The summit push was fine. The descent was a different story.
This is a two-day trip report from the Mountaineer's Route on Mt. Whitney: Camping at Upper Boy Scout Lake camp, ice axes and crampons, a technical notch, and Trent sliding 300 feet down a 400-foot chute on the descent and walking away from it completely unharmed.
The route
The Mountaineer's Route is the non-maintained alternative to the standard Whitney Trail. Where the main trail is 22 miles roundtrip with 99 switchbacks and a lot of company, the M-route is roughly 14-16 miles, Class 3 scrambling near the top, and considerably less trafficked. Same summit. More earned.
Permits are through the same recreation.gov lottery as the main trail. It opens in February. Walk-up quota drops at 11pm the night before for the unlucky. Or if you want to skip all of that, check conditions, and head up there before permit season. We opted for the latter.
Day one: Upper Boy Scout Lake
We left Whitney Portal at around 6pm. The route breaks from the main trail early and the maintained path disappears. You move through Lone Pine Lake, Lower Boy Scout Lake, and up to Upper Boy Scout Lake at around 11,000 feet, which is where we made camp at around 10pm.
Upper Boy Scout is a good base for the M-route. Flat spots near the water, some wind protection, and a clear view of the headwall you'll be climbing the next morning. We filtered water directly from the lake and ate freeze-dried meals watching the light go off the peaks. Not a bad evening.
Get to camp quick and make the most of the sleep you manage to get. The alarm is early.
Day two: summit
We left camp in the dark with ice axes and crampons. The chute above Iceberg Lake holds snow well into summer–ours was firm enough that both were necessary, not optional. If you're planning this trip, check recent conditions on the Whitney Facebook group the week before. Don't guess on this section.
The notch above the chute is where the route gets genuinely technical. Exposed Class 3 scrambling on large granite blocks with real consequence if you come off a hold wrong. Slow and deliberate is the move. We took our time through here and it felt like the right call.
The summit push, once through the technical section, was fine. The views from the top are like none other, reliably helped by the dopamine rush of summiting 14,505 feet. The Sierra Nevada in every direction. We sat there for a while, passed the tin around, and caught our breath.
The descent
Coming down was tougher than going up, which is true of most mountains but especially true on a route with a technical snow chute at the start of your descent.
On the chute, Trent fell. He went 300 feet down a 400-foot slope. He landed unharmed.
We watched it happen and then stood there for a moment. He got up, looked around, confirmed he was fine. He was fine. The mountain gave him one back.
After that, Oli and I took our time. There is no other appropriate response to watching someone slide 300 feet and walk away from it. You slow down, you pay attention to every foot placement, and you don't rush the last section no matter how ready your legs are to be done. We got back to camp, packed up, and walked out.
Never underestimate the conditions.
What we carried
- Ice axe – not optional on the Iceberg Lake chute
- Crampons – same
- Trekking poles for everything else
- Tent – Upper Boy Scout Lake gets cold and windy overnight
- Sleeping bag rated to at least 20°F
- Water filter – Upper Boy Scout Lake has good water
- Freeze-dried meals for two days
- Headlamp with fresh batteries
- Seaker Sun Balm — zinc oxide, no white cast, earned at altitude
Thanks for reading! Use code WHITNEY at checkout for 15% off.