Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mount Whitney Mountaineer's Route 6/8/14

Full pics available here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/52913270@N02/sets/72157645103435925/

My girlfriend and I summitted via the Mountaineer's Route yesterday (Sunday, June 8, 2014). I've done the traditional 11-mile route three times and felt more than ready for the challenge.

We got on the trail at about 4:20am PDT in fair weather. The sunrise was beautiful and we had plenty of light to proceed without headlamps by the time we reached the Ebersbacher Ledges. (Hooray, summer solstice!) Had no major problems finding the route and loved every minute of it.

It seems that a good number of late-season snows made for a good amount of runoff, but all stream crossings were easy. As we ascended we encountered more snow, but never had to deal with any ice. We were prepared with crampons and ice axes but only used microspikes.

The last stretch up the snow in the gully above Iceberg Lake was hard, but we were in full sun and did the whole thing in shirt sleeves.

Thankfully, when we reached The Notch, there was no ice on the final push up the boulders to the summit. There was full sun on top and virtually no wind at all. We did the usual pictures and chats with the PCT through hikers and I shared my customary victory beer.

My travelling companion was hinky about descending the MR and reluctant to glissade as well, so we took the main trail down. This was probably a good idea as some clouds began to move in as we left the summit and we had a bit of sporadic snow (even though it was 54F on the 97 switchbacks) and eventually a light, but steady rain all the way back to the Portal.

As for the switchbacks, there was as much snow as I've ever seen up there in my four trips up Whitney. They're definitely passable without spikes/crampons, but the faint of heart should be extra careful until some additional snow melts off.

We arrived back at the car at about 8:30pm, just too late to get any of those badass tamales at the Mexican joint back in Lone Pine. I loved the MR, and can't wait to do it again. Happy (and safe) trails, everyone!

Congratulations! And thanks for the great report.

Good picture:

Nice. I summit'ed on the same day. Came down via the mountaineer's route as well. Iceberg lake was covered with a thin sheet of ice in the morning, but you can make a hole and filter water. Also saw trout on lower boyscout lake.

There was a trickle of rain on the way down for a very brief time but otherwise was good weather. There were rumors of somebody offering free beer at the summit, but I was told I was too late

Here's a 3d image/photosphere of the whitney summit I took when I was up there.

https://www.google.com/maps/views/view/1...=90&fovy=75

Cool "3D" picture. This is the first time I've ever seen the Whitney summit zombies captured in a picture!

the zombies heard about the free beer too...

Zombies run on caffeine, right?

Also, this is the only Starbucks in the world offering free beer.

I always joke about free beer on the summit to the people heading up as I'm heading down.

Although I did share my summit victory beer while I was up there.

is the mountaineer's route more physically strenuous than the main trail? it seems harder, but shorter, so it's about equal?

how bad are the heights?

what sort of materials did you study beforehand so you could find the route?

what sort of acclimatization process did you go through before?

how did you keep your beer cold?

grubburg, the MR is shorter distance, same elevation gain. Definitely more technical, but only Class 3 climbing. People afraid of heights have trouble.

Here's a place to study: Mountaineers Route info links within...

If you're physically conditioned enough to do the traditional trail without being dead on your feet, you should be OK on the MR. Depending on the season, it would be important to have some snow/ice experience with crampons or micro spikes and an ice axe/trekking poles. We brought the former in both cases but only had to use the latter (spikes/poles). If you plan to glissade, be sure to have an axe.

The E-Ledges are scary for some folks, but we found them to be fun. If one is that scared of heights, maybe a different hobby should be under consideration?

As the other person said, it is the same altitude gain over 7-ish miles vs. 11 miles, so the MR is more steep.

If, by "heights," you mean precarious heights, we had no issues. The slog up the chute from Iceberg Lake is physically demanding. We had wet snow and had good traction with spikes and noted that it would be a bitch without snow.

The key factor will be what happens when you get to the notch just below the summit. With no snow, the "Easy Walk-Off" route is simpler, but is treacherous with snow/ice. We opted for the climb... and did it without ropes. Again, there was no snow or ice on the climb so ropes weren't necessary.

If you're wigged out by some easy-ish climbing at 14,000 feet, either bring ropes and gear or hope for no snow and take the walk-off for the last bit. We LOVED the climb to the summit. I also loved the fact that the MR is shorter.

I studied lots of websites, and printed out a nice route description and brought it along. It came in handy - because the trail isn't as defined as the traditional route. Some say the MR isn't a proper trail and I'd concur to a point. If you're good with route-finding, you'll be fine. Remember to walk on rocks and not trample the plants.

As for acclimatization... we hiked up to Lower Boy Scout Lake the day before because we nabbed a pair of day-of walk-in passes. You could just as easily hike up to Lone Pine Lake and spend some time there. We slept in Lone Pine the night before the hike and drove home to Los Angeles after the hike on Sunday night. Truth be told, that was the hardest part of the entire day for me.

As for beer - I didn't bother keeping it cold. I brought a nice beer that would taste fine at the ambient temperature on the Whitney Summit - this time, a La Cumbre Elevation IPA. It was damn fine.