Mt Whitney Zone Forums Trip Reports Father-son trip on the MR 8/8-8/9

This past weekend, (8/8-8/9), I had the wonderful experience of climbing Mt. Whitney with my 17 year old son Rob. We summitted via the Mountaineers Route on Monday morning at 10:15AM. This was our first trip to the Sierra, and we were both blown away. I really wanted to do a special trip with my son this summer before he goes into his senior year of high school. I thought the significance of hopefully getting to the top of the highest peak in the lower 48 would sort of set the tone that he was ready to handle any challenge that could come his way. That probably sounds a bit silly to some, but I would imagine many of you "get that".

I only came up with the Whitney idea about 30 days ago, and as I started planning the trip I quickly stumbled across the Whitney Zone and Whitney Portal Store Boards. I created a long in, posted a question or two, but mainly just sat back and tried to learn from some of the helpful links and the knowledgeable people on this board. I soon discovered that especially due to the permitting issue, Whitney is a bit more complicated than just grabbing your pack and heading for the trailhead. I would like to thank Bob Rockwell, Bulldog, Steve, and a couple others who provided some very helpful advice on planning our trip.

As I started thinking about Whitney I was initially pulled toward the MR as several years ago I was a moderately active climber. I guess it is fortunate that I am semi retired from climbing and a bit rusty or I would have probably wanted to go for the East Buttress. After seeing the rock routes from Iceberg Lake I determined that trying to take my son up one of the technical routes would have likely been a mistake. As I researched Whitney and received advice from both Bob R. and Bulldog, I changed my mind on the MR and had decided to hike the main trail instead. They convinced me that the odds were significantly better for success on the MT than the MR especially considering we live in Florida, had never be to the Sierra before, and might not have the opportunity to come back any time soon. I started immediately calling for permit cancellations and pretty much did so every day with out luck. I would always ask for overnight MT permits, then inquire about day hike permits, and occasionally ask about North Fork permits just in case. I continued to get shut out on all fronts, but with the knowledge gained from this board went ahead and made airline reservations anyway hoping for two "no show permits" for the main trail once we got out there. I called one last time on Friday, 8/6, which was our day of departure, and went through my normal routine....nothing for overnight on the MT, no day hikes in the zone, and just by chance I asked him to check the North Fork.....bingo...they had two cancellations! I figured it was a sign, so quickly jumped on them. Unfortunately most of my route research and pre determined hiking plan had been for the MT and I was now flying out in 3 hours now with permits for the MR. Oh well, a little adventure is a good thing. I threw two helmets into my already packed gear and we were off to the airport.

We arrived in Lone Pine on Saturday morning, (8/7), picked up our permits, and headed for Horseshoe Meadows to start the process of getting our sea level bodies adjusted to altitude. We only could spare one day for acclimatization, which I knew would be cutting if very close, but it was all the time we had. Once we arrived at HM we took a nice and easy hike up to Trail Pass. We camped at HM that night, which I believed helped us a great deal. I was very worried about AMS as other than skiing in CO when he was 10; Rob had never been higher than the top of Mount Mitchell in NC, (a lofty 6,685'). Neither of us did any specific training for this trip other than what we normally do. (Rob plays lacrosse and basketball, we workout together, and I run quite a bit). It ended up that we were fortunate and neither of us had any trouble or got AMS other than I had a bit of a mild headache. After a night at HM we slept late and headed to the trailhead around 11:30. We ran into Doug Sr. on the road right before we got to the TH, which was great and gave me the chance to ask a couple of last minute questions. I set a purposely slow pace, so it took us about two hours to get to LBSL and another hour to get from LBSL to UBSL. The route finding was easy and we felt the E-ledges were straight forward and fun, (see notes at the end). The view from LBSL looking up the canyon was spectacular. We arrived at our camp at UBSL and had the place to ourselves except for two brothers, (Robert and Matt I believe from Louisville, KY & Concord, MA if I recall). Robert and Matt have made it a point to meet up regularly for backcountry trips for many years, which is pretty neat. The brothers were climbing Mt. Carillon the next day. We set up camp and found out first hand how quickly the Sierra weather can change. Our warm blue-sky afternoon quickly disappeared as the temps dropped and we were chased into the tent by light snow, hail, sleet, and rain. Nothing extreme, but it was a very quick and dramatic change. After the short storm passed, Rob and I ate dinner with Robert and Matt and enjoyed their company.

We left camp at 6:00AM on Saturday, as I wanted to avoid route finding via headlamp. Again the pace was purposely slow and steady hoping AMS would continue to stay away. The route finding on the hike from UBSL to Iceberg was again straight forward, but the trail was pretty steep. I believe it took us a 1:10 to get to Iceberg where we found a friendly family of four packing up camp who had summitted the day before. We rested and hydrated for about 40 minutes and headed up the 3rd class chute to the left of the main MR gully. I was surprised to see a fair amount of snow in the lower portion of the main gully, so going left seemed to be the way. As we made our way up the chute on the left we reached what appeared to be a bit of a dead end. I thought I remembered the route traversed right at some point to join the main chute, so I had Rob stay put while I scrambled right to check it out. I could tell this wasn't correct so I starting traversing back left about the time "Jim F" came up to us moving fast. Jim quickly showed me the obvious line, which was just 5' right of the dead end and straight up on some fun low angle rock ribs and cracks. The line was very obvious and I was not quite sure why I thought the route traversed all the way to the main gully at this point? As Jim passed us he said "you guys feel free to pass me if you want". Rob and I chuckled Jim was moving pretty fast, so that clearly wasn't going to happen. Since we were going to be directly behind Jim, I knew we should probably stay put for a while to stay out of any rock fall. However, as I watched Jim's efficient style I could tell this wasn't his first rodeo, so I had a feeling this guy knew what he was doing and we would be okay. We could see Jim up a ways in front of us the entire time, but the man never so much as dropped a pebble on us. Once we transitioned into the main chute/gully, we got our first taste of an old fashion Sierra scree beat down. We tried to hug the left wall as much as we could, but there is no way to completely avoid the scree and we found this part of the route to be the hardest and least enjoyable. We reached the notch to find Jim resting and looking somewhat concerned at the amount of ice on the final 400'. Jim explained that it looked to be a little worse than normal for this time of year due to the previous night's snow/hail/sleet/rain. Jim had obviously done the route many times, so if this guy was a bit concerned, I certainly was with my 17-year-old son in tow. Jim walked over to the base of the chute to take a closer look and said he thought that ice could still be avoided. We agreed to all three go together. I told Rob that he and I were going to back off if at any time I didn't feel good about the ice situation or the ability to down climb what we were coming up. Clearly Rob let me know that he wanted no part of bailing within 400' of the summit, but I told him that was the way it was going to be if I felt it was the least bit sketchy at any point. His safety was far more important than the summit. As it turns out, we could pretty much avoid 99% of the ice and found that once we traversed right and got past the ice, it was just picking your way up the path of least resistance up the easy/enjoyable climbing on the right side of the chute. I am not a very emotional guy, but I have to say I was close to letting my emotions get the best of me as I topped out with my son on his first real mountain. Jim also understood the moment and turned and said something really eloquent and profound to Rob. I was a bit choked up and think I could only get out a short and bit mumbled, "I am proud of you son". To see the young man who seemingly just yesterday was my little boy stand on top of Whitney and take in the sights was something I will never forget. Words can't describe how proud I was to share that moment with him. I believe it was around 10:15 when we signed the register, took a couple of photos, and enjoyed the sun on top for about 45 minutes. We said good-bye to our new friend Jim as he was heading down the MT on a long day loop, while Rob and I went back and down climbed the final 400'. The down climbing was easy if you are accustomed to down climbing, though we did have to wander around just a bit to make sure we avoided the ice.

It seems like I often have some kind of mini-epic moment when I am in the mountains, and today was no exception. About ¼ down the scree gulley, Rob said "Dad, I have a hole in my shoe and I am getting rocks inside it". I thought...yeah right; you don't have a hole in your shoe. I then hear Rob slip a little and fall on his butt. I playfully asked him what his problem was and he immediately blamed the shoe. I turned around to notice that side of Rob's left shoe, (actually an old pair of my approach shoes), had completely de-laminated and split down the entire length of his shoe revealing a 2" wide gap of exposed insole and sock. Just perfect....the shoe was toast and we had a long way to go! I grabbed my handy duct tape I always keep wrapped around my Advil container and did my best to repair the shoe trying to hold the thing together by sort of splinting it with the scree gaiter and duct tape. Since I had no idea how long this amateur repair job would hold, and how the duct tape might affect the friction properties of the shoe, I swapped shoes with Rob. We made it back to UBSL, packed up tent and bags, and arrived back at the TH about 5:00PM just about the time my left shoe complete disintegrated. As per numerous recommendations from the board, we finished the trip with two fantastic cheeseburgers, and a couple of cold beverages for Dad from the Portal Store. We also got to thank Doug Sr. for the route beta and great grub. The crux of the day was then the four-hour drive back to Vegas that night.
Again, thanks to all for their helpful advice, especially Jim F, Bob R, Bulldog, and Doug Sr. What a great father-son bonding experience for this 48 year old and his 17-year-old son! We had a great time and will be back, (with new shoes). I will probably lose my big toe nail on my left foot due to wearing the blown out shoes down the mountain, but it was well worth it.

Cautionary note to other first timers on the MR: As Doug warns in his book and many others do on the boards, the MR is not really "easy" or a beginner's route. While we were clearly first timers on Whitney, back in "my day" I used to climb a bunch, lead trad, etc. Rob was never a serious climber, but has taken several weekend climbing trips with me over the years to Southeastern crags, so we were both comfortable with the exposure and the scrambling. There is nothing on the route that requires more than just proficient scrambling skills, but there are many places where a fall is just simply not an option. If the exposure on the ledges bothers you, I would strongly advise you to turn around as the exposure on the final 400' and even in the 3rd class chute to the left of the main gully are both considerably greater on more difficult terrain. As most know, down climbing is always significantly harder than heading up, so don't make a move you can't reverse. This is especially important if you plan to come back down the final 400' and the MR like we did. It is all easy, you just can't blow it! We chose to wear helmets in the main gully and up the final 400', as I read about a recent and fairly serious rock fall event on the MR. If you are comfortable with 3rd class scrambling on "no fall" and a bit exposed terrain, can handle off trail navigation, and don't mind gaining the same 6,150' of elevation in 1/3 the distance of the main trail, (read steep)....go for it! With the exception of the scree gully from hell with a buggered up shoe, it was a great route and experience!

I will never forget my boy's first real mountain and the experience we shared together. He was strong, fit, solid as a rock, and the best climbing partner I could have asked for. I have attached a link to a few pitiful photos below, (I am apparently a better shoe fixer than photographer). Interesting....when we left for the trip, I am pretty sure I was about 1/2" taller than Rob. As you can see the photos seem to show that he is now over 6'1" and appears to be about a 1/4" taller than I am. I thought he must be standing on a rock, but that doesn't seem to be the case. What the heck do you guys have in that Sierra water? I guess the trip turned my boy into even more of a man.

Kent Williams
Maitland, FL

(hopefully this link works)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53010181@N04/sets/72157624599411735/with/4891622922/

Kent, it was a pleasure corresponding with you before your trip, and I'm really happy you and Rob had such a successful, memorable climb. Obviously, the MR permit was meant to be for you guys! Crossing the country from the flattest of lands to summit the highest peak in the lower 48 by the MR, on short acclimation - dude, you both have a lot to be proud of!

Out of curiosity, did "Jim F" - who was obviously no stranger to the mountain and moved prettydamnquick - wear a blue cap with a particular reptile logo on it? You being an Auburn Tiger, I warned you in advance about certain Gators haunting the Sierra; this one sounds very familiar . . .

Congrats again on a great trip. You've now experienced the magic of the Eastern Sierra and I can promise you that you'll be back faster than you think. It gets in your blood, and soon your life becomes a 350-day bookend around those two weeks each year spent along 395. Give me a shout next biztrip to the ATL and we'll meet up for a brew - and discuss your woeful lack of photography on one of the best mountains around!

What a fantastic trip report.Glad you got to experience Mt. Whitney with your son.You are not the first to have that emotional moment when summiting. The summit is a metaphor for many of us.Congratulations on an excellent adventure.It is one you and your son will never forget.I am so impressed with you being able to do the MR. Amazing how everything fell into place for you.The 2 places you mention The E-Ledges and the final 400 are what keep me from attempting the MR.That exposure thing is a big deal to me. Great job and thanks for sharing.Aren't those burgers and fries at Doug's amazing in themselves? They are everything and more than advertized. No wonder everyone raves about them after a MW summit?

Congratulations! My son and I just did an MR-MT loop on Friday the 13th. Treasured memories!

Bulldog: will do. Next time I am in the ATL we can meet for a beverage and debrief. The Jim we met was a UCLA guy and not of the reptile variety that dwell north of me in Gainesville. (Can't say too much about the Gators though as my son could end up there).

Rod, thanks for the kind words. I know I got very wordy on my trip report, but it was hard not to ramble about some of the great people I met and the experience I shared with my son.

James: I read your trip report too. You have apparently mastered the art of saying less and expressing more through better photos. You didn't have to say much to convey what a great time you and your son had. Great job on the big loop. Your boy is obviously a strong/fit young man.

Kent,

Thank you. This was one of those occasions where the memory was hard for me to express except to say it was priceless.

As for your trip report, it is great. Wordy is not a problem, it was detailed, spellbinding with a touch of emotion. Funny how you called the drive back the crux of the trip. That is so true! Reading your TR I relived my own hike with my son.

Congrats again and thanks for sharing your memories.

-J

You can't use too many words to describe such an incredible adventure. No need to apologize for sharing the story.I appreciate the detail. Beats the "I summited MW today and it was awesome." trip report.Glad you were able to use the boards and it's people to glean the necessary information to successfully summit.

Kent, congratulations to you and Rob. And to you for raising a kid who enjoys climbing as much as you!

You sure did well finding the Mountaineer's Route. I am curious what resources helped the most (or that you would recommend to other first-timers) to help find their way through the route you took.

I see your camera was still set on Eastern time. Happens to me, too.

And Rob is more than 1/4" taller!

Steve:

Good catch on the camera time still being on Eastern time. Yeah..I am afraid the boy is now taller than me. I am sure I will be hearing about that for a while.

As to your questions on which resources helped me the most, I really think it was just more the general info I gained from the board. Without the Orientation Notes and advice from a few guys on the board, I do not think the trip would have ever happened. I knew we had to have permits for Whitney and would imagine that without the board I would have probably called Inyo Ranger office only once, found out permits were unavailable for the dates I could consider, and likely punted. By reading the board I learned a great deal more about the permit process, "no shows", etc. I also learned about camping at Horseshoe Meadows from the board as I would have likely just camped at the Portal without this resource. This may have been fine, but with only 24 hours to acclimatize HM was probably helpful.

On route finding....the North Fork/MR is pretty easy to follow. I consider myself fairly decent with a topo map and compass, but I never pulled either out. The description from Doug's book was very good and the trail was easy to follow from the split with the main trail to the ledges. I found Bob Rockwell's photos of the ledges, (found on the MR link), to be very helpful, but I think I would have been fine without them as the route up through the ledges is pretty intuitive as long as you know you are heading up toward the wall. The trail from the ledges to LBSL is easy to follow and and the route from LBSL to UBSL and on to Iceberg Lake is really well marked with cairns. I did get slightly off route once but quickly figured out I was off the preferred route and immediately found a cairn and got back on the trail. There are a couple of places near Iceberg where you have to pay attention as there are several "use trails" that go off in different directions. You really can't get messed up too bad though. If you haven't seen a cairn for a couple of minutes, look around or perhaps back track and you will find one. The last little section up to Iceberg Lake does require a bit of a scramble, but not bad.

From Iceberg Lake you certainly can't miss the MR Gully. In Doug's book he recommends taking the 3rd class chute to the left of the main gully as this allows you to avoid a significant chunk of the lower scree filled gully, (and rock fall). As I mentioned in my trip report, for some reason I thought the 3rd class chute traversed over hard right at some point to join the main gully. I don't have a clue where I got this bad info from as the line is very obvious if you know to just follow the left chute up until it meets the main gully. I am sure I would have figured it out, but that was about the time Jim F. came by, so we just followed him. At the risk of being repetitive, the final 400' is easy, but exposed. The single hardest move might be the first move or two off the deck at the notch, but they aren't hard. Just be careful picking your way around the ice and keep heading up the path of least resistance. Obviously my route beta is only valid for summer conditions.

Perhaps people from California and Nevada learn enough about Whitney from friends and other local sources to "figure it out", but for a guy trying to plan a trip from his living room on the other side of the country, the board was invaluable.

Thanks to all who put in the hard work to make this kind of resource possible!

Kent Williams

Thanks for the reply and the information, Kent. You should congratulate yourself, since there are so many people who are quite hesitant to head up that way, or go up and get hopelessly off route. You did very well.

I am particularly curious about this point just above LBSL:

Is it obvious now to cross over to the slabs through the bushes. This picture is from several years ago, and the place to cross through the bushes was pretty grown together.

By most of the recent accounts of trips up the MR, it sounds like it has been nicely maintained by a series of closely spaced cairns. I find this to be good news in light of some of the early attitudes that one did not want to make the Mountaineer's "Route" too much like a "Trail". Over time, the MR has become so popular that any contribution to the well-being of the multi-levels of experienced to in-experienced users of this route is welcome (most certainly to the SAR folks who may get called out to find lost hikers)

Steve: Yes it was obvious where to cross the slabs once you get to the spot in the willows below the Matterhorn looking boulder shown in your photo above. The willows are still very tall and thick, and you have to be right on the passage way through the willows before you see the obvious crossing.

I don't want to give the impression that the route has cairns every 20'. There are several places where you may pass a cairn, but can't see the next one from the previous one. Having some good "mountain sense" and a little back country navigation skill makes it easy to stay on track when you know the direction you should be going. However, this is not a place I would send somebody who showed up at the trail head with new price tags hanging off their pack or even maybe a more experienced hiker who has never really been off trail before. Hope this helps.

I like that!