Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Thor Peak and Mt. Russell pictures, June 28 – 29

See <a href="http://members12.clubphoto.com/robert634908/1422442/owner-8fb6.phtml">Thor – Russell pictures</a>

People planning to climb the Mountaineer's Route soon can see pictures of the current snow coverage near the end of the album.

Russell enthusiasts may be interested in our route. We finished on the popular south face right side route, but it was how we got there that was different. We went up the drainage that feeds Upper Boy Scout Lake, traversed under the southeast face and over the ridge to the Arctic Lake side of the Sierra Crest. That positioned us at the bottom of the couloir that leads to the south face. We were pretty sure this way would "go" class 2, and weren't disappointed. It was a fun way to climb Russell. Our descent route was over Whitney-Russell Col to Iceberg Lake and back to UBS Lake, making it a nice loop trip. It was a leisurely climb, leaving camp at 7 AM and down to the Portal by 5 PM.

Minimum temperature Saturday night at UBS Lake (11,400') was 44 deg.

Bob - I tried your link to the pics, but it did not work. Despair not, for I went to clubphoto.com, typed in "Bob R" and there they were! Once again, thanks for the great pics.

Bob

Great pics. I think I will try that route next time. Several weeks ago I did a route which followed yours except where you turned SW to get over the ridge we turned NE to make the Russell/Carillon saddle at its most westerly point and then hiked up the standard ridgeline route. How close to the ridge line were you able to stay after you crossed over?

spinefxr, I'm not sure I understand your question (too many ridges up there!).

But maybe your answer is in here somewhere. We crossed the ridge (the Sierra Crest, actually) into the Arctic Lake drainage at almost exactly 13,000'. Then did an ascending traverse for perhaps 50-100 yards. That put us in that broad couloir for going straight up. The right hand edge of this couloir is Russell's south ridge, and we were within 50 yards of it the whole way up. The left hand edge is the arete that is Fishhook.

Once topping out between Russell's E and W summits, we were either on top of that ridge or within about 30' of it until we summitted.

Bob

Ok, that makes sense. Sounds like you would have dealt with very little scree on that route.

No scree until we got into the long couloir going up Russell to the S face. Quite a bit of it was loose, but we aimed for the larger sized chunks when we could and that helped.

Also, climbing right next to a face (like on the side of a chute) is usually a lot firmer - friction from the (fixed) face, of course. This is a good trick to know.

I would guess that, of the 900' of couloir to be ascended, about 400' was a little on the tedious side, and the rest of it was "OK".

Bob,
Regarding Russell, at the upper section of the couloir, just prior to topping out between the two summits, how difficult is the climbing say compared to the MR?

Bob,
Where are these ledges? Do they have the same fatal dropoff as the EB ledges? If so, why would you go there?

rixco99, the climbing is definitely harder than the hardest part of the MR. The latter is easy class 3 – a couple of sections 10 – 15 feet long with little exposure – and all the rest of the MR is class 2. The hardest part of the Russell finish is hard class 3 (my opinion) and, since it’s near vertical, novices may want an upper belay. The pictures show the part I am talking about. But it’s short, maybe 20 feet.

I haven’t hesitated taking rank novices along on the MR a number of times. None of them have been frightened, and all have thoroughly enjoyed the experience. (Soothing and supportive chatter has helped.) None have needed a rope, except for my 10 y/o son and that was because I insisted. Because of the steepness on Russell, I would put any novice directly in front of me on the ascent, directing their hands and feet up that steep part. And I would probably take a short piece of rope to belay them back down. Anyone who has done any rock scrambling, including simple bouldering, shouldn’t have a problem, however. It’s a confidence thing.

As I think I mentioned elsewhere, the holds are all there, and solid. If you don't take a rope for the person, a little spotting should do the trick on the descent.

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David, this ledge is on the north side of the NF creek. When you get off it, you are about 5 minutes from joining up with the official route when it crosses the stream from the south side. Yes, if you fell here it would hurt. Bad. Why do it? Here are some reasons:

1. Except for some sections that go through brush, most of the route is on nice ledges or easy rock scrambling. My friends and I all find it more enjoyable than the somewhat tedious trail on the south side.
2. There are no stream crossings that can be a problem early in the season.
3. It is a good introduction for novices. After surpassing the ledge in the picture, I can tell people that all of the MR ahead is easier and has far less exposure. Including the Ebersbacher Ledges. That is comforting to them.
4. It is fun when you are spotted by people going up on the south side "official route." You *know* they are thinking, "Look at those dummies; how could they miss the trail!" And then we reach the Ebersbacher Ledges significantly sooner than they do.
5. So it is a little quicker.

I can tell a story. For a long time, the "official start" for the NF route was to leave the main Whitney trail south of the creek, after the stream crossing. (This is still the way described in many guidebooks.) Then, around 1980, my rescue team was called for a young fellow who had fallen on the north slopes of Thor Peak. He had a back injury, and we had a difficult time bringing him down at night, in the stretcher, especially over some large boulders a few hundred feet before finally getting to the main trail. I wondered if there might be a way, on the descent, to cross the stream to the north side, before the boulders, where it appeared to be less rocky. I went back and found a way (that crossing is now used today). Furthermore, I was then intrigued that a route might exist to stay on the north side all the way. Further explorations revealed the route, and my friends started going that way too. Later, I would find footprints showing that quite a few others were doing it and, later still, the rangers made the “official start” the north side of the creek. Now the path is well worn. But the “official route” still crosses to the south after a little ways, and comes back north later, just below the Ebersbacher Ledges.

I know the rangers would prefer we didn’t do this, on principle – alternate paths can contribute unnecessarily to erosion. However, so much of this route is on rock and slabs, little harm is done. Quite a few people use this side now – maybe even some of the rangers. (Note: there is no law against traveling cross-country, off of trails.)

Bottom line. People going up the NF only once or twice should stick to the official route. People going up several times a year, perhaps over several years, and who have an adventurous streak about them, may enjoy exploring alternate routes such as this one.

well said and well written - thanks for the replay. imagine the loss if some were not willing to explore new routes and try new adventures - would we be in america today?

Bob R.,
Thank-you! The information and the pics are great! I have a much higher level of comfort about attempting Russell this way now.
-Rick