Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt Russell East Ridge Conditions

Hi everyone,

has anyone been up on the east ridge of Mt. Russell this season? how snowy / dry is it? I plan on doing the ridge in a week and I'm wondering what conditions to expect.

Thanks!
Eric

Did it yesterday. Still enough snow to make it quite exciting. What normally takes me less than 30 minutes from the pass took closer to 90 minutes. Should be melted off in another couple of weeks.

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmmPzQLV

It all looks manageable - was picture 28 the crux? That section looked a bit dicey especially in firmer snow.

None of it was terribly difficult if you move deliberately. Picture 28 shows mix of relatively soft and deep snow interspersed with rock. Some work kick stepping a trail but nothing too bad. The ridge between the two summits had the hardest snow but easily avoidable

Anyone else up here in the last few days? Updates?

I went up the East Ridge on Saturday 6/16/2018 with my partner Scott. Snow wasn't an issue for us. There were 4 short snow crossings. I used all 4 snow crossings on the way up and avoided 2 on the way down by climbing 3rd/4th rock.

Enjoy!

I climbed the East Ridge on 6/22. One snow crossing remaining but there is no exposure. Enjoy.

    Report here

I'm going to be doing the East Ridge on 6/30. Any gear recommendations? Climbing shoes? Rope? Helmet? Any advice would be appreciated, thank you...

A helmet is all you need.