Quick Stats: 12.3 Miles & 6,588′ gain via North Fork Lone Pine Creek. (13,819′ Elevation at Turnaround)
In my post about the attempt on Mount Starr with Jaskiran I said that, at the time, that was the most risky adventure I’ve been on. This takes the cake by a long shot, and moved into territory that I would call just dangerous.
I was originally supposed to be on my trip to Mexico, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, I would no longer be going. This meant I had a Friday and Saturday free for adventures, and I had already made plans for a local adventure Saturday. . . so what sort of trouble could I get into on my own on Friday? I heard about two guys that had recently used the East Ridge of Mount Russell as a descent route from climbing the Fishhook Arete, so I looked at their trip report for details. There were no explicit details on the descent, but it was looking promising. I saw two snowfields in their photos which could be problematic; but then looking at the weather history for the last week, and considering the route is north facing, I assumed (I would later learn incorrectly) that the snow quality would be decent. Worst case scenario I turn back, right?
Well, I mean technically a worst case scenario is I fall on the route, take the grand tour of the north face and die. . . but I’m pretty good about turning back before it gets to that. So. . . Worst case scenario I turn back!
Mount Russell has been high on my list of goals since I learned about it– specifically the east ridge. This route encompasses all of what I love about mountaineering: Exposure, ridgeline scrambling, 3rd class scrambling, and absolutely stunning scenario. . . It’s the perfect route for me. I figured doing it as a day trip would be possible since I would be able to travel light and fast, with opportunities for water along the way so I could truly travel light.
I got to Whitney Portal later than I wanted, so I adjusted my wake up time accordingly. Alarm was set for 3:30 AM; my makeup was ready; my hair was done. . . And then it was time to go!
I quickly moved through the first bit of the Whitney Main Trail; made it up the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek quickly; navigated the Ebersbacher Ledges easily in the dark (them seem way shorter in the dark, and I still stand by my previous assessment that they are _nothing_ to worry about); barreled past Lower Boy Scout Lake; then finally found myself just below Upper Boy Scout Lake filtering water and loading up my pack with 4 Liters total.
The infamous scree slog was in front of me, but I thought back to what my guiding mentor Ian told me: “It’s the price of admission to world class scrambling.” I kept to Climber’s Right so that the scree would be more stable, and there were more opportunities for 2nd class / very light 3rd class terrain to stay out of the scree altogether. I’m sure this added mileage to my trip, but also made for a more enjoyable, less taxing experience than going straight up the scree.
As I got toward the top and was nearing the plateau below Russell Col, I ran into some very firm, very icy snow. Even though it would be short lived, now was the time for Crampons and my ice axe.
A month and a half earlier this section was releasing some decent sized slabs; this time my concern was a slide for your life scenario with how icy it was. Luckily my crampons were getting good purchase, it was just difficult to find a great angle with my feet given how varied the surface was due to surface hoar, sun cupping, and refreezing.
When I got to the plateau, I ditched the crampons and ice axe and made my way to Russell Col– the low point of the saddle between Mounts Russell and Carillon. Russell Col is also the gateway to Tulainyo Lake, which was another part of the itinerary: After climbing Russell, I was planning potentially climbing down to Tulainyo Lake and making my way to Tunnabora Peak before leaving– it’s right there after all! I cached my poles and a few other items at Russell Col and started up the East Ridge of Mount Russell. At this point I got a good look at the snowfields that were still there covering the route, and I messaged Frankie that there was a 50/50 chance I don’t summit.
Making my way up, the scrambling was incredible, and got even better as the exposure got crazier. After a little while of having the time of my life, I found myself at the first snowfield, and it was immediately clear this was dangerous.
It was all sugar snow– powdery and faceted, which meant it wouldn’t bind to itself, and would instead give way like a sack of sugar. This was covering the 3rd class portion of the route, but there’s always the option of getting on top of the ridge where the climbing varies between 3rd class scrambling and 5th class technical climbing. I kept trying to find safe ways through the snowfield, including hugging the North side near where the route cliffs out. . . but after trying for a while I realized there’s no safe way through; plus the rotten snow meant that if I needed to self arrest, there was nothing for my ice axe to actually dig into to save me. It then became a game of trying to find a safe spot to gain the ridge, and then see if I could bypass this snowfield on top of the ridge. I found two different spots where I could get up on top, but in both spots I would end up somewhere that the climbing far exceeded what I was comfortable doing solo in mountaineering boots (easily 5th class terrain).
In all, I ended up deciding to call it 4 times before I realized it really was over, as evidenced by all of my different turnaround photos:
As I sat there on top of the ridge, above a 4th class section and at the base of a 5th class headwall, I took about 20 minutes to just enjoy the view, and enjoy the adventure to this point.
As my bum started to get cold from the freezing cold granite, I decided it was time to go, and I made my way off the ridge, past the rotten snow, and got back to the exposed, albeit safe from rotten snow, 3rd class ridge. I followed this to Russell Col, often choosing a more difficult or exposed line to really try and milk this adventure for all it was worth before I found my way back to my gear cache. Looking North at Tunnabora Peak as an alternative adventure I realized that the snow covered slope below me would likely be the same quality (rotten) as what I encountered on the ridge, but I still wanted to summit something that day. To the East is Mount Carillon, which I had climbed the last time I was in the Whitney Group, and is a very fun 3rd class scramble. Last time I had had taken the South Face to get there; this time I decided to take the West Ridge, which offered a small amount of exposure at points, and more consistent 3rd class terrain (compared to the South Face which is a lot of 2nd class with small sections of 3rd class).
Getting to the top of Mount Carillon was an absolute blast, and I got an absolutely fantastic look at Mount Russell’s East Ridge, which isn’t going anywhere. For that day, however, I was, as I made my way down Mount Carillon’s South Face, down the icy section (which was softer than the morning, but still required crampons), and down the scree slog. I would say that the rest of the adventure was uneventful, except that I fell into a trapdoor just below Upper Boy Scout Lake– not a literal trapdoor, but a snow moat up to my waist that I had to roll on my side to get myself out of. This happens, especially late in the day, but what I didn’t realize is my phone fell out of my pocket at this point. It wasn’t until I crossed Lower Boy Scout Lake that I noticed, and then retraced my steps all the way back to Upper Boy Scout Lake, to no avail. . .
. . . Until I remembered that trap door. I saw it from one angle, but then decided to go to the other side and see if I could find my phone in there. Seemingly neatly placed with my purple glitter bubble Unicorn case facing up, I found my cell phone waiting for me. I got lucky, and was also relieved because if I lost a second phone to North Fork Lone Pine Creek, I would have been very upset. (See my first attempt at Mount Whitney for details on that.)
The rest of the adventure was a simple hike through snow to get down to Lower Boy Scout, and then from there a simple hike back to Alyx, who was patiently waiting for me. I still plan to climb Mount Russell, and have already picked a target date. . . but it just wasn’t in the cards for this trip.
. . . And that’s okay. Climb on with love.