Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mountaineer's Route Too Scary?

Okay guys, I am climbing the Mountaineer's Route with three friends and an "experienced' guide the early part of August. I have never CLIMBED anything in my life and am only a casual hiker. I really wanted to do the hiking trail but was talked into this because of the permit issue. We will be on the mountain 3-4 days and will come up a day or two early. Oh, did I mention I am 55 years old and in average shape? (walk, run etc.) Am I in over my head?? And if not how do I prepare?

Even though it will come across as more cross country then the trail, scary is not how I would describe it. Much of the route has a small use trail. I like the phrase..."for those seeking a different experience then the trail offers." In a few places you will have to do easy climbing with plenty to hold onto...like climbing over or around large boulders....no ropes or anything. Other times you will walk along ledges where you can stay away from the edge for the most part. Having an experienced guide will keep you away from places you shouldn't be. My wife went along one year, did fine, and she is not the climbing type.

Over the years I have been on the Mountaineers route with many friends who have had no climbing experience. The biggest challenge is the elevation, which is no different on the regular trail. You are coming up early and spending 3-4 days to work your way up and down. That will really help. Being in shape always helps. "Climbing," as in rock climbing is not one of the requirements. The "climbing" is fairly easy if someone is there to show you how to do it. It will be a nice change for you. Much more interesting then walking and walking and walking that you would do up the 11 miles of the reqular trail.

The biggest risk with the Mountaineers route is getting off the route and that should not happen with an experienced guide. You should not have problems if you get in good shape (hike with a full pack several times before you go up so your legs and shoulders are used to a load). Also, use your day or 2 in advance to get acclimitized - meaning climb up to higher altitudes and come back down. For example, walk up the hiking trial at Whitney to 11 or 12,000' or go up to Mammoth and climb a little. Have fun!

Don't you still need permits on the Mtn'eers route if you are staying more than 24 hours?

Yes, Nancy - our guide has secured permits....they are easier to obtain 'cause it's not the "regular" hike.
And thank you thank you for all the words of encouragement guys! I think I'll actually do it - will let you know

You would need your permit if you have overnight gear with you (like tent and sleeping bags etc) Otherwise you would be doing an extended day hike, no matter how long it took.

Scary? I asked my wife if she thought the mountaineers route was scary. She said the Ebersbacher ledges before the first lake and the chute above the notch (14100 feet), just below the top required a little courage, being cross country and involving a little simple climbing. However she says it was really no problem with a guide to show how to make it through the ledges and where to go.

Thank you GoneHiking and thanks to your wife too. With all the info I've received I feel more excited than scared about this "climb" Leaving Tuesday for an overnight at LBSL just to "look around" with our guide!

"Am I in over my head?"

Yeah. That's the attraction. Don't worry too much, though. You do have a guide. Just don't injure yourself.

Q: Is it too scarey (for non-rockclimbers)?

A: Almost was for me. I had all the thrills I could deal with, to be truthful. Just don't ***** when on top of any slope you wouldn't like
to fall down. Panic and carelessness kills.

Edited to add:

One wonders why the software considers f+r+e+a+k is an eeville word?!

Just remember to thoughtfully ease up and back down that mountain, safely. If circumstances cancel your trip, just remember that the mountain will always be there, for next year.

Cheers

At first you want to be on the trail. Latter on you want the experience of the Mountaineers route...a little more cross country and a lot less people....kind of the mountain experience one really enjoys. There are portions (like has been mentioned) where you will summon some extra excitement and courage. Keep your wits, be careful and you will be OK. Unless you choose to do real rock climbing you don't need to. My last trip up there we had two folks with almost no experience (one had not even hiked much) They came, enjoyed and went home happy. I would never send people up this route without a guide...too many places to get off trail...but with a guide...go and have fun...it won't be too scarry or too much...And besides, if it gets to be too much..you don't have to keep going. Just being in the canyon at any of the 4 lakes is well worth it. Chances are it will be less scary then you expected... Before I went the first time I really wondered if it would be too much...it wasn't.

Interesting question. My first time up the Mountaineers route didn't include a guide. It would have really helped. When you make it up to Lower Boy Scout lake on your scouting trip, you will already know what the mountain is like. To a person who has done mostly hiking, it usually seems a little rugged. Everyone has a comfort level and what scares one person, another finds easy....It comes down to desire. If you really have the desire, the courage rises to the occasion. I feel a little fear each time in the few places mentioned that are "emotionally challenging." But that is why I love going back...sure beats hours and hours of walking down the trail. Whenever I leave Lower boy scout lake on the way down, I turn around and look back and say "I'll be back."

OK.... so maybe this is a stupid question, but how do you go about finding a guide? Every time I've been up Whitney (other than a day hike) has been an approach from the JMT. I've never been on the Mountaineers trail, but this message board has REALLY piqued my curiosity. I get the impression that the Mountaineers Trail is not clearly marked, at least not as obvious as the Main Trail. Any suggestions?

By guide I assume they only mean someone who has been there before. With 15 people a day heading up the Mountaineers route, you could always follow someone going up. Post a message when you would like to go up. Others would be willing to let you tag along, based on your posts we have been reading for some time now. Available pictures of the route are really good now, making it possible to even do without a guide........now back to the original question....Scary?...what do a 10 yr old, 12 year old, my 35 year old wife, 25 year old pregnant sister in law along with my youngest brother all have in common..they all summited Whitney with me up the Mountaineers route.

...is this posting be secretly being posted by BobR to stimulate conversation?

~Swifty

Swifty -

Oh god, I hope not, I'm sure Bob's eye's would be rolling :-)

I just asked about the guide because I've seen a few comments refering to guides. I've also read comments that it's a more pleasurable route because there aren't nearly as many people. But I HAVEN'T read any posts about how one would go about getting a guide, if one desired... or if it was recomended the first time going up that route.

but if there's other people ahead of me, I can follow...

Rosabella: If you are good at route finding, you don't need a guide. However the first time I went (10 years ago), I wasn't always sure just were to go. I wan't that familiar with the area or reading topo maps. Now there are better route guides and lots of pictures to look at. They would be enough, combined with the posts on the route the last few months. There are professional guides going up (I saw their advertisement at Adventure 16), but that would seem overkill and expensive.

I have not yet been to the summit. My only time on Whitney, we were headed up the MR. It seems most likely you would get off route in the canyon before LBSL. We did. We stuck to the north side of the canyon too long (the place where we should have crossed looked like a dead end under the bushes). We ended up sliding sideways (with packs) along the canyon wall between the willos and the rock. It was a pain in the hind end and took a lot longer to get to LBSL than it should have and we got covered with GIANT aphids. We had planned to not stop until UBSL, but due to being tired from bushwhacking and my friend showing some mild AMS, we stopped at LBSL. Went down the next day because his AMS had worsened significantly.

So a guide would have saved us that bushwhacking, but wasn't totally necessary in my opinion. The second time we tried for it, my friend got hosed out of going at the last minute by his work (he quit within 2 weeks and has a better job now). Since then, we haven't gotten over the sting of those failures to go again, but we will be back someday. It's tough to plan 6 months ahead and then get shut down at the very end by some unforeseen reason. Next time we may drive up and try to get a walk-in permit and if we don't get it, go summit somewhere else.

Doug at the store is an excellent source of info on the MR. Also printing out pictures of the critical places on the Ledges and taking them along worked well for me.

Ellen

My first time up the MR I took my 10-year-old son. No WPS message board for advice and guidance, or any of the modern guidebooks. We didn’t have any problems finding the way.

Later, I took my flatlander sister-in-law. The thing I remember most was her putting on gardening gloves every time there was a need to touch the rock – to keep from damaging her fingernails. I took along a short rope for the top part, just in case, but she would have none of it. Oh yes, we carried our full packs up because we wanted to descend the trail. She loved it and, even now - over 20 years later - she still tells about the climb to every new person she meets.

(Posting secretly? Egads!!)