Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board MR Final 400 Chute?

Well, I still have not had the time to put together my trip report of my first trip up the MR on Sunday, the day after the group hike. I will hopefuly do that in the next couple of days, but in the meantime I have a question that has been bugging me since Sunday.

Depite hours of pouring over pictures, etc., I found myself confused about the correct chute to take once I gained the notch. I am pretty sure that I took the second chute- which I think was not the correct one - as it seemed like I was in Class 3-4 stuff the entire time. I ended up decending about 25 yards to the right of the Notch along the beginning of the traverse, and then gained the chute at that point. I might have been a little cloudy in the head, but I do not recall any chute directly above the notch...

I have been looking for a picture that I remember seeing somewhere on this board from Mt. Russell showing the 3 or 4 different chutes on the MR route and was wondering if someone could point me back to that picture.

Suffice it to say, I was very surprised at the steepness of the route that I chose, and it seemed to have considerable exposure that I was not expecting. I made it, but I have to say that I was a little freaked out the entire time...more on that later.

Thanks.

Was there a snow/ice patch at the top of the chute you were in? The normal "Final 400" chute is visible about 15-20 feet past the Notch.

The "Final 400" chute:



The first move required to enter the chute:



The Notch as seen from the bottom of the chute:

Can anyone explain why you don't just continue walking west after the notch? It looks like you would pass by all the chutes, then simply make a U turn and walk up to the top of the peak.

Is this route to dangerous (too loose?) From Bob R pics, it looks like you want to stay out of the chute valley's and be up on their ridges.

Thanks for the pics.

Answer: See Bob R's trip report of 7/11/07 with dramatic photos "The Easy Traverse Just Got Creamed." (Coincidentally I ran into him on the summit minutes later.) On 8/21 I carefully descended the Traverse from the summit to the notch to check it out. My impression: Class 1-2 with nontrivial risk of loss of life.
Jim

GigaMike & Bob:

Thanks for the info. Yup, I took the chute to the right of the "final 400 chute."

Excellent pictures. Thanks a ton.

Thanks Jim.

So, from your statement "nontrivial risk of loss of life" I am somewhat confused. Are you saying that it is class 1 to 2, but if you slip you are dead?

No hurry on an answer, I am just trying to get a first hand opinion of what looks easy from the photos. I have never been to this side of the peak.

Hi Scotthiker 2,

By the way, my impression relates to the August 21, 2007 conditions: no ice or snow in a very dry year. Winter is a different game up there.

In August slipping was not the issue. Rather the terrain appeared unstable and loose. Step on a rock and it starts to slide downhill, and then so do the surrounding rocks and scree. Soon you could possibly be surfing a wave of rocks down a big hill with increasing velocity approaching one of the many substantial dropoffs scattered about the North Face. Getting off this train once it leaves the station might not be easy. Also possibly another big slide( similar in size to the one Bob R witnessed) could be triggered. ( See his 7/11/07 photos in the trip report "The easy walk off just got creamed". Use this Board's excellent search function to retrieve his report.)

I went down the Traverse=Easy Walk off with Doug Sr about five years ago and it certainly did not seem so loose then. It was my impression this summer that Doug thinks that the area from the Notch up to the summit plateau is more unstable this year due to the dry conditions permitting increased thawing of ice under the surface. Sorry, but I have no geological expertise to comment.

Personally I felt comfortable on the Traverse on 8/21, but I crossed it "On High Alert." I believe caution is key up there and would in no way try to lead others to believe the Traverse was risk-free, given its recent history.

Hope this helps, Jim

scotthiker2, the chutes are not class 1-2, but class 3-4. They definitely require your hands to climb, but the climb is loaded with bombproof handholds. There are many spots where a slip could be your last. As long as you follow the rule to always have three points of contact on the rock, you should be quite safe. Hikers with acrophobia should probably stick to the main trail, because the chutes give an airy feeling that could drive acrophobiacs past the outer limits of comfort, to put it mildly, expecially when you are looking down 2000-plus feet, but the view is not straight down. If you have done class-3-plus climbing, it should be fairly easy, as far as techinical skill is concerned. Without experience, it looks daunting, and I've witnessed plenty of hikers turn around at the Notch. Rock climbing experience is a great help for enjoying the exhilaration and reaching the summit safely.

Jim and Wayne,

Thank you for the additional information. I have climbed similar routes before (in Colorado), but it has been many years. I now have a better mental picture of the terrain. Thanks everyone.

Jim, the search function does indeed work great.

In a normal year, there can be rock-hard snow and ice on this innocent-looking traverse, potentially making it a class 4 ice climb.

When the traverse is dry, as it was this summer, it would likely look easier to inexperienced climbers than the chutes, though as others mention, the looseness of the ground may in fact make it (arguably) the poorer choice.

You're right. As you continue west on the "easy walk-off," you can eventually make that U-turn. Also note that the chutes get less steep the farther west you go. The aerial picture below, taken by bearbnz (member 389) looking east, shows this clearly.

Bob R,

Thank you for coming back to my post. You guys are terrific at revisiting posts that have occurred in the past.

It sure is nice that this board brings every "replied to" post to the top. Otherwise, overly distracted persons like myself (with young children) would seldom see them.

It's also possible to stay in the center of the chutes, but often it's icy. In winter, sometimes the center has very nice conditions with good, firm snow; in these circumstances, staying in the center can be the quickest way. In the first (i.e. main) chute, the center of it gets pretty steep near the top though, and some people would use ropes on it.