Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Russell or Middle Palisade for my next 14er?

Thus far, I have dayhiked all of California’s ‘walk-up’ 14ers - White, Langley, Whitney, and Shasta (Clear Creek without snow). I’m looking to climb another. Split seems like a possibility. But I have no way of getting to the trailhead. This leaves me with the choice of Russell and Middle Palisade. I know that both involve Class 3 scrambles, and have done a few peaks with Class 3 scrambles, such as Mount Lyell, Mount Abbot, Borah Peak (Idaho), and Mount Thielsen (Oregon). Out of Russell and Middle Palisade, which would be the better one to climb first in terms of progression of difficulty (either would be climbed as a dayhike)? Middle Palisade seems like it might be more difficult, but would be free of the permit problem with Mount Russell. Would it be a bad choice?

I thoroughly enjoyed the Middle Palisade climb the two times I did it years ago. I've read the spot to move from the glacier to the rock has made the climb more difficult, though. If there is a way through that spot, it is a fun climb. Long approach from the road, though. I did it over two days each time.

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.

I would rate Russell and Middle Pal rougly equivalently, and both are right there in my list of top 5 favorite scrambles/class 3 climbs. Here is my take:

1) The "red rock" band above the glacier is now the normal route from what I can tell, and this is the route I took. The red rock band is quite steep, but not more than class 3 in my opinion. It was a bit loose in spots, but I thought it was rather fun to ascend and you get lots of cool looking exposed pictures where you appear to be hanging out on a precipice. After that it is a long chute of mostly solid rock but with stretches of loose stuff that can be dislodged. I would wear a helmet for sure. If there are other parties on the mountain rock fall is possible. When you get near the summit block there is a bit of route finding, and there was a mildly exposed class 3/4 move that I had to take to get on the final summit block. It was quite simple and fun in my opinion, but it could definitely make you think twice before ascending (you move up this from a ledge that is about 5 feet wide, with a fairly steep drop off below). I have read there is a way around that move, but I couldn't find it. I took my time down climbing that move on the descent, and then the trickiest part is down climbing the red rock band. I did a fair bit of butt scooting on that section, but it was relatively easy to descend all in all.

2) Russel is different in that you have a fairly exposed ridge climb rather than a long chute, and there are definitely a couple of spots that are fairly exposed, though never anything more than class 3 with respect to the climbing. There was one move not far past the point where you are on the ridge proper that on the ascent I thought was a legit class 4 move. You are on a 3-5 foot ledge on the north side of the ridge and must reach up above your head a bit to climb a couple of slabs that get you back on the ridge proper. Once you are above this it is fun scrambling with periodic areas of mild exposure. On the way down, I was able to essentially butt scoot across the slabs on what I call the class 4 move and was able to avoid the more exposed ledge on the north side of that. Finally, there is a fairly steep chute that you ascend to reach the east summit, and then you down climb a shorter chute-like feature to continue scrambling over to the west summit. The chute to reach the east summit is steep but nothing more than class 3, and it is farily easy to down climb this on the way back, though I had to butt scoot a couple of times to descend that.

If you want to pick the mountain with less overall exposure I think that would be Middle Pal. Both summits are exhilerating and have great views, but I think the view from Middle Pal would rate slightly higher in my opinion. On the other hand, the east ridge of Russel might be the most fun and exhilerating ascent of a mountain I have done. Not much can beat having unobstructed views on a ridge like that.

One final note regarding Split Mt. If I were to do this mountain now I think I would get my hands on a electric mountain bike and just park near the highway and then ebike up to the trailhead. I wrapped my Four Runner in tarps to protect it from getting scratched all to hell, but the road to that trail head is the worst I have ever been on and was a chore to ascend even with 4WD. But taking an ebike up there with your pack on wouldn't be bad at all. Once you get to the trailhead Split is a great mountain with great views. It truly is a shame that road to the trailhead is so unpassable.

Best,
Jack