Mt Whitney

[timy]

any info on Mt. Whitney, Mountaineers Route, Late sept. early

oct. summit attempt. How tech. is this route? Is it a solo doable

route. how much snow would be encountered? any other info appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any info!!!!!

timy

 

[Mark_Husbands]

by my recollection, you will find continuous snow and ice (mostly firn with some alpine ice maybe) at about 45 degrees to the top of the couloir on the mountain's shoulder, then you will traverse a snowfield, that can be icy, where people sometimes get into trouble. then you go up some rocky blocks onto the plateau. there would probably not be new snow, but maybe.

 

i'm sure other folks have better recollections.

[Bigtree]

I've never done it but its on my list next time I'm down south. Lots of good trip reports on the web if you do some searching. The Mountaineers Route is most appealing for me. Solo in Sept. seems to be quite doable from what I've read.

 

[timy]

nice maps! are the numbers GPS co-ordinates?

[Mark_Husbands]

just as a suggestion, because there are better fall routes than the mtr.s route, and becasue permits are tough in Whitney area so you might want a backup plan...

 

far to the north there is a solo option that is, in my experience, better than the Whitney route and can be done in a day. This is to link the main North Peak gully with the North Ridge of Mt. Conness (which is class 5 easy). i took 2 tools for the gully, then switched to rock shoes for the ridge (for my own comfort, not necessary if you are a confident big boot rockclimber). i also took a short piece of rope to rappel one little section that would otherwise be the trickiest rock moves on the route (5.6 down climb as I have read). the descent is by the trail off the east ridge so no tricky descending necessary.

 

i'm not a big solo guy but this was a great day out for me (a person of modest ability).

[Bigtree]

I'm not certain what the numbers signify (I found the map on the web a year or so back while researching the potential trip). Regardless, you can easily create some decent waypoints from MapSource or some other gps mapping software.

[ncascademtns]

Timy,

We walked off the Mountaineers Route after doing the East Face. It was in September of 2001. There is a trail that switchbacks up the route (or, down for our situation). Nothing technical about it.

[beecher]

Timy,

 

The route is not technical, but there is an exposed traverse after you pass through the notch at the top of the gulley above the Iceberg Lake basin. The traverse and the slope to the summit above it can be hazardous in firm snow or icy conditions. I believe this is where you hear about the occasional fatality occuring. The gulley itself (easily viewed from 395 in good weather) is not all that steep and would only be difficult in icy or postholing conditions.

 

I don't think it's unreasonable to plan an early fall trip, just check on conditions as your trip approaches. If it's totally melted out, go walk up it. If there's good snow conditions, a mountaineering ice axe & ability to self-arrest will suffice. Permits should not be a problem midweek. And like MH suggests, there are lots of other options if it doesn't look great at the time.

[Chris_McNamara]

that last little ice section near the top i think has resulted in more deaths than all the other routes in that area combined. which makes sense i guess because that is the most popular route (and every technical route on whitney and keeler needle uses it as the descent route). not that should scare you off. i believe most of the deaths have been in the spring with people who either got way off route or had little to no ice/snow experience. in a normal snow year (and this is looking to be a light snow year) there should not be much ice in sept but you might want to check. there are usually updated condition posted here http://www.supertopo.com/rockclimbing/route.html?r=hiwhmoun

[chris]

Usually the snowpack has melted down so far in September to make ice axes useless. You can always check with Sierra Mountain Center, Sierra Mountain Guides, or Mammoth Mountaineering for conditions. Mac is right, most of the accidents occur because people traverse in early summer conditions and try to avoid the 4th-class step by traversing farther west to lower angled slopes. This is an alternate easier route, but the exposure and consequences of an non-arrested fall will kill you.

 

The crux is the the first 15 meters of the final gully to the summit. This gully consists of about 100m of 3rd and 4th class climbing. The left side of the gully is easier climbing, but the right side is less exposed, making the downclimb a lot more secure. Both start and finish at the same points.