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Thread: TR: Whitney

  1. 04-06-2009, 07:21 PM #1
    ReticentMarvel
    ReticentMarvel is offline Lurker Extraordinaire
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    TR: Whitney

    Been around for a while, thought I'd contribute for once. Need to build my "street cred" so I can get BC partners. I'm just starting my third month here in the great state of California and loving it so far, sometime last week my buddy Eric called and asked if I wanted meet up and do the Mountaineer's route on Whitney. Umm... yes!

    I started driving Thursday night and got there late Friday morning after a layover in some middle-of-nowhere town in eastern Cali. Or maybe western Nevada. Anyway, when I got there it was immediately apparent that conditions were pretty thin, you can drive all the way up to the portal trailhead (good) and there's no snow for the first mile or so of hiking (bad). I scoped the lower section of the trail, drove down to the visitor center and picked up a permit, and waited for Eric. We met up, raided the dollar menu at McDonalds, then headed back up to the trailhead for a cold night in the cars.

    We were up at 4 and on the trail shortly thereafter, skis on packs. We never used our skins, the snow was frozen pretty hard and the few times skins would have been more efficient were too few and too short to warrant busting them out. We made Lower Boyscout Lake by 7am, Iceberg Lake at 830, and the notch by 1030. This was our highpoint for the day, the snow actually ran out about a hundred feet before the notch, and we didn't really care if we summited. I was also feeling the altitude a bit, life at sea level's making me weak! It was windy above around 13k, but other than that we couldn't have had better weather all day.

    Skiing the couloir from just below the notch was fairly steep and icy, a fall would probably send you for a long, fast ride. Once we got down lower and the sun had some time to warm the snow we were rewarded with some nice corn to make up for the mank in the couloir. We felt like rockstars, it seemed like everyone we came across (and it was suprisingly busy) would hurriedly get out their cameras and start snapping photos as we skiied on by.

    We skiied till the snow ran out, then hiked the last mile or so and were back to the cars by 2 in the afternoon. ~6k in 6 hours, highpoint around 14k ft, 10 hours car-to-car. Thanks to Eric for setting the bootpack all day.

    All pictures are of Eric, by me unless I'm in them and then vice-versa. Enough talk already...



    Booting through low hanging Alders is lame...




    Alpineglow heading up to Lower Boyscout




    Checking out the view near Upper Boyscout




    Me! Taking a breather




    Starting up the coolie




    Nice view. We ditched our skis here and tagged the notch before starting down




    Me about halfway down the couloir




    Snow: subpar ; Scenery: superb




    Gettin some corn on the way down from Lower Boyscout




    I thought this was a fitting end to the day
















    BONUS!

    The next day we went for a shorter tour and found this near University Peak:



    Scoping possibilities




    This looks tasty




    More booting. Are verts worth it? Need to look into getting some of those...




    The Sierras are alright I guess...




    The dot on the skin track is our third, somewhat slower partner who showed up the second day




    Eric's a slut




    There were pockets of nice snow on the way out




    Yours truly




    Up at sunrise, back before noon, not a bad morning...

    Hope you enjoyed it, I know we did! C&C welcome on the pics, although there's only so much I can do with a P&S. Still looking for some good Tahoe area partners...
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  2. 04-06-2009, 07:25 PM #2
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    montanaskier
    montanaskier is offline Rollin with the Tide
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    nice pics....buy skins.....and wear a helmet
    ROLL TIDE ROLL
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  3. 04-06-2009, 07:26 PM #3
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    FutureHermit
    FutureHermit is offline i love supernovas
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    fk ya buddy way to get some!
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  4. 04-06-2009, 07:29 PM #4
    Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer's Avatar
    Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer
    Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer is offline Because I'm a caveman....
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    Nice TR. Looks like a good couple of days.
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  5. 04-06-2009, 11:27 PM #5
    Xover
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    thanx RM; amongst the mind blowing, barfing of killer TR's right now (happens every year 'bout now) I clicked on yours first - thanx again!!!

    your second pic, the alpenglow one, is $$$$

    so sorry to see the current lack of snow (it is the Sierra's - that can all change with one May storm); however, that puts my recent desire to trail run Whitney in a morn closer to reality this June

    don't need to say anything about the Old Bastard Ale
    "... she'll never need a doctor; 'cause I check her out all day"
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  6. 04-06-2009, 11:29 PM #6
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    Meathelmet
    Meathelmet is offline Brick Lotion
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    I hope you realize how frigging awesome terrain that is? I mean,grade A chuting,desert and by what it looks like, superb rock faces for some afternoon climbing...mmmh...


    Damn,I live in such a Not Like That At All:ish place that it makes my testicles hurt...

    The floggings will continue until morale improves.
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  7. 04-07-2009, 12:25 AM #7
    gimpy
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    cha-ching$$$$$$!!!!
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  8. 04-07-2009, 12:34 AM #8
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    tarkman1
    tarkman1 is offline ski fast
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    Yeah, California is just okay.

    Street cred? Admitting that your buddy set the boot gives you some wiggle room to up your cred.

    Nice job scouting University. I guess Onion Valley Road is clear to the trail head.
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  9. 04-07-2009, 01:22 AM #9
    jumpturn's Avatar
    jumpturn
    jumpturn is offline Climber
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    Nice east side stoke!

    Was that the Musketeers couloir you skied down next to Whitney?
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  10. 04-07-2009, 01:34 AM #10
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    LightRanger
    LightRanger is offline Not on IR. For now.
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    Welcome to the Range of Light.

    Sweet TR.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ernest_Hemingway View Post
    I realize there is not much hope for a bullfighting forum. I understand that most of you would prefer to discuss the ingredients of jacket fabrics than the ingredients of a brave man. I know nothing of the former. But the latter is made of courage, and skill, and grace in the presence of the possibility of death. If someone could make a jacket of those three things it would no doubt be the most popular and prized item in all of your closets.
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  11. 04-07-2009, 09:28 AM #11
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    SchralphMacchio
    SchralphMacchio is offline Wax on, scrape off ...
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    Good work man. I've got much love for these east side TR's.
    _______________________________________________
    "Strapping myself to a sitski built with 30lb of metal and fibreglass then trying to water ski in it sounds like a stupid idea to me.

    I'll be there."     ... Andy Campbell
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  12. 04-07-2009, 01:10 PM #12
    406's Avatar
    406
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    Nice work and photos! Love the ABA!
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  13. 04-07-2009, 02:33 PM #13
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    hutash
    hutash is offline Don't Panic
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    Sweet TR, eastside spring tours are pretty cool. 6K in 6 hours sounds like too much work, especially when you top out near 14K.

    I agree it is a constitutional right for Americans to be assholes...its just too bad that so many take the opportunity...    iscariot
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  14. 04-07-2009, 08:57 PM #14
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    Barnballs
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    dude, good work!
    I have mastered all major sporting activities to a high degree of mediocrity.
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  15. 04-07-2009, 09:03 PM #15
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    dannyboy
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    bueatyful !
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  16. 04-07-2009, 10:20 PM #16
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    BenWA
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    Awesome TR, pretty fotos, and dreamy terrain. Damn, I need to ski in California more often.

    If I did a tour up there at University, I'd be bringing my trad rack up there for sure for a sunny afternoon of climbing!
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  17. 04-07-2009, 10:23 PM #17
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    powdork
    powdork is offline Old Man and the Ski
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    i love this tr.

    but every time i glance at it on the front page i think it says

    TR: Whitey
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  18. 04-07-2009, 11:21 PM #18
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    AKbruin
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    Excellent work!
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  19. 04-08-2009, 07:04 AM #19
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    mikemcee
    mikemcee is offline Retired Mod Yodler
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    Way to get it! Still averaging 1k ft per hour above 10k from sea level is nuts.

    Even with the thin conditions, it still looks like the east buttress is far from ready for climbing.
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  20. 04-08-2009, 10:51 PM #20
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    Big Tim
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    nicely done...........
    I got my Vans on but they look like sneakers.....

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