Trip Report

We started the climb by checking out of Lone Pine Campground, just a few miles west of the Whitney Portal trailhead. After a short drive, we hit the trail shared by both the Standard Route and the Mountaineer’s Route. A half mile later, we left the main trail on the unmarked Mountaineer’s Route following the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek. We crossed the creek a couple of times, negotiated the Ebenbacher Ledges, and took an extended break at Lower Boy Scout Lake. By early afternoon, we set up camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake at an elevation of about 11,300 feet. We had beautiful weather and our journey through multiple climate zones rewarded us with a variety of plant life. We had started out under the shade of Curl-Leaf Mountain Mahogany trees with Jack Rabbits running around our campsite and moved through higher climatic zones with lizards, Jeffrey Pines, Douglas Firs, Flowering Cactus, and Snow Plants. Near Lower Boy Scout Lake we encountered rare Foxtail Pines, endemic to the southern Sierra Nevada and ended up at our camp above tree line. All along the hike, we were treated to a great show of wildflowers, including Shooting Star, Sky Pilot, Paintbrush, and several types of Monkeyflower. On Day 2, we awoke early enough to start hiking at 4:00 AM. We worked our way to Iceberg Lake and then put on crampons to ascend the hard snow in the couloir on the north side of east face. Turning south at the notch at the top of the couloir, we encountered icy rock and more hard snow in the “Final 400”. We used a rope for one pitch for “peace of mind”, followed by a traverse with ice axes and crampons, and a couple hundred feet of scrambling up big chunks of granite. The climbing was not difficult, but it had enough exposure to get our adrenaline pumping! We topped out at the summit after 7 hours of climbing, joining the crowds who ascended the Standard Route. After an hour on top, one of our team who had to leave early descended back to the trailhead on the Standard Route. The remainder of us descended back to our camp and rested overnight. We had originally planned on climbing Mt. Russell on our 3rd day, but opted instead to hike out to the trailhead in the morning. We reached the trailhead in time to have lunch and enjoy the famous burgers at the Whitney Portal Store.