Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board August 10, 2003 Trip Report and Pictures

One of my Whitney obsessions has been to get to the summit in under 4 hours. I've made several attempts over the last few years, the most recent unsuccessful one about a month ago (4:28) up the main trail. After an e-mail conversation with Bob Rockwell about this trip, I recalled that I had told Bob about my Whitney obsessions (the other ones being an ascent during each month and a one-day ascent during each month). His comment was that someone he knew had made an ascent up the MR in aroud 2 1/2 hours and I ought to try this route to the summit.

Since I had been spending a lot of time at altitude over the past 5 weeks, I decided to give it a shot. I went up Saturday afternoon and did a warm-up hike up the North Fork to verify that I remembered the Rockwell "shortcut" route direct to the EB Ledges (this path saves 10-15 minutes on the approach to LBSL). Sunday morning, I got up at 4:30 and ate breakfast (oatmeal and a banana). I waited around a hour for daylight. The weather was warm enough that I stripped down to a poly teeshirt before starting.

I reached LBSL in slightly under an hour, UBSL in around 1:34, Iceberg Lake in around 2:17 and the summit in 3:34. I was so jazzed at having finally done it, that I was pumping my fists as I walked the last few hundred feet to the summit.

On the summit at 9:00am, I stripped off the wet teeshirt and pulled on a thin long-sleeve poly layer. This, plus the tee was more than enough to keep me warm on the summit.

Euphoria made the trip down to Trail Camp relatively easy. I had a long conversation with Ranger Jonathan about Winter vs. Summer ascents of the MR. (When I mentioned to another ranger down the mountain that I had this conversation, he mentioned that Jonathan can't wait until this winter - this other ranger had stopped me because he noticed that I didn't have a hang-tag on my pack. I had to explain that I had gone up MR and down the Main Trail. The fact that I wasn't cited proves that you can do Whitney this way without a permit.)

After Trail Camp, I was hoping that I would run into "Lance" - I definitely needed someone to carry me down. The trip down took a little less than 5 hours.

Side Notes: It had been a few years since I had been up the MR in summer. There's definitely a well-defined "use trail" up the North Fork. The scree/talus up above Iceberg is much worse than I remember it being. You can avoid some of it by staying on the clean rock left and right of the scree/talus. The remaining snow on the route is easily avoided. I carried 2 quarts of Powerade with me (it wasn't enough), supplemented by sips of water at the spots that Rockwell has recommended as safe.

There was someone fixing ropes across the last remaining snow/ice field at the base of the East Face. I think it may have been Andreas.

On the way down, I was experimenting with my new digital camera, a wide-angle adapter and some filters. Follow the link below if you're interested in seeing the pictures.

<A HREF="http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289435143"><IMG SRC="http://www.imagestation.com/images/is/community/this_album_button.gif" BORDER="0"></A>

Congratulations on your personal best! Awesome. And great pics, too. Have you accomplished your long-time goal of climbing Whitney in each of the 12 months?

Richard, congrats!
You'll have to pardon my ignorance . . .I'm very interested in the MR, but I'm not sure if you have to rock climb in certain areas. I do rock climb, but am still very novice.
What kind of equipment do you need to do a summer ascent? Can you give me some details about the hike?
Thanks.

Richard, congrats!
You'll have to pardon my ignorance . . .I'm very interested in the MR, but I'm not sure if you have to rock climb in certain areas. I do rock climb, but am still very novice.
What kind of equipment do you need to do a summer ascent? Can you give me some details about the hike?
Thanks.

Richard, I am very interested in doing the MR very, very soon. I've never been on that trail. If I can't find someone to follow, is there a well-beaten path to follow? I know there's rocks so there won't be footprints on it. Are there maps at the Ranger station?

sherry, here's a write-up Doug Sr. gave me a few years back. He probably has a better one in his new book, but here's what he gave me:

Mountaineer's Route
This is not a trail. For experienced climbers the route should be easy to follow and only one path needs to be used. This will stop the severe damage that is being done in this drainage. Also, as climbers, we should set the example of taking out our own trash and human waste.
Take the main Whitney trail to the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek sign, this is 150ft. from the Wilderness Boundary sign. If you have any doubt stay on the main trail to the sign and then come back 150ft. Cross the creek and see the cut log faint path up THE NORTH SIDE/RIGHT SIDE of the creek. About 200ft. distance up this path you will see a sign and poop bag dispenser. Read the sign Mountaineer's Route. Take a bag and use it. Bags can be placed in the covered can at the main trailhead at the Portal.
Follow this path up through the trees and ferns until it flattens out. This will be about a quarter of the way up this canyon. From here you should see the notch/gap below Lower Boy Scout Lake. Continue on about 100ft. and you will cross to the South side of the stream. This will be somewhat of a tunnel through the willows and it exits onto a slab (10'). Follow the path up the South side. Below the wall and above the stream, as the canyon narrows down and the path joins the slabs, you will cross the stream to the North side. This crossing can be very wet and icy. The stream has two threads at this point so you will cross one then go up a log and cross next to/under a waterfall. As you leave the water go to the wall and turn up the canyon. Fifty feet along the base of the wall will take you to a dead-end. This is the start of the ledges. Look up and right and you will see the "pine tree." Work your way up the crack to the tree. At the the tree look to the east and the ramp is straight ahead. Stay close to the wall and you should see the path. Walk 150' east on this ramp (level), then at this point you will be able to gain about three feet of elevation. Step up and follow this ramp east 175' again staying next to the wall (away from the drop-off) and this will get you to a short section of stair steps up about 5 feet and about 5 feet east. MAKE A MENTAL NOTE OF THIS POINT. This is the turning point on the way down. If you miss this and continue on the upper ledge you will need rope and climbing skills to get down. As you leave the ledge, head straight for the main wall in front of you. At the base of this wall (100') you will find the path. Follow the path at the base of the wall until it exits onto an open area and you will see the notch/gap below Lower Boy Scout Lake and the path is easy to follow. At the notch lose a little elevation to a sign that reads "No wood fires." Cross here to the south side, follow the path through the trees to the boulder field. Look along the base of this scree slope (south side of LBSL) and you will see the track to follow. Also see two giant rocks near the waterfall. Head to the downhill side of the lower boulder. Stay close to this rock. As you get to the rock you will see the willows. At the very edge of the downhill side of the lower rock is the path. Follow it in the willows about 15' and it will turn north and down into a small stream. Cross this stream and work up several feet and cross another thread of the water. As you exit this crossing you will be at a slab. Climb on to the slab and follow the slab to a group of trees (1500ft. +/- distance). These slabs will be icy and very slick. If not icy, mossy, so watch your step at all times through this section. When you get to the trees (Clyde Meadow) look up and left to the gap/saddle and follow slabs to the path that switchbacks up to this saddle. You will find a grand path at this point.
Now that you are here (11,500ft. +) let's talk it over. You have never had to use any more than walking skills. This should be about halfway and your last water spot is Iceberg Lake. Turn around now and you can see most of the North Fork Drainage. Your path should be almost a straight line to the Portal. The path that you followed has been used for a long time by many mountaineers. All of the false trails have caused much damage and ruined many great outings. Remember only step on rocks and stay on slabs. If you are on the path, stay on it. This will keep it fresh and easy for the next to follow. We could talk about cairns/ducks but I know that all schools of thought will never agree as to what's right. My thoughts are if they are wrong take them down. If they mark critical points, leave them.
Back to the trip. Follow this path up and past the small water-seep below Iceberg Lake. Many old climbers use this west end of the water-seep to climb up to Iceberg Lake, but now most travel past the water and go up the next draw west. This is much safer and faster with a pack. This takes you to Iceberg Lake.
The Mountaineer's Route takes the gully to the notch at 14,000ft. Several ways will get you to the notch. This depends on snow/ice conditions and your skill level. Rockfall and people in the chute above make it worth staying to the right of left as much as you can. Also in the middle of the chute there is a large boulder blocking the path. Don't climb up to it and try climbing around it. Pick a course around it about 50' below and it's fairly easy. The chute above this point is about 45 degrees and below is about 40 degrees.
From the notch several choices exist. The "easy walk off" or the first chute to the south. This easy walk off is only easy if it is DRY, and you know where to go. If it has any snow at all on it this will be 50 degrees + ice for a long way. Full climbing gear with ice skills and tools needed. The chute to the south of the notch if studied will reveal a path up on rock most of the summer. Again this will require climbing skills and a lot of people turn back at the notch. The last several hundred feet is not that important. The exposure picks up in this section and is a factor to consider on the way down if you continue up.

Many thanks Wayne. I xeroxed your report and will take it with me. I rummaged through all my Whitney books and found trail measurements I'll share with everyone.

Whitney Portal mile 0.0 alt 8365'
N.Fork Lone Pine Creek 0.8 8700'
Lower Boy Scout Lake 1.8 10,300'
Upper Boy Scout Lake 2.7 11,300'
Mt. Whitney 4.7 14,496 '

Thanks.

I'm still short an ascent in October and I don't remember ever having done a one-day in December. The one time that I was up in October, we were hit with an early season storm. We pushed up as far as Trail Camp with the snow blowing horizontally, but decided to turn around there.

I'm in the process of changing my schedule so that I return to L.A. the first weekend in October, so that I can complete the cycle. Hopefully, we'll still have summer conditions then.

Sherry,

I'm surprised by your stats on mileage. It sures feels a lot longer than 4.7 miles to the summit.

I took the stats out of "Mount Whitney: The Complete Trailhead-to-Summit Hiking Guide" by Paul Richins, jr.

Yeah, I figured there's a catch or more people would be doing the MR. Gonna take a practice run at it though.

Last year, I was honored that Doug gave me the draft of his 2nd edition to review. In it, he described the MR as 3.4 miles long; said it had been measured with a surveyor's wheel. (FYI, Doug was a surveyor in his former life.)

Now I had done a very careful measurement on a large scale map in Topo (1" = 0.19 miles), tracing out the route and letting the Topo software compute the distance. Taking the average of 5 trials, it came out very close to 4.06 miles (standard deviation 0.04). Adding the vertical component brings it to about 4.25 miles.

So 3.4 miles sounds too short. I suggested that maybe someone had gotten the numbers transposed: 4.3 is awfully close to mine.

Doug said, "Well, I think I'll just put in 4 miles, and leave it at that."

But I notice that his new book gives 4.3. I don't know whether this was a command decision, or perhaps he checked his surveying source again.

Sherry,
On August 22 I'm going with 3 friends up the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek to summit Russell and Whitney. Ive been up the MR twice before and We have a 3 day permit and we will probablly spend at least one night at Upper Boy Scout Lake. Since there is no permit needed for a dayhike on the MR you and your son-in-law can go with us through the Eiserbacher ledges and on to Upper Boy Scout Lake. From UBSL you can go with us to Russell or find another party to follow up to Whitney. If you decided to summit Whitney, you could return either via the MR or the mian trail. Without a permit you will have to return the same day. Speaking from experience, the lower section from the Main trail through the ledges is the most challenging portion as far as route finding.

Rix you may have a deal! I was planning on going Saturday to just scope out this route. However, I read the MR section in Doug's lst edition book and he adamantly don't do this route alone if you've never done it. Go with a guide or experienced person. I'm kind of gonna go slow. Is that OK? What time are you all departing in the AM?

Sherry,
We are planning on a 6:00 a.m. departure. We want to have daylight for the E-Ledges, I'll send you more info in an e-mail.

What a coincidence! My first ascent of Whitney was in August, 1972. I can't recall the exact dates, and I haven't been able to locate the album that has the photos from the event. If you remember seeing a young, skinny kid wearing a back brace, that was me (I had cracked a few vertebrae earlier that summer in a motorcycle accident). I wasn't able to carry a pack, so my hiking partner had to carry almost all of the gear. (I rolled a few things inside my sleeping bag and carried it diagonally over my shoulder.)

This brings back a lot of memories!

Bob R & Rick, my van is packed and I'm counting the hours. Bob, Rick and his party are stopping at UBSL for overnight, so I hope you can show up since your party is traveling to the summit. I'm kind of concerned about the chute, but really excited too! See you Friday!

any special equipment needed for this that I would not normally use on the main trail?

Thanks

Guts and a lot of backbone.

I don't usually wear gaitors on the Main Trail, but it would be a good idea on the North Fork, unless you like to stop and empty out your shoes often.

Bob R, Sherry and rixco99-
Sounds like a good group for this weekend. My son and I are going to attempt an MR day hike this Sunday. Saturday we'll check out the route to Lower Boy Scout or so to get familiar with the route for a predawn start on Sunday. Maybe we'll see some of you there.
AsABat