Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Russell - Up the East Ridge & Down the South Face

I'd seen a few posts of Mount Russell's East Ridge and South Face (Right) routes this summer, and that was more than enough to convince me to give the peak a try.

Russell's Class 3 strikes me as a big step up from Whitney/The Mountaineer's Route, but what a climber's mountain!

The East Ridge is just breathtaking--a sublime mix of moderate climbing and very un-moderate exposure:



A big thanks to all who posted those motivational Russell TR's!

Climbing the East Ridge

Andy

Andy: Wonderful report! - Russell is a beautiful mountain. Your pictures are really clear - what kind of camera are you using?

I typically carry two cameras: a Nikon D200 digital SLR and a Canon Powershot instant.

The Canon is great for shots where I don't have two free hands (climbing) or when it's raining and I don't want to risk the $ camera. Plus, it's nice to have a backup.

You can usually tell the difference between the two: the Canon's images are noisier and grayer. But it's better to get something than nothing.

Glad you liked the report!

Thanks for the camera info Andy - I should have known about the Nikon D200 because it is listed on your gear list included with the trip report. Is the picture you posted on this thread taken with the Nikon D200? That picture looks very clear to me.

Yes, that's a D200 shot. For comparison, here's a similar shot from my Canon sd900, which is also a 10MP camera:



I should mention both shots were sharpened/corrected with Photoshop, which makes a big difference. The D200 especially needs post-processing efforts to get the most out of the image.

'Course I can't really recommend stuffing an extra 5 lbs (camera,lens,case) in your pack...