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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,443 Likes: 9
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,443 Likes: 9 |
Got up to Iceberg Lake last Saturday and didn't like what I saw up in the gully, so I headed over Whitney/Russell Col again... and up the JMT to the summit. I saw Cookie (Mustache) Mark and friends climbing down as I traversed around Iceberg. I saw Kurt and client up near the summit. I spent way too much time hiking down in the dark... and remembered why I would prefer a dark start, rather than a dark finish! Here are some photos:  Below Lower Boy Scout Lake.  The view down towards LBSL.  The view of the headwall above Upper Boy Scout Lake from Clyde Meadow.  Mt. Whitney and the Needles from the approach to Iceberg Lake.  Mt. Russell above Iceberg Lake.  Mt. Whitney.
Mark and friends were on their way down the Couloir.  Mt. Russell from Whitney/Russell Col.  The Arctic Lake drainage.  Lunchtime view at Guitar Lake.  Yes, this is the West Face of Mt. Whitney. [img] http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/i-CZRhcTg/0/L/i-CZRhcTg-L.jpg[/img] The west side Main Trail terrain. [img] http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/i-dmCDKJc/0/L/i-dmCDKJc-L.jpg[/img] Sunset. [img] http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/photos/i-qg9cRMH/0/L/i-qg9cRMH-L.jpg[/img] Sunset.The album: http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/Whats-New-1/Around-Mt-Whitney-November-8/45645830_M6db5L#!i=3687636865&k=khphFtJ
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 600 Likes: 4
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 600 Likes: 4 |
Richard,
Thanks for the nice TR and Conditions Update.
If the weather cooperates, I might be heading up there in a week. On your outing Nov 8, the sun had set by the time your were heading down from Trail Crest, so no photo opportunities were available. What were the conditions you encountered on your Main Trail descent? Any insights or tips would be appreciated.
Jim
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,443 Likes: 9
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,443 Likes: 9 |
The West Side of the crest trail was in good condition.
There was an excellent track down The Switchbacks. (BTW, thanks to whoever put that in... they knew what they were doing!)
Hopefully, it stays cold enough for the snow to not go through the melt/freeze transformation to a slippery/dangerous mess up there.
It seemed to me that there was LOTS of ice between Trail Camp and Mirror Lake. (I kept micros on until just above Outpost Camp.)
There were patches of ice on the trail lower down, but on the wide (relatively flat) track, it was easy enough to stay upright.
I'm actually thinking of heading back in that direction to do a climb of the West Face if there isn't any new snow in the next few weeks. It was just too cool "owning" that west side terrain... (although my legs are still screaming bloody murder from all the solo trail-breaking over there)
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 600 Likes: 4
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Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 600 Likes: 4 |
Thanks Richard. This was exactly the firsthand info I needed.
Your legs should be screaming. You covered a lot of terrain for a day in less than ideal conditions, but rewarded with the awesome sensation of "owning" the west side.
Good luck if you go for the West Face. It would be nice to get a TR with photos of a chute proven to reasonably work. Despite studying the West Face, I never could convince myself that any given chute would get one to the summit plateau without possibly running into real challenges. But Porcella and Burns, as well as Secor seem to suggest that all the chutes work with demands no higher than Class 2-3. Apparently, the Fisherman scrambled up that way in 1873 (deciding to do so on Doug Sr's birthday, August 18).
Jim
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Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 1
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Great stuff Richard! MR looks good to me! I haven't bumped into you since February 2002 on the MR. Remember when you were attempting to knock out the February summit you were missing and we were caught up in a bit of a winter storm? We made it to about 13,000 in the waist deep powder in the chute. I got a nice case of frost bite on my face that day. I'll be up MR on 11/22 for 4+ days with my kid - He thinks he is ready. Would be great to see you up there!
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,443 Likes: 9
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Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 5,443 Likes: 9 |
Are you the guy who shares a name with one of the early Whitney Pioneers?
I ended up with a bit of frostbite on a few fingers from that adventure too. But, that failure was also the start of 5 really fun Winter Weekend Day-Climbs in-a-row... wish I had photos...
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Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 68
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Richard,
What was additional mileage and elevation gain on this route?
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