"Bushwhacking" willows? Ha! The willows are laughing in anticipation of another sacrificial human.

Yours Truly,

Former Sacrificial Human

Doug Sr and Bee:

Glad to get that info out there. I would say that as long as the Secor entry is stet, then no, that history is not common knowledge. At least not common enough. Impressions abound (until you get there, obviously) that the MR is a minimally exposed 3 (except for the E-ledges) and the Secor walk-off will go. And unless there is an explicit statement posted in the intro material, there will probably remain the (perhaps less prevalent) impressions posted that bushwhacking the willows will also go.

This is the deceptive "walk off" from the notch westward (instead of turning left and going up the final 400). Slip on the gravel or snow (Sept 2006) and you tumble to Arctic Lake.

I THINK...someone please confirm or correct me...that this is the route John Muir took.

mincemeat before you actually reached Arctic Lake (Aug 2010)

This is from our trip on 05-15-2010. Thin snow covering loose rock underneath caused me to slip. Luckily my axe was all the way down as it caught my weight. That traverse was more sketchy than the notch to the summit.

Hey Kurt, this is Paul from the weekend of April 17th. I wanted to say thanks again for your advice! My buddies had a long and epic day on Russell. They encountered some pretty sketchy terrain and made it safely back.

Here's my buddy Jared on Russell that day:

I solo'd skied up/down the Mountaineer's Route on the first weekend of May. On Saturday there were 2 other people camping at UBL and several people coming down the mountain. On Sunday I had the entire place to myself. I passed 2 others skiing down the chute. It was icy so I stashed my skies at the base of the chute and crampon'd up. Two others I passed coming down the chute who had turned around at the notch. I was all alone on the upper chute and summiting at mid day. On the summit I was by myself for a while before 2 nice guys came up from the main route and made a brief appearance. I was all alone again going back down. UBL was empty as well as seemingly the entire mountain. It was fantastic to have the place to myself. As far as conditions (which are changing constantly) - see links below:
Here's a link to a TON of photos: http://gallery.me.com/gwesely#100607
Here's a link to a movie I made (sort of cheesy but informative): http://gallery.me.com/gwesely#100621

GWesely:

Excellent summit! pics! video! Muy excellente soundtrack! Nicely done!

Thanks! I had a perfect time. Whitney has never disappointed me!

Paul, I am hoping to climb Russell via East Ridge on on May 20th with 2 friends (one is relatively inexperienced). How "epic" was the ascent last weekend by your buddies? The Supertopo guide seez in early season with high snow one is often force to traverse class 4 and 5 terrain on the ridge, rather the usual class 3 at the end of the year. I see in the photo your buddy is roped up. Did they place much or any gear, set belays? Also would skis be of any use for the lower ridge or just heinous extra weight ?

Awesome videojournal! How much extra mileage did you put on setting up all those shots of you walking away from the camera (and then having to return to retrieve the camera?!) Awesomeness!

George Weseley, kudos to you! I've been viewing photos and videos of Whitney for the past 39 years (and doing my own climbing). Your videography of your trip is the best I've seen of the Mountaineer's Route. Well done! You have an interesting set-up to capture the scenes while you move, like having someone right next to you walking/climbing/skiing along. Wow!

I was not on the Russell climb. My buddies summited via the descent route for the Fishhook Arete since we were base camped just below Iceberg Lake. I wouldn't bother with skis for the approach.

Looking for conditions on the MR this week. We'll be headed up there for a daytrip on Saturday. I see that there's a good chance of some snow each day ... hope that heals some scars but doesn't give us powder!

I'd be VERY CAREFUL if only a few inches of snow fall. It will only hide those scars, making the potential for a dagerous fall more probable... not to mention hiding any ice on the paths.

Roger that! Interesting that the SoCal mountains are forecasted to get more snow than the Whitney region this week. weird

Can anybody predict snow surface conditions for MR for Memorial Day weekend? Will snow shoes be necessary or can I get by on foot?

In 5 of my previous trips up MR I only needed snowshoes once in late December (waist-deep powder), but this spring is kind of unusual.

Thanks!

thanks for your great reports.

Has anyone climbed the Mt. Whitney Trail in the last week or so?This is great info for the Mountaineer's route but I need info on how the trail is? I am planning on doing it in a day at the end of June but don't know if the trail will be easy to follow, especially since I'm starting out at 1:00 AM. Any guidance/info would be appreciated. thanks.