Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt Humphreys

I'm planning on doing Mt. Humphreys this Thursday with a friend of mine. He's bringing a rope to rappel down the class 4 section right below the summit. I was just seeing if anyone else has done it and how the experience went for you. The class 4 section looks solid and not too terrible, but it is class 4. So we'll just see if its within my ability to make it up that section past the notch. I just want to know how "doable" it was for you guys.

Also for the descent, I understand that there's already some rappel stations set up. I saw an image of one of the pitons and it seemed a little rusty. Does anyone know if its wise of me to trust my life on those things? Almost every trip report I've seen uses these stations, but I'm not to knowledgable on the subject so I just wanted a little more insight.

climby: I climbed it MANY years ago. Here's what I recall...

My buddy and I were up near the summit, and the 4th class part was to our left, and on that section was a guide and his client. We were attempting to climb it without technical gear -- all third class. We were hunting around for the route to climb, and the guide gave us a big hint: He said you might want to move to your right a little. We did that, and found the correct route to the summit. We then descended the same way, and I don't recall it being that difficult.

The guide and his client used his ropes, etc, and rappelled down the face as we watched with envy.

Good luck! and let us know how it goes.

We dayhiked it on June 20. My eighth time. We didn’t bring any gear, except rock shoes. The fourth class certainly held our attention, just as it did 30 years ago. A very enjoyable climb. Three other guys turned back at the fourth class section.

Thanks a lot for the advice Steve. I saw a few more reports which highlighted the routes below the summit. One looked like this and another one like this. The first labeled "class 4" section shows the route moving to climbers right. Is this what you meant by moving to the right a little? So should we trust the route in the images as the best route?

Yea, I'll be wearing my mountaineering boots which are pretty good for approach and are flexible enough to allow me to smear to the rock if need be. They have pretty good grip. Any chance you were able to get a view of the rappel station during June and see if I can trust it to rappel? I don't know how old is "too old" but I'm assuming its been up there for a while now.

I think we were off to the right edge of both of those pictures. It didn't appear climbable, but when we moved around to the right, I think we found a route we could do. Hiking boots is all we ever used.

Check this picture from Summit Post. I'm thinking we found our way on the right hand edge or corner.

Do NOT trust a fixed rappel anchor based on pictures posted online. Learn about anchors, how to build them and how to test them onsite. Also, keep in mind that Sierra class IV routes can easily turn into class V. The possibility of getting off route is non trivial even on well established lines and when that happens you can find yourself on a completely different, often very sketchy, terrain. There is nothing wrong about soliciting beta on public forums but no beta can replace a seasoned mentor. Find one and go on many trips with them - you will learn a ton and, ultimately, will become a safer climber.