Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board MC has spoken - MR - April 16-18, 2010

Just got back from the first of TWO required trips to LA this week...

And, guess what I found?

170 meters of rope that I bought for an expedition to Nepal in '04 (110 meters of the stuff still factory sealed)! I wouldn't want to take a screamer on any of this stuff, but I think it will be fine for climbing up and rapping down the Final 400'. The 120 meters of 8.8mm is relatively light, so if someone else wants to volunteer to carry the second one up, we can provide some protection for the route to the top.

Haven't had time to read any of the 20, or so, new messages, so this may be a repeat, but DMatt is giving us the go-ahead with nice weather forecast for the weekend.

Here's hoping the NF turns out to be a success!

Photo credits go to Tom and Jim for those two pictures.

I'm going back to my original plan to hit McD's at as close to 5:00am as I can (this will be the long drive from LA, so I may be a liitle late) and then do my best imitation of Kurt walking up the NF. If you're slow and want assistance on the lower part of the route, meet me there. I'm thinking in terms of starting to walk at around 6:30am.

Ask Ron about the guide.

No running water above LBSL, so you'll have to melt after you run out of what you carry.

Please pick up some WAG Bags while you're at the VC. I don't have enough and I don't know if Doug has any at the Hostel.

I've got 2 shovels. I'm not carrying both, so could somebody volunteer?

Why do you think they call him Speedy? He really isn't much fun to climb with any more.

Somebody convince Kurt to come up the NF again (I know, boring after you've spent the last month of weekends up there.) instead of heading for Underhill...

I'm happy to help out with hauling the rope or any other gear. I'll be heading up from LA on Thursday after work and am planning to stay at the hostel if anyone is interested in carpooling.

~Dan

Dan,
I'm planning on staying at the hostel in Lone Pine too on Thursday night. Might not be able to carpool though, since my return from camp may be on Sunday or Monday. But if there's 4 of us planning to stay at the hostel, maybe we can sign up for one of the private rooms.

I'm heading to Death Valley today, and am planning to hike Telescope Peak tomorrow. Won't have much internet access before THurs night, but sounds like meeting at McDs and 5am, or the TH at 6:30am Friday will be the sync-up points.

The weather reports have me excited!
-matt

Hi Just a few thoughts : The road is still closed and the County is working on clearing the rocks and snow . Expect to walk from the road closed sign.

Several weeks ago I counted 55+ cars parked at the road closed sign and in the canyon , most were going up the North Fork, I only talked to one group going up the main trail.

The system that cleared left more snow yesterday, also high winds in the afternoon that would cause loading on the flat sections and near bases.

The North facing slopes were moving last week, now they are covered and it will be hard to see the fracture lines.

The area is in the wilderness make sure you meet all the requirements .

Read the trip report and view the photos that Norma R. posted today , the conditions are not that clear, we have had two storms since her photos and last week several groups returned within hours after starting.

The tracks many have followed maybe covered by the last two storms , expect breaking trail once you hit snow .

The chute from Iceberg to the notch is sometimes very icy and we have had fatal accidents in this area , (2009 was the most recent) Rock fall /rocks dislodged by climbers above are a common problem.

Since no one has said it is a group hike make sure you understand that and expect nothing from others.

Thanks Doug

Great beta Doug, thanks!!

Richard, I may be able to help with gear too. Please PM me with any details/timing, etc. Agreed, it would be great to have Kurt along. Better character you'll never find (see Norma's TR).

Gear
Did anyone make contact to see about SMI's big tent?

Ropes- I don't want to suggest one way or the other- but if competent individuals are going to fix a rope I'll be more than happy to help carry the gear. I'll also scrounge up a harness.
EDIT: With the potential for traffic jams and my hope to get up and down at my own pace, I'm not planning to use any fixed rope for climbing.

With the "balmy" weather forecast I'm thinking of a 10 degree sleep system and saving 2 pounds off my warmer option. I'm also toying with bringing a mini bivy tent instead of 2-person winter tent (saving another 3 pounds).



Thursday Acclimation
I'm planning to head up toward the Portal from Lone Pine on Thursday. If I'm solo I'll just camp at the Portal and wait for the big train to come through Friday morning. If a group wants to form up I'd be happy to aim for a higher camp- possibly Bob R's igloo at Lower BSL.

I'll be driving to the Owens Valley from LA at about 4:00 tomorrow afternoon. Thursday morning I have some errands in Lone Pine and should be ready to head up at about 10:00.

If anyone's interested in joining or carpooling, post or call my cell: 310-940-6113.
Jim

There is NO community tent available. What is the parking situation if someone drives up the portal road as far as is passable? Can you just pull off to the side and spend the night Thursday night? Where would you leave your car for Friday and Saturday nights? Will you get towed or ticked? Who might know if they are plowing/clearing the road this week?

Hey all, I will not be making this trip but know that I am there in spirit. I hope you all have a great time and be safe and warm. All is well just can't make

I will miss you all and hope that we can hike together soon.

I hope that the weather is better then Norma's trip. That looked very cold.

Mouse

Probably worthless .02 cent here.

Experienced mountaineers probably don't use a rope at the final 400ft section of the MR. I know Kurt uses rope with his clients for extra safety.

Not sure how many people realize it but the second you talk about using ropes, it brings a new dimension to the climb. Setting up a fixed rope sounds simple but the amount of gear you need to carry to do so is quite a bit.

The final section requires about 3 60m ropes. With those three, you'll need protection (pickets, slings, nuts, cams) and gear to work yourself up & down the fixed rope(prusik, ascender, rappel device, etc.) Let's say you want to fix the whole 400ft section with 4 pickets per rope, that's 12 pickets.

There's much coordination involved, especially with a large group with some not knowing about rope work.

With three fixed lines, there's also the practice of attaching from one rope to the next. What I'm trying to say is that even when I coordinate my own group to climb the MR with my own group of friends with some being experienced climbers, I still think it is big headache to work out the logistics.

Alan Arlette will probably know more about fixed ropes climbing on the Himalayan Peaks.

Have fun up there!

I'm planning on heading up there tomorrow and camping at Portal (and remaining there through Thursday and Thursday night) for anyone else looking to hang out for a little more altitude before the climb...

Brandon

Bman,
I will be up at the portal Thursday morning with Tony. We are planning on hiking Thursday as well. If you want to join us your more than welcome too.

Adam

Hi Richard,

thanks for all you're doing--it's a lot of running around. I was originally going to sign on with XXX for a ride down there, but that seems to have fallen through and miraculously, two of my climber friends decided they'd like to do it, so . . . we are showing up to hopefully camp at the portal thursday night and after reading and frothing over all your posts––maybe I'll get to say hello to you guys.

Best, BOB SHATTUCK
http://www.summitpost.org/user_page.php

Have a great time everyone!

I hope you all have a good outing in the fresh snow conditions . I think I will wait two weeks until the road is more likely to be opened up , the new snow will be old snow then , and it will be a bit easier ( more enjoyable ? ) under foot !
safe and happy trails to all concerned !

We'll miss you Mouse.

Thanks Adam,

I'll keep that in mind and see you at Portal. Arthur can't make it up until Thursday eve and I'll most likely be waiting for his arrival.

-B

If they are still blocking the road, I could ride the bike up and shuttle people to the Portal.

As far as parking, you are supposed to park off of the pavement. A lot of people got away with blocking the road earler this year, but with the road work going on, I doubt that you won't get cited if you're on the pavement now.

Best plan of action would be to carpool either from town, or the large turnout at the bottom of the switchbacks, to the road block.