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Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
#31684 06/06/13 01:17 PM
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I'm currently considering doing the Langley-Muir-Whitney combo via the Army Pass -> Sky-blue Lake -> Crabtree Pass -> Discovery pass route. Other posts I've seen regarding this route indicate it can be either lovely or miserable depending on the exact path taken. Does anyone have any route finding tips, or other useful info about this route?
Is a bear box required? Recommended?
Aiming for early July so I am not expecting snow to be an issue in this dry year.

I'm also considering adding Russell to the trip and am a little unsure of the relative difficultly of the south face route vs. the east ridge, and also the best way to get to the south face from the top of Whitney. I think the east ridge is within, but near the top my comfort zone.

Thanks for the help!

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31687 06/06/13 04:08 PM
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First point: Are you comfortable descending the Mountaineers Route on Mt Whitney? That would be the most direct route to get to the base of your Mt Russell climb.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31689 06/06/13 04:51 PM
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Since you are entering SNP, a hard bear resistant canister is required.

Head over to their website for a current list of what is approved for use.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
Steve C #31704 06/07/13 10:24 AM
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I am comfortable w/ descending the MR (it's actually the only portion of this route that I've done before), but I don't know the best way to go once I get to the notch.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31707 06/07/13 11:01 AM
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Take the MR chute down to Iceberg Lake. As the chute begins to flatten out look for use trails heading north (left) up to Whitney-Russell pass. If you don't see use trails then just make your way through the rocks and rubble up and over Whitney-Russell pass. From the pass you look north (right) and you will see the south-right side chute up Russell. At the top of that chute is a steep chimney to climb.

Is this the end of your HM to WP trip? Are you going to have an overnight pack during this? If so you might want to drop your pack at Iceberg lake then head to Russell and back.

Another option would be to descend the MR from the notch all the way to Upper Boy Scout Lake. Drop the overnight pack and then slog up to the Carillon-Russell saddle and climb the east ridge up and back down to your pack/camp.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
James #31710 06/07/13 12:35 PM
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I descended from Whitney-Russell Pass last September. There is a nice use-path on the west side leading to Russell, and I descended a nice and loose use path toward Iceberg (East Face) Lake. (I was thinking how nice it was to descend rather than ascend.) I think you will find several use-paths heading to the pass from Iceberg. The use paths lead to a crossing right next to the main Whitney massif, not the areas farther north. Once on the west side, you can easily head north to Russell.

If you descend the MR and ascend to WR Pass, you will definitely want to pick up water at Iceberg. I filled several quart ziplocs with water there so I'd have enough for my overnight on the summit.

I've seen threads regarding your planned route before Whitney. I need to poke around and find them.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
Steve C #31712 06/07/13 12:53 PM
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Thanks for the info! How does the route up Russell from Russell-Whitney pass compare to the east ridge route that's usually accessed from UBSL?

I came across one of the threads you mentioned, which is tremendously helpful http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/10807

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
James #31713 06/07/13 01:00 PM
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James - yes it will be at the end of the trip and I will have an overnight pack which I would definitely want to drop off at either iceberg or UBSL. Fatigue and time could both cut the Russell portion out of the trip but I wanted to be prepared since it is so easily accessed from the top of Whitney

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31714 06/07/13 02:46 PM
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Mt. Russell may be close to Whitney but it is still some work. The shortest route is to drop pack at Iceberg Lake and take the Whitney-Russell pass route (you'll likely pick up one of the use trails Steve described).

There is a climb to the pass and it's loose. Once at the pass the walk over to the chute isn't too bad. The climb up the south right-side chute is a long talus slog. At the top of the chute is an approx. 80-foot chimney to climb. As you're facing the headwall you will see the chimney on your left pretty much right up against the headwall. From the top of the chimney (there might be a cairn there) you head west to get to the west summit. There is a large block that can be difficult to get around but if you descend slightly on the north side you will find ramps and use paths heading west. Once you get close to the west summit you will have to find places to scramble back up to the west summit. On the return you will have to remember where the chimney is located then downclimb the chimney and slog down the chute.

If you descend to Upper Boy Scout Lake to take the east ridge, the climb up the chute to Carillon-Russell pass is a lot of work. It's a long way through loose junk. There are some rock scrambling routes adjacent to the chute but you have to remember to aim towards the high, sandy plateau, which is where you will see the entire east ridge in front of you. If unsure just take the main chute up to the plateau. From the start of the east ridge it is about another 800 feet. The east ridge is fun scrambling but there is significant exposure in places. If you take the east ridge up you can either descend the east ridge or take that south right-side chimney down to Whitney-Russell pass then Iceberg and back to UBSL.

Good luck, be safe and have fun!

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
James #31715 06/07/13 02:54 PM
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There's an excellent picture from Kurt Wedberg of the Mt Russell route in this post.

If you can match that picture with R.J.Secor's "South Face Right Side, Class 3" description (on P 78), you can probably do it.

Here's the Google Books link to page 77 for the Secor book.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
wbtravis #31718 06/07/13 06:23 PM
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Originally Posted By: wbtravis
Since you are entering SNP, a hard bear resistant canister is required.
Head over to their website for a current list of what is approved for use.


Not exactly.From that website:

"Food Storage Options

"Food Storage Containers

"Containers are REQUIRED in three areas throughout the wilderness from the Friday of Memorial Day through October 31. These areas include: Dusy Basin/Palisades Basin, Rae Lakes Loop and the Rock Creek drainage. Inyo National Forest also requires containers in other areas.
"Containers are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED in all other areas throughout Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks."




Wherever you go, there you are.
SPOTMe!
Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
saltydog #31725 06/08/13 09:50 PM
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Since we are following Rock Creek for a bit I guess we should pick one up. Inyo NF says a "limited number" are available for rental - anyone have any experience w/ getting one from them? $5 for the trip is a lot better than buying one for like 80 bucks at REI :P

I'm looking at a topo map and trying to figure out if there's a direct route down from Langley into the Miter Basin, maybe down the SW slope towards the Major General and then west...or maybe we will just have to trek back to New Army Pass and go around to Soldier Lakes

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31726 06/08/13 10:04 PM
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Looking at the topo map (click for online map), it seems like you could head due west from the Langley summit. But that means you would have to carry your loaded backpack to the Langley summit.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31727 06/09/13 09:43 AM
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Sounds like a fun trip!

You can follow the broad sandy SW ridge of Mount Langley to the saddle that lies just short of Major General. The chute that descends west from there is class 2. The scree is loose but not too difficult. On the map that Steve linked to, you can see a small tributary stream to Rock Creek below where that is. From around that stream you can begin to head north toward Sky Blue Lake.

This route on Mount Langley is described by Secor as "West Face”, but beware. As you follow the SW ridge down from the summit, be careful not to descend to the west before you reach the saddle. Viewed from Miter Basin, the rest of that west slope of Mount Langley looks quite a bit more treacherous than class 2.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
Glenn #31731 06/09/13 08:58 PM
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Glenn knows whereof he speaks. Thanks to his tip last year, I climbed Langley from one of the drainages above upper soldier lake (also did a miter basin/skyblue lake jaunt). Loved it! Actually was on a pretty easy use trail the whole way from USL to Langley. There are two drainages above (and east) of USL...the well-defined use trail navigates the the one that is almost due east of USL (by contrast, the one that is northeast looked class 3, or at least very gnarly class 2, when I scouted it from the bottom).

In terms of going to Miter Basin, that is very doable from USL. You contour around the Major General. If you don't like steep, rocky, shrubby terrain, then descending from Langley you will want to avoid the drainage on the side of the Major General to USL, and instead follow the well-defined use trail just a farther to the south down to USL. Once you get to USL, then you head toward the Major General and contour around it (a slight ascent to the top of the tree line yields a class 1 or 2 route if you look carefully). I'll try to find the trip report where I did this in reverse.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
Akichow #31732 06/09/13 09:24 PM
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Here it is...trip report where toward the end we went from miter basin directly to USL and then Langley.

http://www.whitneyzone.com/wz/ubbthreads.php/topics/27459/Mt_Langley_Miter_Basin_with_ph#Post27459

Note the sandy wash depicted in Day 5. That's your easy route down from Langley (stay to the south side of the wash if you like use trails).

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
Akichow #31736 06/10/13 11:51 AM
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Thanks for the great info everyone.
Akichow, your pictures make me determined to make the logistics of this trip work! It looks incredible up there.
Speaking of logistics, is there any type of transportation between Whitney Portal and Horseshoe meadows? I am hoping to get a two-car group together but I don't know if it will pan out.

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
SammySam #31739 06/10/13 03:13 PM
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Originally Posted By: SammySam
Thanks for the great info everyone.
Akichow, your pictures make me determined to make the logistics of this trip work! It looks incredible up there.
Speaking of logistics, is there any type of transportation between Whitney Portal and Horseshoe meadows? I am hoping to get a two-car group together but I don't know if it will pan out.



Im doing almost the same trip July 3-7. If your up at the same time maybe we can figure out the logistics from WP to HM

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
ruckustrx11 #31759 06/11/13 09:15 AM
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Originally Posted By: ruckustrx11

Im doing almost the same trip July 3-7. If your up at the same time maybe we can figure out the logistics from WP to HM


That would be great, I'll send you a PM

Re: Whitney from Horseshoe Meadows
Akichow #31763 06/11/13 04:18 PM
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Thanks for the kind words, Akichow. I always get interested when people start talking about the Miter Basin! I have to get back there sometime soon. And I've been wanting to try the Crabtree/Discovery route to Mount Whitney that SammySam is going to take. Hmm, I think a future trip plan might be starting to develop...

SammySam – That Langley West Face route off the SW ridge at the saddle by The Major General will get you quickly and directly from the summit of Mount Langley to Rock Creek in the Miter Basin. But as Steve pointed out, that would involve the work of carrying full backpacks to the summit. If you want to avoid that, you might consider coming down from the summit via the Upper Soldier Lake route that Akichow described. As you start the climb and you reach the top of Army Pass, follow the Crest up toward Mount Langley and drop your backpacks at around 12480' above the Soldier Lake drainage. Go to the summit, return for your packs, and head down to Upper Soldier Lake. Nice campsites there. Access to the Miter Basin from Upper Soldier Lake is via a small tarn (not shown on the topo map, but it is at the head of a stream that is shown) at the W-SW side of The Major General (see Day 4 of Akichow's trip report).


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