Mountain Project Logo

Lost Gear at Base of Mt. Whitney's East Buttress/East Face

Original Post
Andrew Hall · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 0

Hi All,

My girlfriend and I left a bunch of gear on the approach (boulder field) above iceberg lake to Mt. Whitney's East Buttress.

Decided to save on some weight before the climb in and stated the gear in a small crevice btw some boulders, one of which was flat enough to sit on. Left it by some water bottles, not sure who's they were. Probably about halfway up btw the base camp and the start of the climb.

We were trying to be considerate and not leave the base strewn with gear. We scoured that afternoon for ~2 hours and then again the next day for 3-5hrs with no luck. I don't think anyone would have taken it but who knows.

Date Lost: Friday June 10th.
Gear:
- La Sportiva Bautras (mountaineering boots black, yellow and red- velcro gator)
- BD Crampons (I believe they are the sabretooth)
- Rei Flashpack (Grey with holes)
- 3 bd cams(.3, .4. .5 + 1 metolius (orange) i belive.
- Mono lake hat

If anyone knows anyone going up, please pass along my info. Reward and much gratitude for locating.

A lot of the gear is very sentimental as it belonged to a friend of mine who died in the Piedra Blanca mt. range in Peru.

Thank you,
Andrew

FrankPS · · Atascadero, CA · Joined Nov 2009 · Points: 276
freestyle89 wrote:I don't think anyone would have taken it but who knows.
Sounds like someone did take it. Were the water bottles still there when you came back to retrieve your gear?

I hope you get it back.
Andrew Hall · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 0

Trying to hold out hope that didn't happen. Our memories were a bit fuzzy on the exact location, but didn't see the water bottles anywhere... hoping that we just didn't find the exact spot in our searching and it's still out there.

Thanks!

WillF · · Sacramento · Joined Jul 2007 · Points: 40

Hi freestyle89,

I will be up there next weekend and will keep an eye out.

Since you were just there, I have a conditions question. It sounds like you guys did not need crampons for the mountaineers descent and the approach, how were the conditions up there? Was there ice/snow on the mountaineers route?

Will

Andrew Hall · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 0

Hi Will,

When we did it there was snow most of the way up the mountaineer's route, the upper portion by the saddle was dry. It was quite warm out but heard there was some ice on the last stretch of the route so we decided to descend further down from the summit and traverse across to the saddle to avoid the steeps snow and possible ice. This worked quite nicely. They did get a little bit of snow the weekend before last, but no idea what the conditions are now. As long as it's not all ice, you should be fine without crampons.

Thinking about where the gear could be the spot where we stowed it was at least halfway up the approach from the lake probably on the left side facing the mountain but about inline with the large boulder down by the lake. We could see the lake and camping area from the location... anyways that would be awesome if you stumble upon it! Feel free to use the gear on the climb if you do!

Anyways, best of luck!

~Andrew

Maxwell Dergosits · · South Lake Tahoe · Joined May 2017 · Points: 104

Hey dude! I found your stuff today. I was descending the mountaineers route and a bag with the items you described above. We couldn’t grab everything but I took most of the stuff that might be salvageable. Let me know if you want me to send it! I have some of your biners, grigri, and the bd cams. There’s some rust on most of the stuff though. 

Andrew Hall · · Santa Cruz, CA · Joined Mar 2012 · Points: 0

Hey Maxwell, I just saw this. WOW! I thought everything was lost forever.  Yes, please give me a call if you still have anything (831-917-8348 or email freestyle89@gmail.com). Most of the stuff was from my buddy who passed away a while back. 

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

Lost and Found
Post a Reply to "Lost Gear at Base of Mt. Whitney's East Buttres…"

Log In to Reply

Join the Community

Create your FREE account today!
Already have an account? Login to close this notice.

Get Started.