Mount Whitney - Mountaineer's Route • Hike & Climb Trip • California • All Triplogs • HikeArizona.COM

Sierra Nevada, CA

Hike & Climb		Sep 23 2024
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hike & Climb	15.00 Miles	6,500 AEG

Hike & Climb	15.00 Miles	14 Hrs	1.07 mph
	6,500 ft AEG

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Challenging route but much more interesting and scenic than the standard roundabout trail route. Thanks to @Jim_H for the description, especially regarding the critial pine tree on the ledges. About 8 hours to the summit and 6 back down the trail with the tourists.

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Jul 15 2022

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Sierra Nevada, CA

Hike & Climb		Jul 15 2022
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Hike & Climb	16.00 Miles	6,300 AEG

Hike & Climb	16.00 Miles
	6,300 ft AEG		10 LBS Pack

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Mike_W

Back again for the beast. Been over 11 years since my last time, and almost 14 years since I did this with no snow/winter conditions. Mike got the permit, and I simply had to go. It was Brian's idea, so it was the three of us.

Everyone from our hiking party liked the idea of going up the Mountaineers Route and down the Main Trail. We thought that it would make things more interesting and because the mileage was less we would enjoy it more. I can safely say that none of us feel that way now. About a hundred feet below the notch it started to hail off and on and it continued to do so turning to snow over the next 3 hours. The final 400 is nowhere you want to be in those conditions. Cold, high altitude, wet conditions, slick rock, and fear are something which stays with you. The last 2+ hours were like some of the worst conditions I have experienced on Humphrey in a storm, but with very high altitude and scrambling.

Even before this, I had pretty much thought this was the last time I would ever do this route just because as I'm getting older it's not as much fun. We can blame altitude, but also it's damn steep! Maybe someday many years from now I'll return and hike Whitney using the trail both ways so that I can enjoy a beautiful summit day, but that's probably going to be many many years. If I ever do.

There's an abundance of water despite the drought. Either I had completely forgotten what this area is like in the summer, or because I'm here earlier in the summer water is seeping from lots of rocks and cracks and streams are still flowing really well. Higher up, what I think is called skyrockets had a really nice floral smell. Something I've never smelled before. With the humidity it was quite potent.

I will say that despite now being 13 and 14 years older then the last time I was up here in summer conditions, I moved much faster because of the light day pack. I arrived at upper boy scout lake in about 2 and 1/2 hours and iceberg lake an hour later. Not bad for starting just before 7:00 a.m. It really is nice not to have a heavy backpack.

Unfortunately, the summit was not really that enjoyable because by that point we were in survival mode. There was basically no view to be enjoyed, and I was more concerned about being hit by lightning if we left the shelter. Brian was concerned about his hypothermia. Fortunately, Mike and I were not dealing with that, but everyone was cold.

We knew we were going to get done late and we forced ourselves to leave between about 5:00 and 5:15 p.m. We were able to hike to the bottom of the 99 switchbacks before it got dark but from Trail camp to the trailhead it was slow going by headlamp. And a wonderful 1:00 a.m. finish. Precious memories formed!

Wildflowers Observation Isolated
Sky Rockets smelled really nice.

	North Fork Lone Pine Creek	Medium flow	Medium flow
	Tons

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Jul 15 2022

Mike_W

Guides 104
Routes 256
Photos 16,118
Triplogs 528

53 male

Joined Dec 30 2005
Tucson, AZ

Sierra Nevada, CA

Hiking		Jul 15 2022
		Mike_W • Triplogs 528

Hiking	18.00 Miles	6,462 AEG

Hiking	18.00 Miles	16 Hrs		1.38 mph
	6,462 ft AEG	3 Hrs Break	16 LBS Pack

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Jim

Three of us did this incredible hike - Brian W, Jim H, and myself. Brian and I started around 5:40 AM and Jim started a bit later than us but caught up about an hour before iceberg lake. We ALL made it to the top of Whitney but we almost didn't make it. Wow, it was amazing, a bit crazy & at times dangerous. We took the mountaineer's route which I do not recommend because after getting to iceberg lake (elevation ~ 12,600 feet) there's a hike up to a notch which involved loose gravel and a VERY steep climb which was about 1 mile long and elevation gain of something like 1,500 feet in that single mile. About 2/3 of the way up, there was a hail storm. I put on my rain jacket and because of the steep angle it was impossible not to step on it as I was doing this very steep climb and within a few minutes my rain jacket was torn apart and flapping in the wind. At the top of the notch we got cover and waited for the hailstorm to stop. Then, there was a technical 400 foot climb to the summit, which took us about 45 minutes. The hail stopped and started again a few times during the final ascent. None of us experienced any headaches or elevation sickness despite the storm and difficult conditions at the top. I had a knit hat which helped keep me from shivering. Brian and Jim were shivering at the top which dropped as low as 40 F that day, around 5:30 pm. Because of the hail, we went into the stone shelter and waited there for at least 1 - 1.5 hours. We realized that the hail would not end therefore we decided that we were going to leave there at 5:30 pm regardless of weather conditions.

Around 5:30 pm, we left the stone house and it was still hailing pretty hard. Hail was "pea sized" and sometimes larger. Before leaving, we signed the log, paused for 2 minutes to get a few quick photos up there and took off. There was an inch of "ice pellets" on the ground which looked just like snow. From this point we had 11 miles of good trail to get to the bottom. The top 3 miles was covered in snow but it was relatively easy to follow the trail down. After 3 miles we got out of the snow zone and the path was clear of any snow. We eventually got to the famous 99 switchbacks and went down. We counted all switchbacks and there really was 99. Then we were at Consultation lake and from this point we had 6.5 miles left to get to the bottom. We kept going, taking only short breaks, once or twice to filter spring water when we were low. We finally got to the Whitney Portal trailhead at 1:19 AM !! It was such a long and tiring day but we all made it safe. My phone battery was dead 3 minutes after I reached the peak but I was able to get some nice pics and videos all the way up. One of our friends, Brian, still had a working camera. I regret not taking my camera and relying on just the smart phone. A smart phone is quite dumb when it's out of battery!! Anyway, Brian was able to get photos of all of us at the peak and several other photos and videos after summiting. It was an adventure I'll never forget!! If we do it again, we would probably just use the MAIN trail, even though it would be 22 miles. Our route up and down was probably around 18 miles. I exported our GPS track from Strava and Hike Arizona.com measured our AEG at 6,462 and route up at 6.99 miles.

Timeline:
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05:30a parked the car (8,333 feet elevation)
05:35a started hiking (8,333 feet elevation)
05:59a reached 1 mile in distance (8,708 feet elevation, previous mile in 24 minutes)
06:00a switched to the Mountaineer's route (8,723 feet elevation and 1.03 miles)
06:45a reached 2 miles (9,682 feet elevation, previous mile in 46 minutes)
07:32a reached Lower Boy scout lake (10,344 feet elevation). This was at 2.6 miles.
08:06a reached 3 miles (10,554 feet elevation, previous mile in 1 hr 21 minutes)
08:45a got a little off track but was able to see Thor falls up close (11,121 feet elevation, 3.44 miles)
09:16a reached the main section of the trail and met up with Jim (11,211 feet elevation, 3.82 miles)
09:29a reached Upper Boy Scout lake (11,313 feet elevation, 3.94 miles)
09:33a reached 4 miles (11,381 feet elevation, previous mile in 1 hr 27 minutes)
10:33a reached 5 miles (12,407 feet elevation, previous mile in 1 hr)
11:19a reached Iceberg Lake (12,650 feet elevation, 5.41 miles). took a long break.
11:48a left Iceberg Lake, heading up to notch (12,797 feet elevation, 5.51 miles)
12:43p reached 6 miles (13,474 feet elevation, previous 1/2 mile in 55 minutes!)
01:10p ** HAIL STORM STARTED at this point **
02:08p reached notch (14,135 feet elevation, 6.49 miles). Took 2 hr 20 minutes to get to notch during hailstorm!! Took a break, tried to get shelter during hailstorm.
02:38p started final 400' rock climb (14,158 feet elevation, 6.57 miles)
03:15p reached summit of Mt Whitney! (14,505 feet elevation, 6.99 miles). Hail was still falling during this time. We got shelter in the stone house and waited.
05:30p left summit even though hail was still coming down. Needed to get to safety regardless of weather.
(phone was dead so could not track GPS/progress)
01:19a finally made it to Whitney Portal!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Jeffrey Pine Rocky Mountain Columbine

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Michael Williams
IT Professional
Rocky Point Vacation Rentals
Ocean Front Condo in Rocky Point, Sonora, Mexico
www.beachfrontmexico.us

1 archive

Jul 05 2014

oceanwithin

Photos 377
Triplogs 579

female

Joined Jun 19 2009
AZ

[ checklist ] Guitar Lake Iceberg Lake 12642 Kings Canyon National Park Lower Boy Scout Lake Mount Russell Mount Whitney 14,505 Sequoia National Park Whitney Portal

Sierra Nevada, CA

Hiking		Jul 05 2014
		oceanwithin • Triplogs 579

Hiking	16.00 Miles	6,200 AEG

Hiking	16.00 Miles
	6,200 ft AEG		15 LBS Pack

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"...Whitney's summit looms in the west above a serrated horizon of dull silver peaks. It's high. It's stark. It's aloof. If mountains could talk, this one wouldn't. Yet it beckons with a force that will push regular folks to do irregular things." (Jordan Rane, journalist)

Ah. Mt. Whitney, we meet again. Despite thinking I wouldn't be back for awhile, the lure of the Mountaineer's Route could not be quelled. Having only taken the traditional trail up before, I wasn't sure what to expect but was excited about being back in the beautiful Eastern Sierras.

After a night of sleeping out under the stars at Whitney Portal, we hit the trail at 3:45 am. Through the darkness we hiked, stopping at one point when we saw a pair of feline eyes glowing at us from afar. They slowly blinked and looked away as we continued into the night. We scrambled up the Ebersbacher Ledges just as the first hints of dawn were starting to light up the sky. Took a break at Lower Boyscout Lake where the golden pink alpenglow warmed across the mountains while two deer grazed nearby. Continuing on we passed by Upper Boyscout Lake, another peaceful alpine oasis. Onward and upward the miles quickly passed until finally we reached Iceberg Lake.

It was here that we could see the final ascent to the summit, up to what is known as "the notch". It looked impossibly steep and rocky and definitely a bit intimidating. We rested at the lake for awhile, filtering water and refueling our bodies while chatting with some friendly backpackers and climbers who were camped at the lake. And then it was time to get going, so up we went.

Despite how the notch appeared at first glance, there is a pretty good cairned route up to the far left of the snow chute. This was mostly an easy scramble up rocks and sometimes crumbly scree, not exactly for the faint of heart but still nothing too crazy or scary. It was slow going in that thin air and eventually we made it to the top of the notch, where just around the corner we were faced with a selection of routes and gullies to take up to the summit. We opted to do the far traverse up to the snow ridge, which had been recommended to us by a group of climbers who had just come down from the same route. I thought this section was sketchier than the notch, as we were traversing over rocks that would sometimes groan and move under your weight. If you were to start sliding out of control here it would not be good at all, and our acute awareness of this helped motivate us to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Before long we were at the top--it felt like a victory to reach the summit and be surrounded by that incredible view. We hung out there for quite awhile, admiring the scenery and debating which route we wanted to take back down. We decided to take the traditional Mt. Whitney trail back down, giving us all the best views of both trails in one day. While zooming down the switchbacks we encountered a really confusing rescue situation which is a story in itself, hopefully everything turned out okay for the gentleman involved.

I absolutely LOVED the Mountaineer's Route and would definitely do it again, it's completely worth it to skip all those switchbacks and just go direct. Surprisingly there were no ill effects from the altitude which was a nice change for once. I forced down a ton of water all day and regularly took Salt Stick capsules (the caffeinated ones!) which kept my appetite up all day. All in all it was an incredible adventure up the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states. I am still smitten with the Sierras and can't wait to return. After summiting three times now, Mt. Whitney is starting to feel like an old friend. :y:

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

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Jul 05 2014

azflyguy

Guides 1
Routes 3
Photos 337
Triplogs 311

41 male

Joined May 31 2009

Sierra Nevada, CA

Hike & Climb		Jul 05 2014
		azflyguy • Triplogs 311

Hike & Climb	16.00 Miles	6,200 AEG

Hike & Climb	16.00 Miles
	6,200 ft AEG

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Canyoneering gear beta tester and supplier. Visit http://www.shadowcatadventures.com for canyoneering, climbing, hiking and backpacking gear.

Feb 06 2011

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Sierra Nevada, CA

Climbing		Feb 06 2011
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Climbing	14.00 Miles	7,400 AEG

Climbing	14.00 Miles	16 Hrs 30 Mns	0.85 mph
	7,400 ft AEG

Solo III • 3rd • 2000 Feet 4 Pitches

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Pro: A helmet of some sort is required. Lots of rock fall on the snow this day.

My arch nemesis, the wind, impacted my sleep the night before and I got a slow start. I parked above the first switchback at 7200, started at 715 and made really good time on great snow conditions. The North Fork is buried under 30 feet of it, and most of the snow is hard and crusty, or it was for me. I made UBSL in 3.5 hours and Iceberg in 5.75 hours. Fatigue was setting in by the time I made Iceberg Lake, but I think that is reasonable after 5000 feet. I moved slowly for the next couple of thousand feet and summited in under 8 and a half hours. Included in that time are numerous breaks, lunch, and about 30 minutes making water. I think I did well.

I spent about 60 minutes on the summit and started down. The conditions were great and the views fantastic. I love the way you can see a lot of the range, and California's features. The snow was not as good today as it was in 2009 and I went slowly for the initial descent to Iceberg. Below Iceberg, it was dark and the snow was ice. I stopped and had tea in the area above UBSL with some climbers who had done the East Buttress. After 45 minutes of water and tea, I started down. The stars were incredible and I stopped every so often to shut off my headlamp and look at them. I tried not to fall asleep when doing that. Descent with a light pack(20 lbs) is much easier than with a heavy pack, but the hard icy snow still works your legs, a lot, and after more than 7000 feet I was exhausted when I got back to my car. Car to car it was around 14 miles and 7400 feet in 16 hours 30 minutes. Probably 2 hours of summit, eating, resting, and making water could be subtracted, but it still took me the 16.5 hours to do this. I ate a can of baked beans, a tortilla, and put up my tent on the Portal Road and went to bed. It was a well deserved rest, I think.

Geology

Geology [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Granite

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2 archives

Aug 06 2009

Misubri

Guides 2
Photos 193
Triplogs 4

male

Joined Apr 06 2002
Gilbert, AZ

Sierra Nevada, CA

Climbing		Aug 06 2009
		Misubri • Triplogs 4

Climbing	9.00 Miles	6,200 AEG

Climbing	9.00 Miles
	6,200 ft AEG

Solo III • Boulder • 3rd Granite Excellent • 2000 Feet 4 Pitches

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Pro: A helmet of some sort is required. You will want something to protect your head from rocks that may be dislodged by fellow climbers. The route can be busy, especially when the day climbers arrive. Rope, and any other specialized gear is not necessary for Summer. In Winter, you will need a full compliment of gear from crampons and ice axes to avalanche beacons and possibly a satellite phone. Its typically a 3 day, 2 night climb in winter.

Although I went with a good friend of mine who is in great shape, he was not able to make it above Upper Boy Scout Lake, so I did the Mountaineers Route solo (I know I know). There was a bit of ice on the class 3 section, so it was a bit dicey. But I did it OK and made it to the summit.

Day 1 - Whitney Portal to Upper Boy Scout Lake - 3.8 miles.
Day 2 - Upper Boy Scout Lake to Whitney Summit, all the way down to Whitney Portal - 9 miles.

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Mar 19 2009

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Sierra Nevada, CA

Backpack		Mar 19 2009
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Backpack	9.00 Miles	6,400 AEG

Backpack	9.00 Miles	2 Days
	6,400 ft AEG

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We got a late start at 10:30 am on the 18th and carried our very heavy packs up to about 12,100' in the valley which is in front of Whitney. We parked lower than the trailhead and added some elevation, making it a 4000' climb on day one. Conditions were really good before and after the steep section of trail in the North Fork; the part from the 1st creek crossing to LBSL. Above LBSL it was a nice winter climb, despite it feeling like spring.
Summit day was really nice. We had hard conditions the entire way up, and it was a good climb in both the main gully and the final 400. It was hazy high clouds on most of the summit day, but we had nearly calm winds, and perfect temperatures. Descent went fast. My pack weight was the only thing that made descent from our camping area difficult. 56 and 45 pounds is too much to carry for something like this. If I do this again, I would just try to day hike it. We left the same day as we summited, and had we not had to deal with all the camp issues that you do in winter, it could have been a 12 hour trip, max.

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Jeffrey Pine

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Dec 28 2008

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006

Sierra Nevada, CA

Backpack		Dec 28 2008
		Jim • Triplogs 2,324

Backpack	8.00 Miles	2,600 AEG

Backpack	8.00 Miles	17 Hrs	0.47 mph
	2,600 ft AEG

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This was an unsuccessful attempt to summit under conditions that were anything but conducive to hiking. Deep powder combined with un-crusted snow, dangerous un-scalable ledges, and thick willows in the valley to make just horrible climbing conditions. What took me 2 hours in summer took 12 hours on the 29th. Myself and two other fellows from CA only made it to Lower Boyscout Lake before we decided to turn back. According to frequent climbers this was a safe move as the boulder fields that follow are treacherous under those conditions. Break a leg after falling through the snow type of thing. Still, I wish we would have gone further.
We parked about 1 to 1.25 miles below the trailhead and made good time to the first creek crossing. Then it was a very slow go in waste and chest deep snow. This meant cutting tracks in snow that collapsed as you entered it and would slide down with each step. The 3 of us all agreed that it was the hardest thing we ever did. A group we met camping at the Portal told us they had turned back in our tracks. They also said that last year in January the North Fork had enough snow to cover the willows completely. Those willows were 15 feet tall out of the snow this year. We hope to try again in March.

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Aug 31 2008

Guides 73
Routes 176
Photos 10,174
Triplogs 2,324

46 male

Joined Sep 08 2006