Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Mt Russell success

Whitney Portal to a secluded spot east of Upper Boy Scout Lake
Day 1 of 3: http://community.webshots.com/album/553365904LDnhKN

Two years ago we turned back at ~13,900', I chickened out. A friend said he would take us up to Mt Russell so we set a date. He had a climbing accident in June and fell ~1,000' when a cornice broke from under him (CO), but thought he would be ready 10+ weeks later. He wasn't, so we decided to try it ourselves.

Day 2 of 3: Mt Russell summit day: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/553367010nmAyON

Our second try was successful!

still working on day 3. We came down the slabs that Doug Sr told us about a few years ago. FUN!

Congratulations.....Your pictures are great. They really capture the emotional aspects of the exposure on the east ridge route of Mt. Russell....it is one scarry place for those sensitive to exposure.

Just looking through the pictures makes your hair raise. Well done.

Congrats Snow Nymph! Great pictures of the climb too.
I repeated Russell this year on July 15 and did not remember sooo much exposure! Very exciting.
Looks like we made a similar trip; I did Russell as a "warm-up" for Polemonium Peak which we climbed on July 28.

Oh snow, My heart aches. I was planning on doing Russell this weekend and some of the other nearby peaks but I had to change plans. I love your pictures, they are the most detailed I've seen of the East Arete. Well looks like I'll tackle this one next Summer. Glad you made it. The exposure is rather scary looking, but the climbing looks relatively easy. Would you say that is an accurate statement?

Rafael...

Thanks, Kashcraft, hoser and rafael! I agree that it was easy class 3 but with class 5 exposure. Its the exposure that got to me. A scary but fun climb. Coming back took half the time as it did to go up.

Day 3 of 3: Back to Whitney Portal via the slabs above Lower Boy Scout Lake
Photos: http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/553366110WrybpS

It was a short day so we took our time packing, and enjoyed our quiet little campsite. Doug Sr told us about a route by the slabs above LBSL, so we tried it. Fun route coming down!

Great pics! Thanks for sharing. Had Russell on our to-do list this past weekend but became so busy with other routes and places to explore. Talked to Rick Kent and Doug Sr. about the choice of routes. They acted like it was an easy path, but I'm like you, I get a little dizzy hanging off the edges like that. Congrats for facing that challenge!!

Wow, that was fascinating to look at your pics and I almost got dizzy just looking at a few and putting myself in your place.

I hiked Angels Landing in Zion in March and it was a bit snowy and icy and I really did not enjoy it even though it was probably a cakewalk compared to your experience. But I would have enjoyed it if it was dry because it wasn't bad.

I can deal with some Class 3, but when you add in the exposure, I just find it unsettling. Mount Russell sounds too "adventurous" for me, but I'm glad there are more daring folk out there to do it and take pics for the rest of us to enjoy. :-)