Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mountaineers Route

Talked with Kurt last night after he guided another trip go the summit ,seems like about 10 reached the summit yesterday ,several climbed to ski down .

Not sure if this is the right place for this but... I'm hiking a mostly off-trail trans sierra route and looking to come out at Whitney Portal. I'll be coming over Russell Carillon col, camping at UBL or Iceberg, going up the notch to the Whitney summit.

I'm a little unsure of how I plan to descend. I have never been up or down the Mountaineer's Route, so I'm trying to get a feel for how hard the route would be to find, if descending for the first time. I keep seeing videos of the ledges and I'm not sure if I could pick my way through them safely.

Thoughts?

If you're camping in the north fork (UBSL or Iceberg) and you leave your camp gear then you'll have to descend the rest of the north fork back to the Portal. The only way you can descend via the main trail is if you pack up your camp and haul it up to the summit.

Descending the north fork can be tricky in places but if you're completing a mostly off-trail route it shouldn't pose much of a problem. Dropping over Russell-Carillon col then down the scree chute will put you pretty much right at Upper Boy Scout Lake. A nice place to camp after climbing over that col. But you have the option to keep ascending to Iceberg.

Study photos of the ledges and don't go too far east. There are many cairns in the area but if you are suddenly faced with nothing but cliff you need to head the other way (west). There are a few short downclimbs that lead you to a large tree that marks the entrance/exit to the ledges. Climb down into the gully and after you shimmy past the tree roots you will see the route cross the creek by a waterfall. Be careful crossing, can be slippery. The trail will cross the creek again some ways down and from there the trail will eventually intersect with the main Whitney trail.

It makes the most sense to camp at UBSL, then dayhike up and down the MR. There's no real point lugging your gear up the Iceberg, and you can get up and down in just a few hours. If you're cross-countrying to get there, then the MR should be trivial (just make sure you stay on the left side heading toward the notch). People have hacked away at the rock at the base of the final 400' making cheater steps, so it's a straight-forward 3rd class ascent and descent. If you're referring to the Ebersbacher Ledges, those are even more trivial. The hype tends to be from people with little experience scrambling, route-finding, or dealing with moderate exposure. (Case in point, when my 8-year old daughter did the MR the first time, I put her out front and she navigated the ledges without a second thought, having no prior knowledge or experience. And depending on when you go, there will be a god-awful number of cairns placed along the path.)

Hope that helps.

It does - thank you. Though now I've watched quite a few videos of the final 400, I'm really not sure if I want to descend via the MR. It seems like the vast majority descend via the main trail. I'm torn between lugging my gear (which will be a mostly empty bear canister by then) up to the summit and at least having the option to drop down the 400 or take the main trail. Of all the off trail for this route (Skurka's KCHBR to Silliman Peak, over Tablelands, Lion Rock Pass, Pyra Queen Col, Wallace Creek to Russell Carillon Pass) descending this 400 looks the most sketchy!

Any reports about conditions (snow, stream crossings) from Arctic Lake Basin over Russell Col to Boy Scout Lake and down to trail head?

If you've never done the Main Trail, then yes, go down that way so you can experience more of the mountain. But videos are misleading both ways. Again, if you were just someone who did the MT once and now want to do the MR without much experience, I'd say either go with a guide or do some other peaks with less commitment to get "acclimated" to the exposure and being able to read the rock a bit better before attempting it. Yes, there will be exposure, but the technicality of what you're doing at the end of your route will be pretty mellow, especially after Russell-Carillon Pass/Col and if you day-pack it from UBSL. If you're fine with exposure you'll be fine with the route, up and down. Worst case, have a short piece of line to raise and lower your pack through the 8' 3rd class bit at the start of the 400'. Again, the people that I've taken up and down the MR, going up was "better" just because it was more fun and the summit was still ahead. Coming down is fine, but just gets a little tedious through the chute. Most people forget all about worrying during the descent of the 400. (Again, this is all predicated on dry conditions, so all you experts can refrain from spewing about how "wrong" I am if there happens to be an ice cube or two on the blocks...thanks.)

yes, this is all of course assuming ideal weather. I'm not interested in going above Iceberg Lake in the wet.

Thanks again for your insight.

Any reports about conditions (snow, stream crossings) from Arctic Lake Basin over Russell Col to Boy Scout Lake and down to trail head?

Can someone please post recent conditions on the MR? Want to know if I can leave the crampons in the car.
Thx

We are taking MR on 8/6 and also looking for recent trip report/conditions. Would appreciate any pointers.

BFR and Mahi,

On Monday morning (7/29) I looked down the Final 400 from the summit plateau. Some observations:

(1) Top 3/4 of chute filled with snow.

(2) Bottom 1/4 snow free. But how much rock there is covered with ice?

(3) Rock band on climber's right snow free and inviting a climb!

(4) Most of left side routes snow free.

In the most recent heavy snow year (2017), even when the Whitney Cam seemed to indicate no snow in the chute leading up to the Notch, there persisted a problematic block of ice forming a roadblock high up in that chute.

A report of your observations would be appreciated.

Jim

Bravo

Hello,

For a Winter climb, do the Rangers still close the road with a gate? For example, does one still have to park the car couple miles up from Lone Pine Camp ground, and then walk up to the trailhead?

Here is a pic of the parking used 5 years ago. It was a few feet from the gate

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7wLVrDCc4B79b1hw5