Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Final 400' Photos

RG is interested in climbing Whitney this weekend... Here are a few photos of the Final 400'.







Awful barren in there. The question that I can't answer is How hard would it be to avoid the ice.

RP, thanks for the final 400 intel.
Amazing how dry it looks. The windy forecast kept me down here in the SoCal.
The winds on Baldy on Sunday were pretty burly at times; probably gusts ~50 mph
Glad I didn't head up 395 this time, but need to get back up there soon. Cheers, RG

Yep, good pics and beta on the 400, Richard. Thanks.

It was real windy at my house all weekend and on way up (via Bear) to Baldy on Saturday. I'm sure the Crest was gale-ing.

Here are a few more Post Storm photos. Still pretty dry up there.


Looking down the Final 400'.



The upper section of the Final 400'.

Given you've looked up and down that chute a lot. Have you seen a favored spot for rappelling? Presence of slings,bail biners, or even bolts? All opinions welcomed. Thanks

I've only rapped off of Whitney twice. Once part way down the second chute and once down the Final 400'. Since I was given some constructive criticism by KW regarding that anchor, I'd run this question by him.

There was talk of setting some bolts, but the consensus was no!

Interesting on the bolt issue. This is certainly one of the eternal debates in climbing.

On one hand: Bolts (if placed correctly) provide a far superior anchoring mechanism for rapping than placing pro. It also eliminates the issue of where to place the pro, and the time involved, which can be great..when sometimes people need to get going. You wonder if the delays involved in placement have been significant contributors to some of the epics?

On the other hand: placing pro leaves the rock pristene. However, it does NOT leave it unchanged. Using pro requires that you LEAVE stuff up there, pieces or slings. Slings tend to accumulate, leaving a trashy environment.

When using stuff that one has to leave behind, the tendency is to leave older stuff that might not be so safe. Hmmmm.

Could see both sides.

As much as Myles likes bolting, I say send him up to find some spots where they wouldn't be an eyesore and hang some mussey hooks.

The flip-side is that it's a Class 3 route, so why would you need rap stations?

Exactly.