Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Which is more exposed?

I'm heading for the South-Face-Right-Side route of Mt. Russell via the North Fork approach from the Portal. I'm opting for this route as it appears to be less exposed and I will be bringing some new climbers. Is this the right way to go?

Any tips, warnings, etc. about this route? Would a terrain belay or a hand-line be easy and reasonable to set up if my party gets queezy from the exposure?

Thanks for the input!

Skotty

depends whether you like your exposure vertical or horizontal

I assume you mean more exposed than the East Ridge? The South Face - Right Side is less exposed, but there is a short section of class 3 (with a few tough moves I thought) at the headwall.

Here are my pictures from about a month ago: Mt. Russell & Carillon - 7.7.07

Yes, I did mean which is more exposed between the South-Face-Right-Side and the East Ridge. From the ridge shots I've seen it looks like there is going to be considerably more exposed travel compared to coming from the South Face.

GigaMike, great pics. I checked them via SummitPost. How was the route finding once topping out on the headwall? Is the path of least risistance clear or did you have to poke around on either side of the ridge to find the optimum line? Also, how is the rock? Would a terrain belay or anchored hand-line be reasonable if the group gets sketchy with the exposure?

Thanks for the input!

Route finding is pretty straight forward when you get to the top of the headwall. I have taken several groups up that route and I do bring a small rope but have only used it once to belay a hesitant hiker back down.

Man those pix of Wes going up the Mithral Dihedral are insane!

if they truly are "new" in every sense of the word - they may not like the class III above the talus field - some of the hand holds feel loose/crumbly but in actuality "most" are ok - but if you look between your legs it will seem like there is a lot of air to fall down - best to carry a short rope for a backup. taking this route you have no alternate peak if they want to abort. I personally think the east route is the easier way and this would give you an alternate(Carillon) if some want to wait for another time.

When you get to the top of the right side you still have a bit of the ridge to traverse. In addition, down climbing is usually the most intimidating part. If they don't like the idea of down climbing the right side, the east ridge is the only other option.
This link shows the approach and the ridge line for your trip.
South face left side
This is close to where the left side tops out.

Of the two routes, the East Ridge is obviously more exposed (both real and imagined) with a potential fall of 1000' vertical to either side in a worst case scenario.

The South-Right Headwall is probably only about 40-60' high, but the climbing (especially down) feels a lot more like rock climbing than scrambling.

I would hesitate to bring anyone without at least some mountain climbing experience up Russell. It's not the same as the MR.

Good suggestions and information everyone! I appreciate the insight. The group I'm taking has a few peaks each, but this will be their first experience with any significant exposure. I'll run the beta and the scarriest of images by them prior to get a feeling for what they can tolerate.

Thanks again!