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Mt. Russell
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East Arete 
Fishhook Arête 
Mithril Dihedral 
Star Trekkin' 
Western Front 

East Arete 

3rd

   

FA: Norman Clyde - June 1926
Type: Trad, Alpine
Consensus: 3rd [details]
Length:  Grade II
Views: 1,325 page views

Submitted By: Chris Owen on Mar 6, 2006


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Steve Larson on East Ridge of Russell. Does this l...


Description 

Day 1, hike from Whitney Portal to camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake.

Day 2 Do climb.

Day 3 Hike back to Whitney Portal.

Ascend the scree slope north of the lake to the Russell-Carillon Col. Head West up the ridge, keeping to the right where necessary to reach the East summit of Russell. Traverse the summit ridge, mostly on the right until reaching the West summit.


Location 

Descend back down the East Ridge and scree to Upper Boy Scout Lake.


Protection 

Can be soloed.



Photos of East Arete Slideshow Add Photo
Chris Owen on the East Ridge. Joe O'Connor - October 1986.

Chris Owen on the East Ridge. Joe O'Connor - Octob...

Owen on the summit of Russell. Great Western Divide and Kaweah Peaks Ridge behind.

Owen on the summit of Russell. Great Western Divid...

Jeff Crow descending the East Ridge.

Jeff Crow descending the East Ridge.

The East Arete and North face of Mt Russell, seen from the beginning of the East Arete route. July, 2005

The East Arete and North face of Mt Russell, seen ...

Summit of Mt Russell after climbing the East Arete, July 2005

Summit of Mt Russell after climbing the East Arete...

Duke on the East Arete of Russell

Duke on the East Arete of Russell

Duke is the tiny speck towards the right. This is the saddle after the exposed sections are pretty much over. At this point there's still a significant drop into Upper Boy Scout, but nothing exposed.

Duke is the tiny speck towards the right. This is ...

Good exposure looking off the north side of the East Ridge.

Good exposure looking off the north side of the Ea...

Looking down the East Ridge from near the east summit of Mt Russell. Mt Carillon is in the distance with the town of Lone Pine visible above its right shoulder.

Looking down the East Ridge from near the east sum...


Comments on East Arete Add Comment
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By Tavis Ricksecker
From: flagstaff, az
Jul 13, 2007

More accurate description of how most people do the route might be:

Day 1, hike past upper Boyscout Lake, do route, and descend back to car.

It's actually pretty mellow done in a day.

By Chris Owen
Administrator
From: La Crescenta, CA
Dec 7, 2007

Speak for yourself Tavis. IMHO, people who do car-to-car just don't like being in the mountains, but hey, I'm an old-timer.

By Tavis Ricksecker
From: flagstaff, az
Apr 5, 2008

You make a good point that the camping up there is very nice. I just meant that doing it car-to-car is by no means exceptionally difficult or overly exhausting.

By Dennis
Jul 22, 2008

Duke and myself descended down the East Arete after climbing Fishhook. If you camp at upper boy scout, the descent brings you right by camp on your way out back to the car.

Great way to get in two different routes in a day. Fun and exposed, definitely soloable.

By Chris Owen
Administrator
From: La Crescenta, CA
Oct 1, 2008

What's this obsession with cars ;-) ?

By Sam Page
From: Orange County, CA
Nov 15, 2009

Climbed this route in 14+ hours car-to-car in October 2009. Here is the trip report