Middle Palisade used to be a great class 3 climb. The last time I was there, the usual route from the glacier to the main part of the climb had collapsed. I ended up doing some class 4 on the way up. I kept it to class 3 on the way down, but I had to negotiate some very loose and unpleasant crap. The upper part of the climb was great, as always.
Russell is more exposed, and the climbing and route-finding may be a LITTLE more difficult. If you’re into class 5 climbing, Russell has a bunch of excellent technical routes. I dayhiked both peaks in 2019, and Russell took less time.
