Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board north face of Whitney question?

It's been a couple of years since I was last at the notch. From what I recall while looking down at the Arctic lakes region is that the north face was very steep. My memory tells me that it was about the same or a little steeper than the main coulior of the MR. Yet I know that a couple of years ago a couple of mountaineers fell to their deaths in this area and I recall some saying that it is a long drop. I also vaguely recall some reports that list this area as class 3 to class 4. How steep is it? Is it vertical at all? Would a fall be really a fall in this area or a long uncontrolled slide? Perhaps Tina and Rick can chime in or show some photos since they were there recently. I may want to try this area in the future so I would sure like to learn more about it.

Rafael...

It all depends on what you consider the North Face. We have exited off the summit down into the Artics Lakes basin and then over to Iceberg Lake- it wasn't bad (nothing vertical) at all if you choose the right route. I also climbed just shy of the summit last October but got into too much ice without crampons and came back. If you choose your route properly, I would say that you shouldn't have to worry too much about falling. There is very little if any exposure (though the amount of snow and conditions of the snow makes all the difference in the world - when we came down in there was a lot and it was a very straight forward, but seeing pictures from last weekend with the lack of snow it seemed a little bit different story). It offers a great perspective of the notch on the MR as well as really seeing the drop that is below it. Plus you get over into an area that doesn't see nearly as many people.

Right under the staircase chute, is a cliff, perhaps hundreds of feet. That is why climbers in the winter can slip and fall and go right over the edge. If you are at the notch and look down and to the right you can look right over the edge.

http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.aspx?ID=79933

Rick Kent choose a path a little further to the west. In fact, he is the only one I know of who has gone that way and posted pictures. This photo is the route from his hike back in June 2005, when he came from Mt. Russell to Mt. Whitney up the North Face. The little red box shows the location of the notch.

http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.aspx?ID=52958

The pictures of Rick and Tina this last weekend start here.

http://www.rickkent.net/ViewerPlus/viewphoto.aspx?ID=79932

If you look at the link that shows the route in red, if I remember right, you want to stay higher along the bottom traverse portion (above the red line). You can see the pass you need to go through on the left side of the picture, if you try the lower passes you end up looking a long way down onto UBSL and end up backtracking to the higher pass (I speak from experience). I have some great picture coming down the route, but unfortunatly they are not on line and therefore no access as I understand the posting process.

north face of Whiney question? Freudian Slip? (I couldn't resist)!

I think the pictures that Rick took of our recent ascent provides some of the best beta. If you have any other questions, please feel free to shoot me an e-mail. I would like to add that this climb was the most awesome experience I have had in the Eastern Sierra to date. I would love to do it again while there is snow!

those pictures are incredible - hats off to you two - makes the MR look like Disneyland - congradulations on an awsome adventure

Wow..no kidding. Those photos are incredible. My knees were knocking just looking at them. See..I think I can take a little bit of exposure..for a little bit of time. But I don't think I can stand a lot of exposure..for hours on end. Unbelievable. Congrats on the successful ascent!

And fantastic photos!

Chris

After reading the description and seeing the new pictures of the North Face by Tina and Rick Kent.....all I can say is WOW! What an amazing feat of skill and determination, inspite of dangerous climbing conditions.

Considering how tough the Mountaineers route is this time of year, how does one go above and beyond in conquering a more tougher route...both in time and difficulty?

Like Beach, I could only imagine how exciting that must have been.

Rick & Tina: Good Job - awesome climb! I can't think of anything more sketchy than thin snow over ice/granite (especially at such a sustained high angle!). Wonderful photos Rick! Warm congratulations on your North Face summit!

Doug F.

I'll post a report on our North Face climb shortly. I was really impressed. Given current conditions it's a challenge and challenge is what for me makes mountaineering so rewarding. It really felt more like a climb I might have expected on a much higher peak.

-Rick

Any reason both groups went down the trail, instead of coming back down the MR. Rick & Tina, along with Richard P & Beach's group both came down the trail.

The downclimb to the notch is always more dangerous than the ascent. At least for Tina and I we were so tired out from the North Face we felt it best not to do the class 3 downclimb on wobbly legs.

-Rick

I really would have preferred to head down the MR (I was actually caching gear at Iceberg when I was told the consensus was the MT.), but some wanted Muir, some wanted to glissade TC and some wanted the safety of the MT.

The big disadvantage of the loop is that the MT seems really, really loooong after a hard day on the MR.

You are all missing it. Rafael is asking about Mt. Whiney. I think it's a peak in West Virginia perhaps.

I wanted to go down MT because I wanted to glisade down the bowl - I was probably the most vocal because I assume not too many more weeks where this is the viable fun option.

Bob, if you look at the board in "Threaded Mode" it makes more sense, because you'll see that some of the reples are in regard to GoneHiking's question and this is in response to your comment.

Yeah..I voted for the MT for the descent just because I figured it would be more of a "no brainer"..and my legs were really wiped out from the 2 days of hiking. Of course..it was much, much longer to go via the MT (always longer than I imagined it to be..) but the views were really worth it. Just stepping out on the slope to glissade from Trail Crest was worth the extra distance..what an incredible experience.

Chris

Ha Ha Ha Ha Bob.
I just caught my spelling error. It's been a long two weeks. I'll fix it. I was talking about Mt. Whitney not Mt. whiney!

Rafael...

Alrighty then, it's fixed!

BobR and Tina, you both missed your calling. With the ability to pick out spelling errors and the wit to go with it, you should have both been teachers. A bit of trivia here, but George Mallory and Norman Clyde were both teachers at one time.

Rafael...

I missed it too - leave it to the teacher for the correction
do I have to fly back east to climb Whiney?