Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board How dangerous is Middle Pal's NE Face??

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering attempting Middle Pal next week (with a friend) for the first time - NE face, main chute. It will be my first Class 3. I'm very comfortable with long hikes, so I'm not worried about the distance. I'm trying to get a sense of HOW high the risk of fall/death is on that route. Secor described Class 3 as "imagine a steep, narrow, staircase, outside of a tall building without a handrail - easy but scary". Is that a fair description of Middle Pal (main chute)? Assuming we stay on route, is it very easy to fall - or would a person of reasonable fitness and intelligence who moves along carefully be ok? I wasn't too concerned until I read about a young attorney who fell to his death on Mid Pal back in 04. Any feedback would be much appreciated!

That's a tough one for your first Class 3 climb. I'm more of a hiker than climber, but I've done some Class 3 routes. I found Middle Palisade to be harder than Whitney's MR, Mount Russell's east ridge, and Mount Muir's short Class 3 section. The Class 3 isn't really any harder than those routes I mentioned, but there's more of it (about 3 times as much as on Whitney's MR). I think it was the rockfall that bothered me the most on Middle Palisade - we had people above us that were not being real careful and there were lots of rocks coming down when we were on the route. I don't think I'd want to try that route as my first Class 3 experience, nor would I want to take someone up there that did not have any Class 3 experience as that could turn into a bad experience unless you have the training to guide someone up a route like that (I certainly don't). That's just my opinion though.

Well said and I agree with the opinion.

Thanks guys - helpful feedback. Might try Tyndall's North Rib instead - looks a little less hairy...

I think that analogy was made by Steve Roper. I have been on many class three routes (Colorado) and I would have to say I would prefer them to "a steep narrow staircase outside a...". That sounds freaky.

Have fun.

i agree with Wingding and Tomcat. i would not recommend trying this for your first class 3. we ran into 2 groups that were turning back when one felt they could not stay on class 3 and were getting spooked by the class 4 and another that did not want to try and cross the bergschrund. it's a big face and the route finding can be challenging, but if you have good beta (more than what you get from Secor, try summitpost too) you should find your way. i seem to remember we had a class 4 move to get on the summit block. plus that big ole' Bergschrund you cross to get up on the rock turns away many each year. you might check recent reports and pix and see just how big it is.

if you want to have a great class 3 experience the first time out i highly recommend Agassiz. it's only 100ft short of being a 14'er so it's a nice tall peak and the route-finding is fun. the view from the top is spectacular with all the Palisades just an arms reach away. in fact, it is part of the Palisades. this link will take you to my pix from Agassiz: http://picasaweb.google.com/ryan.norma81/LaborDaySierraWeekend2010#5514991926636696706

There's no rush to do Middle Palisade. It will be there.

Build up your class 3 experience with easier mountains that others have mentioned here. Try Mt. Whitney MR Route, Mount Muir, and Mount Russell East Ridge (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) at the very least.

Just my recommendatins.

--Amin

I never considered Mt. Agassiz before, but now it is on my To-Do List.

Thanks Norma!

--Amin

Which route up Agassiz are you talking about? I thought the route from Bishop Pass is a Class 2, there is only a short section in the middle that I thought was a little worse than most class 2.

I concur that the view from Agassiz is fantastic.

Eyedoc77,

We are going up Tyndall next week. When are you guys going?

Middle Pal wouldn't be my first choice for your first time on a 3rd class route. The climbing is all reasonable but it is steep enough that a misstep could lead to a long ugly fall with bad consequences as you noted from the 2004 accident. Some people think the route finding is reasonable but I've heard many stories from people who have had difficulties with it.

Here are pictures from two trips this year:
Middle Palisade Peak August 11, 2010
Middle Palisade Peak August 15-17, 2010

The North Rib of Mt. Tyndall is more straightforward route finding but it also has some pretty good exposure high up on it. It's a fun route though. Pictures #315 - 455 in this gallery are from the North Rib of Mt. Tyndall.

Kurt W: Thanks for the helpful info + pictures. It's been great hearing the perspectives from you guys who've done these different climbs - in terms of comparing their relative difficulties.

Snowmanrn: We're headed up on Mon 9/27 - how about you guys??

eyedoc,

we are going up over the weekend. bummer you are going monday... we could have met up. well have a safe trip. it's an amazing trip but quite a long approach.

We'll be pulling in around 8pm Sun night to camp near the trailhead... maybe we'll see you on your way out?? (though, if all goes well, you'll probably be done by then). Have a great climb!

Eyedoc,

How did it go? Did you guys go up Tyndall?

Hey Snowman!

Yeah, we made it. But it was really tough. We had a strong start - left at 3am, made the pass in about 7.5 hrs (strong for me!). But then we started slowing down (altitude, fatigue)... The boulder field leading to the base of the rib seemed long! The rib was awesome and exhilarating, but we kept veering to the right too much. Once we had to correct-left across some steep slabs with small cracks (a bit scary). We ended up way right of the correct notch to the summit ridge - so we found a much steeper access point to the right of the rib (gasp). The summit was spectacular, though, and totally worth it! My brother-in-law was really feeling fatigued coming down - so we had lots of rest stops. Finally made it back to the car at MIDNIGHT!! Argh. 21 hours. WAY too long... but we did it. =) The really fun part was puncturing my big toe nail with a red-hot paper clip to drain the blood and fluid that was separating the nail from the toe bed =). Awesome!

It was a picture perfect day with incredible weather - epic and memorable on every level.

How'd it go for you??

Congratulations! I'm glad you guys made it up and back safely (except for the toe...sounds painful). Thanks for sharing your story. I went up earlier this year in an attempt to do Williamson but had horrible weather and bailed. I didn't want to get struck by lightning alone so I didn't even try Tyndall. On this attempt of Tyndall, I had a partner, perfect weather, and success. Not sure if we got off route on the rib, but we figured a way up. Amazing views. I can't wait to go back for Williamson next year. I need a mental break before doing that approach again though.