Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Memorable Passages

I've been reading quite a bit on the board about places such as the Half Dome cable route or the Ebersbacher ledges, and the experiences people have had while climbing them. Are there any other memorable passages or climbs that people might want to share, memorable because of exposure, beauty, uniqueness, or whatnot? One of my personal favorites is on the Grand Teton Owen-Spaulding route. A short ways below the summit is a traverse called the Belly Roll/Crawl, which is very easy technically because you can either crawl across a narrow ledge, or hand traverse on the outside of the ledge with big hand and footholds. The interesting part is the exposure, several thousand feet directly below you, and views straight into Idaho and Montana. At the end is a belay platform just big enough for three climbers, like a grandstand seat above everything.

Any other comments?

Three most come to my mind. 1st is Angels landing up in Zion National Park in Utah. 2nd is Mt Borah (highest peak in Idaho), with it's Arete known as the "chicken out ridge." 3rd. is the East ridge route of Mt. Russell, which rolls off at least 1000 feet. The exposure was just about enough to overcome my fragile heart.

I'll second the nomination of Angel's Landing in Zion. My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth by cotton so wadded up it was impossible to swallow (g)

I guess that while I am an exposure ***** I must be able to generally talk myself up and down this stuff.

I've done Half Dome 4 times. Once with a backpack and overnight gear but I was young and strong. Last year was the 4th time. And as someone mentioned, I did not give myself much chance to think about it. And as someone else mentioned down was not as heart throbbing for some unknown reason.

Whitney's cables and one of the windows were interesting and one of the Windows is kind of approached from uphill giving it a more 'falling away' kind of feeling but it really was not bad.

The "knife edge" on the way to the summit of Mt. Russell was an exhilirating climb. Even though it probably looks worse than it actually is, the sheer drop on both sides makes it FUN.

Whoa! It's been a while, but I remember a short but memorable part of the east ridge of Russell. I recall having to climb down from the relatively safe and secure part of the east arete to traverse a short, but exposed friction bit just below an overhanging block. It was just scary enough to make my heart pound, both during the ascent and descent. Russell is still one of my all time favorites!
-overduhhill

Next Saturday, I will make my 16th trip up the trail to the top of Half Dome. My first hike up there was when I turned 40. Initally, it was my way of fending off old age. It is quite a feeling to stand in the meadow below Half Dome, looking up, knowing that I've been been to the summit.
I have been to the top of Whitney twice, White Mountain twice, mountained biked 160 miles of the Pony Express trail. However, the most spectacular trip was up the northeast face of Mt. Shasta, one of the glacier routes four years ago. That was my first "big one", and the most awesome of my life. All three days were incredibly clear. I led the rope line on the way down. Standing on the top of the glacier, at about 14,000 feet, there was app. 8,000 feet of snow/ice running out in front of me. Another 6,000 feet below that was the valley floor, with Oregon out in the distance. I remember thinking
"how many other people have ever experienced this?" During the entire trip, we saw all of 11 climbers the entire way up and down. Nothing else will compare with that view. I am always looking for new adventures, but that view from 14,000 on Mt.Shasta will be with me forever.

Mount Ritter. Ok, it's my eponymous peak, and it only took me seven tries to find a relatively easy way up it, but the view from the top is outstanding (you can see the back side of Half Dome, plus Boundary Peak, Mono Lake and a whole bunch of other Sierra peaks from there) and it's in one of the most picturesque areas of the Sierra.

If you're curious, read up on the naming history and my quixotic quest to climb it under the "Mt. Ritter" section of my <a href="http://www.mtritter.org">WWW stie</a>.

And, yes, I'll probably do Mt. Ritter at least one more time...my son is now old enough to give it a try, so I'll probably lead him up "our" mountain, as well.

I was lucky enough to get up to Zion back in May, and Angels Landing was the one hike I had to do. I have a pretty bad fear of heights, but I found most of it was not as bad as I expected. Still, magnificent views!

My very modest "scariest memory" (keeping in mind that I don't do any aid or technical climbing) was on Shasta. We did a variation of the Hotlam/Bolam ridge. Just below the Hotlam headwall, we hopped over the ridge to the first snow chute above the Bolam glacier. It was steeper than anything I was used to (about 50 degrees); the wind was whipping at 40 knots, rotten cliffs loomed overhead, the crevassed Bolam stretched for 3000 vertical feet below us, and every time I stopped to kick my strap-on crampons back into place, our bottom man would yell "steady pace, please!". Going up, at least, I could bury my face in the slope, but we had to go down the same way, and the exposed feeling then was much greater.

Probably nothing to anyone who's been to Rainier, but then, I haven't done Rainier.

...yet.

Bob mentioned White Mountain...

My partner and I did it about a month ago, and I offer it not so much as a challenging experience (the MR is much scarier, Shasta much more difficult, and Half Dome much more soulful) but I must say it was the most unique mountain experience I've ever had.

First of all, the "road" in is an absolute b*@&h. The road is so rough that it takes over an hour to drive 17 miles to the trailhead at the "locked gate."

As for the hike itself, it should be easy, and almost is, except there's no getting around the fact that it's at altitude. So, compared to Whitney, Shasta, and Half Dome, it seems like it should be a snap (much shorter distance, and only about a 2,000 foot gain). Still, there we were, dragging ass, headaches, behind schedule, feeling sick to our stomachs, and leaning into a howling gale that made the winds on Shasta seem like a gentle breeze - and all this on a road that, about half way up, passes a research compound with barracks, a herd of sheep, port-a-potties, and a basketball hoop. To top it off, on our way down, a college-aged researcher wearing a baseball cap and T-shirt drove down the trail in a pickup truck, stopping to ask us if we wanted a ride. We were actually tempted (how many times have you wished you could skip most or all of the descent on Whitney?), but declined. It was surreal...

Oh, yeah; and the view from the summit is, without a doubt, the most stunning view of the Sierra you could find anywhere. The Sierra is impressive from the Valley floor, but across the valley, from 14,000 feet, you stand directly over Bishop, and it seems like you can see from Lone Pine to Mammoth, with massive peaks stretched out in front of you all the way back to Sequoia and King's Canyon. Truly amazing.

The West Buttress of Denali, traversing south around the 4th tower on Wolf's Head in the Wind Rivers, and the Fresh Air Traverse on the good old East Face of Mt. Whitney.

Hey, "Desperado":

Go back and read Mountain Bob's original posting and you'll see that this thread was not intended as a list of death-defying exploits.

So, go ahead and share your own experiences (you seem quite accomplished) but keep your condescending opinion of Angel's Landing to yourself. Sorry the rest of us aren't as "rad" as you.

I just don't understand why so many people on this board continue to feel the need to piss on other people's experiences and opinions.

I don't think Desperado listed any "death-defying exploits". This is what Mountain Bob asked for:

"Are there any other memorable passages or climbs that people might want to share, memorable because of exposure, beauty, uniqueness, or whatnot?"

The Butt on Denali, the Wolf's Head Traverse, and the Fresh Air Trav. on Whitney are all extremely well travelled (crowded) and relatively tame mountaineering exploits. I do agree that just because you can rollerblade to Angel's Landing wouldn't necessarily make it less unique or memorable for somebody.

I'll add: Thank God Ledge on Half Dome's regular route and the King Swing on the Nose on El Cap. These two are also no big deal and overwhelmed by numerous weekend warriors every year. But they're still pretty cool.

In fairness, I should add that "Desperado's" rip on Cook's posting is uncharacteristic.

From what I've seen, "Desperado" is a hell of an accomplished climber; and his quality insight on this message board is invariably useful, humorous, and good-natured.

EP:

Dude, you gotta realize that the "weekend warrior" you're talking about is a whole different breed from most of us on this message board.

You're classifying climbs on the sheer faces of Half Dome and El Cap as "no big deal" when most of us will NEVER do anything like that. In fact, most of us pee our pants just from staring too long at these routes.

I've spent a lot of time on trails all over California over the last several years. Every time I run into rock climbers, I get a kick out of hanging out with them. For the most part, they are usually laid-back, friendly, and knowledgeable.

But I think I speak for many people on this board (hikers) when I say that we could never do the amazingly bold things you guys do.

We love to watch, though.

I was just a hiker once, not that many years ago. Then I got lured onto a little class 3 by some friends. Scared the crap out o' me. Eventually I found my way into rock climbing, easy toproping at first, then after a few years a friend taught me the basics of leading. One day I awoke and found that I could lead 5.7 climbs. I was ecstatic.

I looked up at walls like Half Dome and El Cap and said, no way, not me. But I slowly learned over time that they aren't that big or that hard or that far out of reach. One day I woke up on one of those cliffs.

So while it is certainly true that many people on this forum will never climb the face of Half Dome, I don't believe that most of the climbers up there are a "whole different breed" from the average Whitney hiker.

But that's beside the point anyways. This is not a forum dedicated to those who hike up the trail. The forum is about "Mount Whitney Trail Conditions and your trip reports or questions about the area." A trip report about an ascent of Hairline or Keeler Needle would be appropriate. And the question that MountainBob asked was not restricted to non-technical hiking either. He mentioned the OS route on the Grand, for instance. That may be easier than the Nose on El Cap, but it's a sliding scale. I don't see any reason to draw a line here.

"I don't see any reason to draw a line here."

...that was my original point.

Some of my most memorable trail experiences include the incredible rockwork over Donovan Pass near Mt Dana, the amazing trail blasted into sheer cliff going up the Sphinx Creek trail in Kings Canyon, and the impeccable landscaping as you ascend along the North Fork of the San Joaquin river on the west side approach of Mt Ritter.

But really it's all good. Just go somewhere.

Boy, I musta been feeling feisty last night. I managed to tick people off in two threads at once. Okay, I'll admit, Angel's Landing is a pretty cool hike to a pretty cool summit. I suppose the last 100 feet could be put on a list with such classic pitches as "the belly roll," etc. I look forward to the Thank God Ledge someday, the pictures look sweet. Thanks for the back-up EP.