I went to the East Side to climb Mt Muir. What I got was a taste of the coming winter, that and the summit of Whitney.
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| Not what you want to see when you're going up there. The East Side, from Lone Pine. |
Mt Muir is considered by the Sierra Club to be one of California's fifteen 14,000 summits. It is the first real prominence north of Trail Crest on the Whitney Trail, and the 300+foot scramble to the summit goes at a steep and exposed Class III. Regarding my failure to reach the top of Muir I will simply say that Class III is Class III until it's not, and in this case having two inches of powder snow on every climbing surface tipped my risk-reward ratio into the red. I spent a good hour fifty feet under the summit, trying to find a way. Rats. I'll just have to come back when it is snow-free. I gave up and went over to Whitney for some summit time.
My day on the trail went well, routine, unremarkable. It's a big, long day. Everybody knows this. My total time on trail came to 13:20. I think this was my 12th time on Whitney and 7th or 8th time on summit.
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| Whitney Trail at the JMT |
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| Where I got stalled and gave up on Muir. |
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| Sure it's Class III, just not with snow all over it. Mt Muir. |
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| Wind blown snow, Whitney Trail |
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| Ice sickles on prayer flags, the Smithsonian Hut. |
Sorry, posted this on the Coso Range blog on accident!
ReplyDeleteAs always thanks for sharing these, definitely brightens up the cubicle when these come in. I did a similar solo single day Whitney summit back in late July and now I think I'd like to go back! I've summited the standard route about 6 times in the last 2 years in all conditions and as single day unless Im hosting.
Have you tried the Mountaineers Route yet, or Thor Peak/Mt Rusell etc?
Hey,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I've done the Mountaineers, East Face, East Buttress, and a straight line ascent from Guitar Lake.
WOW, all angles :) Last question as I dont want to besmirch your site, were you able to do the MR without a guide/gps? That how I wanna go as I cant really afford a guide or a gps, but dont want to compromise safety in the process. Thanks
DeleteDesmond
Des, I have never needed a guide or GPS on the Mountaineers Route, which is either a nice long snow climb or a loose choss haul depending on the time of year. The route is impossibly obvious from Iceberg Lake. It goes up. -DS
ReplyDeleteFantastic, will certainly give it a try soon. Thanks!
DeleteDes
Just missed yuh. Did Russell, Muir, and Whitney via the north fork of LP Creek two weekends ago, right before the dusting. Tis brutal to be within a stone's throw of the top and half to turn back . . . but then how fun would climbing be if we always made it to the top?
ReplyDelete- Jiroch
Mr J, been a while. Yours was the trip I had intended to do around a month ago, and a year ago, and so on... I only need Muir, Russell and Shasta. I keep holding out hope that I will find somebody I can trust to share leads on the Fishook.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course you are right, if topping out was a given then what would be the point? In essence, its all about the being there. The summit is secondary (at least that's what I've always told myself when I didn't quite get where I'd intended to go). -DS
Muir, Russell, and Shasta? Sounds like you saved the easy ones for last. Too many distractions over the past ten years kept me from the fifth class game until just this past summer. Hoping to make up for lost time with a trip to the North Pal massif next spring to wrap up the last few Sierra fourteeners on the ol' tic list. Might start in on the Cascade Volcanos the following Spring...climb up, ski down!
ReplyDeleteMy current crush is the southeast ridge of Olancha Peak. Sustained and exhausting with lots of routefinding...just like that special someone.
Fishhook is a stunning line. Eight pitches on perfect granite. Definitely on my short list but I'm not there yet. Best of luck finding that trusty second!
- Jiroch
Olancha huh? Been up Owens or Chimney?
ReplyDeleteYeah J, saved the "old guy" peaks for last.
Haven't done either. After doing a little research, they both look like they're right up my alley though. So many peaks, so little time!
Delete- J