Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Question on MR re: Scrambling

I am trying to gauge the difficulty of the Mountaineers route. Most sites claim it to be a Class 3.......scrambling involved. I havent climbed Whitney, but hit several mountains here in Idaho that require scrambling.

Anybody on this forum climbed Mt Borah. Is the scrambling on Borah comparable to MR on Whitney???

Assuming that most or all of the snow has melted..

Thanks for any comments!

When I climbed Borah, I started in the afternoon and got back to the trailhead just as it got dark enough for me to appreciate the full moon. My recollection is that Borah had a lot of scrambling, but it wasn't very hard. The Whitney Mountaineer's Route has less scrambling, but some of the "final 400" is harder than Borah. The route finding and altitude are also harder than Borah.

Do most people do MR in one day?

If they overnight, where do they camp?

For the winter, I'd say most people successfully climb the Mountaineer's route in 2-3 days. Depending on the snowpack and a sunny day, it can be accomplished in a one, long day by a mountain fit person.

For summer, I'm not sure, I've never climbed this mountain during this season.

I usually camp between Upper Boyscout and Iceberg Lake. I am going up this weekend and I will most likely be camping at Upper Boyscout Lake.

If your in really good shape it's entirely possible to run up the MR in one day, however unless you've been training up at that altitude I would suggest a more leisurely pace by staying one night at iceberg lake. This gives you a chance to acclimate for the summit.

Not to mention the sunrise at Iceberg is brilliant.

Another consideration of doing this route in one day or overnight is route finding. I have been up the E-ledges twice and would not feel comfortable going up there in the dark or coming back down in the dark. You really need to know the way in order to do this in one day. As far as the climb from Iceberg a climber I met said it was like an "adult jungle gym". And it was a lot of fun. Have a great time if you go!

As for Borah you have a very sandy beginning...two steps forward and one sliding back. It reminds me of Glass Mt. outside of Lee Vining or Kearsarge Peak from the southeast. Also "Chickenout Ridge" which happens before the final turn into the Borah ridge has some exposure. When I hiked it there was steep ice on either side in early summer. Still I'm thinking it is easier than MR.

If you're comparing summertime conditions, if you didn't have much trouble with Chicken Out Ridge on Borah you shouldn't have much trouble on the last 400' above the notch on Whitney's Mountaineer's Route. I thought the hardest part on Borah was the last loose section before the summit and I found the hardest part going up the MR was the loose climb between Iceberg Lake and the Notch.

The MR is a bit more strenuous than Borah - it's a little more elevation gain and it's higher altitude - it might take a few more hours than Borah did as a day climb but at least you won't have that hellish steep descent on Whitney like on those last couple miles coming down Borah.

When I did Borah, it took around six hours, car-to-car. I was moving fairly fast except for the time I spent jawing with a guy who was attempting it with two artificial legs. I think the MR would take me eight to nine hours, car-to-car, hiking/climbing at the same level of effort. That should give you an idea of how long it will take you.