Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mountaineer's Route Conditions

Cold!!!!!
Route starting to ice up. Be careful on the Final 400.
Really rough day, but I managed to (barely) keep my sub-4 streak alive.

Hi Richard and/or Doug,

I have an overnight permit for Fri Oct 12th/Sat Oct 13th. This will be my second time up this season and 4th total. I am very interested in the mountaineers route as I would like a new challenge/adventure. I have spent lots of time studying various posts with descriptions of the route, images and topo maps. Weather permitting I would like to give it a try. I have a few questions...

1) Should I attempt it as a day trip or overnight? The E-Ledges seem a bit intimidating and I wonder if they would be easier with a day pack. Also, it seems that the route can be negotiated in less time than the main trail. I am in good physical shape (I have not struggled with the main trail and made very good time relative to others on the mountain. I also have limited class 5 rock climbing experience and am comfortable scrambling)

2) Can you point me in the direction of the route finding resources you consider most valuable (maps, photos and descriptions)?

3) What are the most common mistakes people make their first time on the route?

Thanks for your help,
Brett

Anybody been up the MR in the last few days with the new snow?
Contemplating it as an option in two weeks if conditions permit.

I finally remembered I wanted to take a look at the Final 400 yesterday. I took a few photos, but won't have them up until Monday.

I think it would be quite challenging right now with the lack of good snow coverage. There appears to be plenty of ice.

Someone had put tracks across The Easy Walk-off.

I won't be on that side again until there is significantly more snow.

Thanks Richard, that's sort of what I thought conditions would be like.

Here are the pics I took Friday (10.26.12):

I'm considering a trip during Thanksgiving week to climb Russell. I would gladly appreciate any condition updates, esp. after this current storm rolls through. Any info regarding ice on Ebersbacher ledges or an alternative approach, amt. of snow around UBSL, snow on ridge, etc. Also, does anybody know if Whitney Portal Rd. is even open?

Very nice conditions on March 24, 2013

Notes:
1. bathrooms are open, but water is not available at the Portal
2. Used micro-spikes after the first stream crossing to the E-ledges. Took them off for the E-ledges
3. You need to use the E-ledges now, the willows in the stream bed are not covered with enough snow
4. Put the micro-spike back on at LBSL and used them all the way to Iceberg Lake
5. used crampons for the MR main gully and final-400

Photos at:
http://grahamcracker.smugmug.com/2013/Whitney-MR-March-24-2013/28591002_JjwcSD#!i=2424317834&k=KQsSsz3

Graham

Nice photo's! although we have never met, i watched you heading down the descent of the final 400' yesterday as i was approaching the summit, small world.. Amazing day yesterday.. Have not figured out how to do the photo's on the message board yet, but if you go to mccoyimages.smugmug.com you can access the site..

Has anyone been up in April? Wondering how conditions are looking and what water availability is like.

Did Mt Whitney on the weekend of April 12-14, and conditions were fairly dry. LowerBoyscoutLake and the route up there were mostly free of snow. E-ledges were inevitable. UpperBoyScoutLake was still frozen, but there were some drainage areas. Probably best to boil or treat that water. UBL area was mostly dry, and I saw many good camping spots. The route from there to the summit of Whitney still had mostly snow: solid in the morning, but perpetual postholing in the afternoon. The snow on the chute was hard packed and great for crampons, but there was no snow on the last 1/4 to the notch. I didn't see fresh tracks on the traverse, so I scrambled up the last 400', which was free of snow and ice except on some sections. IMHO, I think it is usually best to avoid the traverse unless the snow and the tracks look very manageable.

From LBL heading up to UBL:
http://alturl.com/rmyq2
[img]http://alturl.com/rmyq2[/img]



UBL:
http://alturl.com/9hpxm
[img]http://alturl.com/9hpxm[/img]


Near the beginning of the last 400':
http://alturl.com/trfqm
[img]http://alturl.com/trfqm[/img]


The green line is the route that I could have taken, but instead I took the route indicated by the red line. I was trying to be courteous to the second guided group descending by staying out of their way. This was unnecessary, and my traverse to the right near the top felt a bit exposed. I should have waited until they passed me, and then I could have taken the snow bank in the middle.
http://alturl.com/jfpqd
[img]http://alturl.com/jfpqd[/img]


(Hmm... I'm not sure if the images are embedding into this post, so I added them as links)

MR 4/29/13
Had a great day on the MR with Bob P. and along the trail met another fellow WPSMB/Zone member Nyker who is in town for business (and also seems to have a knack for spotting animals from a distance).

http://gocarine.smugmug.com/Other/Whitney-MR-4302013/29179787_zkbKJx#!i=2485846047&k=Ctvt6WQ

Here are some more photos and details from the climb:

http://www.14ers.com/php14ers/tripreport.php?trip=13461&cpgm=tripmain&ski=Include

PS: I need to figure out how to change my handle here (RAC) to nyker which is what is was supposed to be!

Just got down off the Mountaineer's Route. Reached the summit on Saturday. After a week of stormy weather I was amazed to see more snow on the route than there has been all year. I've been up almost every week since early March. Last week the snow stopped half way up the Mountaineer's Chute. On Saturday it was continuous snow all the way to the Notch. We were sinking in up to my knees for most of the way. Above the Notch had been almost all rock. Now there's a huge drift of snow I estimate to be about 5' deep. Here are a few pictures. The rest of the pictures I took from the trip are here: Mt. Whitney May 9-12, 2013

May 11, 2013 at 6:30am: Looking up the Mountaineer's Chute.


Looking down the Mountaineer's Chute from 13,200'.


Looking up the Mountaineer's Chute from 13,200'.


From the Notch looking up towards the summit plateau.


Starting up above the Notch.


Looking down from about half way up the final 400+'


Looking up from the middle of the final 400+'


Looking down the final 400+' from a belay stance a little below the summit.


On the descent in the middle of the Mountaineer's Chute at 2:30pm.

What a difference a week makes. Just got down from another Mountaineer's Route climb. We reached the summit on May 18. Snow in the lower half of the MR will hang in there for another couple weeks or more depending on weather. The top half is melting out quickly. It was bare before the last storms came through a week ago so all the snow on the top half is recent. It will probably be gone within a week or two at most.

Above the Notch the snow is hanging in there. It's north facing, shady for a longer period of time during the day, and usually windy.

The lower half of the MR on the afternoon of May 18:


Starting up above the Notch:


Looking up the upper 2/3 above the Notch:

Thanks Kurt for the quick update and photos. Invaluable for us planning to go in soon.

Appreciate the pics Kurt, I will be up the MR first week in June so any info is good, probably pick up Lone Pine Peak while I,m in the area as well.
Phil

Ditto, glad to see the reports...

Does anyone know if the EB/Catwalk looks clear right now?

It's clear of snow and dry. This photo was taken on May 16: