Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion rockwell shortcut?

So... I have been watching some video of whitney on youtube to get pumped for my climb...

Anywho one of the videos references the "rockwell shortcut" as a way to stay above the creek on the way to the e-ledge and avoid the stream crossings.

Any thoughts / info on this route?

Just curious what video you are watching...

It is a very nice way to go up the North Fork approach to the Mountaineer's Route, especially in the early summer when the stream is high. The upper crossing is almost impossible to keep your boots dry. (And to make sure people know: This is NOT the main trail. It is instead the off-trail Mountaineer's Route approach, which starts where the Main Trail crosses the North Fork Lone Pine Creek.

Basically, instead of crossing the North Fork to the south side and then back, you stay on the north side. The route goes between the brush on the left and the granite on the right, but occasionally climbs onto granite ledges. Knowing where to climb is the secret (or the problem).

It begins just before the first North Fork crossing, where instead of crossing the creek, you climb just a little on the south-facing wall, then proceed westward. It ends where the other route crosses back to the north side of the creek.

Bob R and others have pictures of this section. I hope someone can find them.

Ah, the "Elephant Ears." We had the honor of doing the Rockwell Shortcut on June 12, 2010 on our way to Thor's Peak with Bob R. Jay, Steve C, wifey-pooh and I were part of group. Bob made it look sooooooo easy.

It was fun.

Steve,

I first heard about the shortcut in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnxLVshayAE . They get to the short cut about the 4:00 mark.

I have never done the mountaineer's route before so I don't exactly know the way. Based off the other videos I watched I can kind of see where they are at in relation to the creek and the e-ledges.

Given that the creek is sure to be full, I wouldn't mind giving this route a shot but I don't want to pop out in the wrong place and find myself in a sticky situation.

Are you hoping to do the Main Trail or the Mountaineer's Route (MR)?

During the first part of the video you mentioned, Richard and his group summit Thor Peak, which sits between those two trails.

Just after they summit Thor Peak, and from 6:54 to 7:28 on the video, the section of the Main Trail from Mirror Lake to the summit of Whitney (including Consultation Lake and Trail Crest) is either filmed and/or described (since the latter portion of that trail from Trail Crest to the summit is not visible from the top of Thor).

At approx. 4:00 on the video, only the latter part of the Rockwell shortcut on the MR appears to be filmed. What wasn't shown was where the shortcut begins, the brief Class 3 scramble to get up to it, and then the very narrow, though somewhat brief ledge that is the most exposed part of the shortcut.

So taking this shortcut will depend on if you're OK with a bit of Class 3 and exposure. Both of those had ended by time they began filming the last part of the shortcut.

A picture is worth a thousand words. Take a look at photos 6 through 13 from this recent album of Bob Rockwell's, which show this same shortcut, including the narrow ledge and the Class 3 scramble. In fact, photo 7 shows our own Steve C negotiating the Class 3 section.

CaT

We are doing the mountaineer's route and were looking at this as an optional way to get to the e-ledges. Thanks for the note on the climbing and the exposure. That is something we will need to take into consideration.

Just saw the pics... these are fantastic!!

for anyone else interested I also found these pictures:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/2033172680059387516WbzYgT

CaT and thenine: Great links. I'll watch the video later. But some comments:

Bob R's "recent album" actually documents the route starting in picture 3. Last is #12. #13 is on the Ebersbacher Ledges.

In the ranboze album noted just above, the first picture misidentifies the beginning of the south side route. The stream crossing path is actually left and down from the large rounded granite and grassy area in the center-left foreground.

On that hike with Bob R, I took a slew of pictures to document the north side route. One of these days, I'll get it uploaded.

Thenine, there is a worthwhile Mountaineers Route set of links here:  Mountaineer's Route info links within...