Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board MR Trip Report 10/14/04

Went up MR with two climbing buddies on 10/13/04. Lots of snow in the gulley/chute leading up to The Notch. stayed to the left, snow was 2-3 feet deep in many places but of exellent quality for climbing. My two buddies decided to turn back about 3:30 P.M. about half way to The Notch. I continued on for the summit. Made The Notch about 6:00 P.M., chose the traverse and summited at about 6:45 P.M. All alone up there. I had to descend down the chute in the dark. It was a lot of fun and I was able to follow my own tracks down. Got back to our high camp at 12,000' at 11:30 P.M.

I would not have made it without an ice ax. Others claim the ice ax is not needed on MR but I felt I could have easily fallen during the traverse without it. Had no need for crampons. I was intimindated by the gulleys going up to the summit from the notch. I tried two of them but down climbed due to the snow and a lack of nerve. I was alone and did not feel like lying frozen in some snow drift until Spring. The traverse has its own perils however. the 45+% slope and the ice keep you on your toes, and heels. It is totally doable for intermediate or advanced mountaineers. I wouldn't recomment it for novices however. All in all an exellent route.

Barf Bag,
Sounds like a fun trip. I did the MR two winters ago and it was much too icy not to wear crampons. It looks like you hit it at a great time; I just want others to know that at a couple of pounds, crampons and ice axes are good pieces of winter gear, even if not always needed.
-Dustin

I agree that you should take crampons and ice ax in winter conditions since you don't what you will encounter until you get there. Even in soft snow conditions on the traverse, I would wear crampons since you can't tell if there are some hard snow or icy patches under a layer of soft snow. If you step into something like that just wearing boots, they would find you well down the "45+%" slope. For the weight, it's the cheapest insurance policy you can get.