Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Meysan Lake Route To Mt. Whitney Summit

I'm planning on hiking to Meysan Lake in September 2004, camp overnight, & then do some route-finding the next day to get to the summit trail to MW. Is this possible from Meysan Lake? I've read several trail books, but the specific information I'm asking about is a bit sketchy. I'd like to get the correct info so I know whether to get a Whitney Trail permit for the return instead of just a Wilderness permit.

Certainly what you are proposing is not an easier option then just day hiking either the Mt. Whitney trail or the Mountaineeirs Route....but it has been dreamed about by many, including myself. Meysan lake is worth while in and of itself.. a nice play with multiple important peaks.

If you plan on getting to Mt. Whitney, there are a couple of things you should know. Richins Mt. Whitney summit guide recommends going over the LeConte Mallory pass and then down to Sky blue lake and then North from there. Certainly kind of time consuming (search for posts on sky blue lake, rock creek canyon, crabtree pass...the "sand hill"). The short distance from Sky Blue Lake to Discovery Pinncle would take the most time, except for the climb from Meysan Lake to the saddle.

Another option would be to go up over the notch between Mallory and Irvine and then over to Arc's pass. From there you could drop down to Consultation lake and trail camp and then up from there. Certainly not a real easy option, since you have to drop down quite a bit.

A second possibility (maybe the only one which could be practical) would be to hike from Arc's pass area over the middle peak of Mt. McAdie going down to near crabtree pass and then North to Discovery pinnacle up the sand hill. Staying on the top of the ridge isn't much of an option (search for McAdie information recently).

So the short of it is...go to Meysan lake for it's own rewards....Consider a side trip up to Mt Whitney a discovery journey (you would have to see how it goes with the time you have)

If it actually works many of us would want to know the details/ time etc.

The permit issue seems straightforward: I'd think you need a Whitney stamp.

However, I think that you are in a different pool than the people who do the main trail, and thus, it would be much easier to get.

At first, I thought that you could get away without it, like those who do a dayhike up MR, but then, I realized that you were not talking about a dayhike, so I'd think that analogy would not work. (not to mention...a hell of a hike).

It is not really possible to go from Meysan lake to Whitney by staying on top of the ridge (from Arc's pass to Discovery Pinnacle) so that you don't have to loose any elevation. Bob R. recently said you could minimize your elevation lose to about 1000 feet if you pass over Mt McAdie to the west side. That was in the post about going from Langley to Mt. Whitney within the last week or so. (Has anyone tried?...)

The three options reasonable where discussed by Richard C.

My only real suggestion is to try to go Ultralight if you plan on stretching it out over two -three days..Otherwise going up and down and back up from Meysan lake to Discovery Pinnacle is really going to wear you down. And once you get to Whitney you are still 5 hours from the car.

I just noticed that you plan to do this in September. Some comments:

The part from Meysan Lake to LeConte-Mallory plateau is best done when there is snow, like around June (ice ax, maybe crampons). Later, if the snow is gone, the scree slope is dreadfully loose. Someone made a post last year that they gave it up because of the looseness.

If there is enough snowfall the previous winter so it doesn't all melt, it will be icy-hard by September and you should definitely take crampons and ice ax. Six or eight years ago, a fellow fell here and slid quite a ways on the hard snow. This is gruesome, but makes a point: he lost most of his face in the fall.

The alternative is to go up more to the right, as if you were climbing Irvine. But this is harder and involves some routefinding.

Getting down to the west after reaching LeConte-Mallory pass is almost trivial. There are two or three chutes you can take, all class 2/easy 3.

I just posted a new topic on this,,, but should of looked here first. I just obtained a permit VERY EASILY for this attempt. This is just a backup in case my buddy's application for the lottery falls thru.

My permit grants me entry on Meysan and exit via main Whitney trail. I am not too concerned about the condition of the route, just the route finding. With Mallory/LeConte facing to the north snow or ice could be an issue. from photos it looks like you can stay right and hit solid rock if the scree field is closed out.

does anyone know how good the cairns are past Meysan?

please email to "Desey@adelphia.net"