Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Mountaineers Route 3/7-3/9

This is not a summit story, although it is a success story. With that out of the way....

Four of us (me, Kristine, Rosie, and Karen) had a most excellent adventure this weekend on Whitney's Mountaineer Route. Kristine got the train started, and the rest of us jumped in, right after the December WPSMB/Shin 300 Baldy Hike.

Our adventure was made possible by our outstanding guides, Kurt and April from Sierra Mountaineering Inc., and Cristian and Andrew, our porters. Though that does not begin to capture all the ways in which they worked to make this weekend great. This team kept us safe and laughing, fed us the best food I have ever had on a backpacking trip, tended to our wounds (one crampon puncture, one sprained ankle), and joined in on the tutu hilarity. But more on that later.

I'm gonna let the pictures do most of the talking. For my part, I will just note that my favorite pieces of gear were, in this order, (1) my -10F Western Mountaineering Sleeping Bag, and (2) my thermos. Yeah, it was cold. Real cold. Like -10F cold. Let's not even start talking windchill.

Coming in a close third on my list was a tutu supplied by Rosie. Having drunk some of the ultralight Koolaid, I strongly objected to adding a tutu to my load ("Hey folks, if it is between a tutu and an extra baselayer, I am taking the baselayer!"). But then I realized I could stuff the tutu into one of these pillow cases, making it a dual purpose item, and my identity crises was averted. And by the way, this was the most comfortable backpacking pillow EVER. I am a sometimes back sleeper, and a decent pillow IS a necessity.

So, onto some pictures.

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6

You know that you're in for trouble when you are greeted in Lone Pine by a gaggle of lenticular clouds. I counted nine layers in the large blob-like looking thing at the top left/center.



Kristine, Karen, Rosie and I meet for dinner at Merry-Go-Round, and enjoyed a veritable feast. Laura came from Bishop to wish us off!

THURSDAY, MARCH 7

After an excellent breakfast at the Alabama Hills Cafe, we went over our gear with Kurt and April in the lobby of the hostel. Then off to the trailhead. Pictures that follow are from the climb to our first camp at Lower Boyscout Lake.

Yes, you can go winter mountaineering and have your pack weigh in at only 31 lbs (including all my clothes, lunch food/snacks, water, personal climbing gear, sleeping bag, snowshoes, and ice axe). That is, if you have the benefit of Cristian and Andrew to lug the rest of your stuff (including group food, tents, group climbing gear). Our heaviest pack among the four clients was Rosie's, which came in at 39 lbs. Cristian and Andrew's packs weighed over 70 lbs, while Kurt's was over 80. April's broke the scale, so we can only guess at its weight, but we know it was well over 50% of her body weight. (Only one part of that last sentence is untrue.)



Not much snow on the lower part of the trail. Entering the Mountaineers' Route where the trail splits.



We did bypass the E-ledges, instead following the creek. It was mostly overcast as we climbed. At night, temperatures dipped into the low teens, I think.

Dinner, by the way, was tortellini with fresh vegetables and italian sausage, with truffles for dessert.


FRIDAY, MARCH 8

I loved this day. We woke up to snow and colder conditions. Here is a view from our campsite at Lower Boyscout Lake.



Trekking up to Upper Boyscout Lake, our long rest/lunch stop.



Sun struggles to be seen near our lunch stop.



Upper Boyscout Lake



Again with the whiteouts, as we hike up to our high camp at just over 12,000'.



And again, the sun battles to get through, showing us a tantalizing peek of ridge.



Our high camp shortly after arrival. No Whitney peak to be seen.



Finally, Whitney's outline is spotted.



Clearing...



Dinner was mushroom ravioli with more fresh vegetables, pesto sauce, and sausage, with a truffle for dessert.

Kurt and April gave us a pre-climb briefing before we went to bed. We then went into our tents and packed.

The coldest night I have ever experienced then settled upon us. We think it may have been as low as -10F. Going out to do your business, so to speak, was a bit of a chore. And while Friday had been calm, wind-wise, as darkness hit, the winds started to pick up.

The next post will cover Saturday...

And here is Part II

SATURDAY, MARCH 9

Kurt came to our tents at around 5 to wake us up and give us hot beverages. When he offered room service for breakfast at 12,000 feet, we took it! And so steaming bowls of cream of wheat with fruit arrived at our tent doors!

Venturing outside the tent was an experience because of the cold. Toes froze instantly, no matter what boots you were wearing. Cristian and I tried doing jumping jacks near the kitchen to warm up our feet, only somewhat successfully. When even Kurt, a 7-summits summitter and 3-time-Everest summiter, is impressed with the cold, you know it must be cold.

Just as I was finishing gearing up, a knock was heard on our tent door. Kurt and April joined Rosie and me inside our Trango 2 tent (plenty of room!) and explained that the winds up high were fierce and not conducive to a summit attempt. After discussing various options, the decision was made to stay in our tents to keep warm for a few hours, and then head on back to Lone Pine.

While cold, this was a very beautiful and clear morning. Some of my favorite pictures from the trip came from our high camp that morning, and on the descent.

The sun hits Whitney.



Another view of our high camp.



View of the valley from our high camp.



Kristine demonstrates tutu power at 12,000 feet



Cristian and Andrew model the latest in mountaineering wear. April and Kristine are so impressed that they tip them in dollar bills. (Who carries dollar bills to 12,000' on Whitney in winter?)



And a new era of the Rockettes is born



Time to say goodbye to high camp



Awesome views unfold



Cristian (in the middle) does a standing glissade while wearinga tutu. I am amazed.



"I see fat cells." What happens when you inadvertently curtsy while wearing crampons. April dresses the wound.



Approaching Lower Boyscout Lake, and craving calories.



Near Lower Boyscout Lake



Below Lower Boyscout Lake



At this point, Rosie twists her ankle, resulting in a minor sprain. Kurt performs a heroic pack carry. Because that's how he rolls. Total weight? I am guessing 110 lbs or so.



Finish strong!



We then went back to the hostel, sorted gear, and then the whole team enjoyed a celebratory dinner at Seasons. Wine and much beef was consumed, and much hilarity ensued. It was quite festive!

All and all, a great trip, with wonderful companions. While this normally would have stretched my comfort zone, I was so confident in the competence and judgment of the SMI team that I was able to leave my anxieties at the trailhead and enjoy the climb and relish the experience. Can't wait to go back and do it again!

Karin, really nice shots! Looks like you guys had a ton of fun (minus Rosie's ankle), despite the temps and conditions. A shame you were turned around before the chute and F400, but remember: what doesn't kill you makes you stronger . . .

Excellent TR! Looking forward to more tutu adventures this summer.

Wow! Looks beautiful.

Did you guys take snowshoes? Even with the new snowfall was it packed enough for just crampons?

We used snowshoes on day 2 to hike from Lower Soldier Lake to our high camp (the entire day). It had snowed that night. Other than that, we used crampons (except on day 1, when we hiked most of the way to Lower Soldier Lake just in our boots).

Conditions are changing fast....

great write up and awesome pics. thanks for sharing them. quick question. how is the road up to the portal at the moment. i'm considering driving up there on 3/16 and bagging lone pine peak. i'm hoping the road at least to the campgrounds is friendly enough for a honda accord.

Glad you enjoyed the writeup.

Road past "road closed" sign was largely clear but there were ice patches, snow patches, and random rocks. As technical matter, passable in 4wd vehicle (not opining on safety or legality). I wouldn't drive my own non 4wd sedan on it, though my larger concern would be traction rather than clearance. That's me...your experience may differ.

One word... "Awesome". A class hike, class act, class adventure. Way, way impressed.

Gary, lets borrow the tutu's for the MR this Summer...

that was a lot of pink on Whitney. Not sure if that is acceptable use of color under the wilderness act. :grin:

Great report. Looks like you had a great time. Like the details about the menu - gave me some ideas for our trip in April

Not a lot of snow, it appears. Any chance to use ski below LBSL to bypass the ledges, or is it all bushes and rocks in the valley?

While I am not a backcountry skier, I think I can say with confidence that it would not be possible to ski below LBSL. We hiked up the creek, and boots were on either rock, ice, or very limited amounts of snow. Gotta love the sound of crampons on rocks...sort of like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Above LBSL, everything appeared to be a winter wonderland. But there were lots of rocks just below the surface, which our boots exposed. But you couldn't count on that either ... on the way down, we had a lot of postholing (there had been new snow overnight), with snow sometimes coming up to our waists. At our high camp, at over 12,000 feet, the snow cover in places was only 6 or so inches deep.

yeah, no skiing on the chalkboard... The photo of LBSL shows me that there is very little snow compared to my last trip in April of 2011, when it had just dumped a record month of snow in March. We had solid snow all the way up the creek, and at LBSL you could not see any of the bushes - it was all buried under 10 feet. Back then we used snow shoes and I wished for ski, but I think the conditions right now are more for snow shoes, or none of the above.

I'll have a few warmup days on the mountain to scout out the conditions before we head up for real, but I certainly hope for some more snow this month.

Karin, thanks for posting such a great trip report. What luck, though. I think you picked the coldest weekend since December to climb!

What an excellent trip!