreciate it!

2 days is definitely doable especially if you are acclimatized. Another option for you is to hike up to LBSL on the first evening and spend the night acclimatizing there. This will give you a significant advantage of having a more leisurely hike to Iceberg Lake to setup up your next camp prior to your summit attempt on your last day.

As far as a rope, if you don't have rope skills (placing pro, building anchors, belaying, rappelling, etc) you could give yourself a false sense of security and get in over your head quickly. If you have a rope, gear, and the requisite skills and it makes you feel more comfortable there is no reason not to bring it along. A 30m half rope is good for short belays and traveling lighter. The last 400 feet is exposed, but it is still class 3. If you take your time and don't rush, I think you will find it not that bad at all.

Good Luck and have fun.

See post from earlier today "First Timers on MR 3/30 thru 4/1"

Thank you both Bearclaw and Scott for the great information. I really like the idea of camping at LBSL.

We both have rock climbing experience with one in the party being an experienced climber including building anchors, so this gives us several choices.

I have been on Whitney before and climbed many of the 14fters and have always wanted to take the MR in winter (also preparing for Rainer in July). Thanks again as I now have a better feel for conditions and preparation. I will return the favor with conditions and pictures upon my return.

Lori:

Acclimatizing at Whitney Portal or LBSL is fine, but you should camp as high as you can to shorten your summit day. Camping at UBSL or Iceberg Lake will be colder, but you'll appreciate the higher start on summit day.

The upper Mountaineer's Route includes some moderate snow and/or some nice third class rock, depending on conditions and your exact route. Several years ago, I met two guys at about 13,700. They were trying to belay the upper portion of the route with a short rope. I walked across the snow using only ski poles (no crampons or axe, though I had them) and climbed the rock to the summit. They were still screwing around when I came back down. Good basic mountaineering skills and proper equipment are better than a rope any day. I would practice climbing skills closer to sea level and leave the heavy rope and associated gear at home.

I plan to camp at Iceberg Lake and climb Whitney, Russell, and Muir later in April. I'm retired, so I will pick a date when conditions are ideal. Maybe we'll cross paths.

Bob

I did the MR on 3/24.

1. Yes 2 days is very possible. I took just under 13 hours and was having a bit of an off day. It's just a question of fitness and acclimatization.
2. I used snowshoes, but my partner did not. I would just be conscious of the time of day you're going up so you don't end up postholing too much. The snowshoes were nice on the way up though.
3. I didn't use a rope. The chute above the notch was a bit spicy, so instead of downclimbing it, we did the traverse back to the notch
4. The last water was at LBSL
5. Have fun!

I remember being able to dig a hole through the ice at UBSL with the ice axe a few years back in April.

I hope this isn't too off topic...but did you rappel off the rope or descend as a rope team or do belays off of pickets? I ask because I have always wondered how to do rappel anchors in wilderness areas. Do you leave a sling and ring on a rock horn? Rap off a bollard?

I did a loop up the MR and down the MT today. The cold weather made travel easy (left the snowshoes in the trunk). You really do need to watch what time you're heading down, as the snow turns really soft in the afternoon. Today the suffering was limited to the 9000' range. (Hopefully, this will have melted out in the next few weeks, but that just means the suffering in the afternoon will have moved up.) Snowshoes would have done no good in this slop.

I'll have a short TR and photos posted tomorrow.

Hi Lori,

I was on a MR trip in late April about 8 years ago. We didn't need snowshoes, the snow was consolidated enough that not even my enormous bulk postholed.

Two days is enough, but three would be better for acclimating.

We melted snow for water.

The only gear we took was axe and crampons, but from the notch we headed west, not straight up.

We glissaded almost all the way to Lower Boy Scout and were back at the cars around 2 pm summit day.

Good luck and have fun.

Gary

To Everyone,

Thanks for the great information--and I loved the picture. I have all my questions answered and my trip planned. I will be arriving late Wednesday from LA to stay at the portal. Alpine start to iceberg lake Thursday early summit Friday and back out. From there I have two days of rock climbing in Alabama Hills-the ultimate lifestyle.

So if anyone is along the route be sure to say hi-I am sporting a somewhat pink alpine suit and yellow la sportiva boots--so you can't miss me.

When I return to LA will post report and pictures--thanks again

(also just received in the mail the lottery for May 29-31 so may also see you on the main trail)