Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board North Fork Waterfall

There is a waterfall in the North Fork, between Lower and Upper Boy Scout Lake. The slabs above the waterfall lead to Barney Girl Scout Lake.

Has anyone climbed this slab to the shelf above the waterfall. There is a person standing on the slab, apparently headed downhill....as though they came down the slab.

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/gallery/1920314_T6foD#97248907_4DiRn-A-LB

After looking at other pictures, it appears the slab curling up on the right side of the waterfall gets kind of steep toward the top.

I have personally walked past it many times, never really noticing a path that looked easy to climb.

When I am in the North Fork next week, I will pay more attention.

If the slab were possible to climb it would be a short cut to the Smiley Face route on Thor Peak and provide some variety getting to and from the Moraine field below Iceberg Lake to the area below Upper Boy Scout Lake.

I have been up that route in the early spring trying to get some pictures of the falls and ice from a different angle. I headed up the slab heading slightly right. I then went left along a bench to the "chimney" you can see in your picture that goes up to the top angling to the right. There was enough snow in the area to fill the chimney in so that may have made climbing that section easier than it would be without snow. I will look through my pictures to see if I can find any I can post here.

I could not find the photos from the spring hike but forgot that I had done the same thing a few summers ago. Here are some photos around the upper section of the waterfall that give you a little perspective on the terrain.


Looking directly up at the waterfall out of Girl Scout Lake.




Looking at the upper section of the waterfall from the bench along the top of the slab.



Looking across towards Whitney.

Thanks very much...I love those pictures. It sounds like an area worth some exploration. I will go check it out next week when we are in the area.

Hi Mark: our permit is for Tuesday the 8th. One way or another, that is crunch time for us. The hardest thing to decide may be which route to take....on the way up and on the way down....always like to try something new.

hey kent..what days are you going up there I plan on hitting MR
on the 10th early morning stay at iceberg lake overnite than continue up over and down main trail on the 11th...If time allows me on way up I will detour over there and check it out... Hope to meet you... mark

Just a follow up on this ramp, next to the waterfall. When we were there yesterday, it was obvious it would be too steep to safely climb up the ramp to get to the top of the waterfall. A little to the west there is a break in the rocks, where one could climb up into the area to do some exploring.

http://piotrowski.smugmug.com/gallery/1920314_T6foD#97248907_4DiRn-A-LB