From Iceberg Lake, scramble up to the notch just above the First Tower. Gear up.
Make the Tower Traverse across the south face of the Second Tower, and climb a short chimney (5.4-5.5) to the first belay.
Scramble or simul climb up three pitches of 4th - easy 5th to the top of the Washboard. Climb left up and over a tower/chimney (5.2-5.5) to a large ledge, and traverse to the base of the Fresh Air Traverse.
The Fresh Air Traverse pitch (5.5) climbs easy ground up then left to three fixed pitons. Enter and belay in a chimney. The traverse is exposed and fun. From the ledge, do not traverse directly left. Climb up blocky ground first.
Once in the chimney, climb up the Grand Staircase for 3 pitches, to the 5.6-5.7 offwidth pitch(es). This is the crux, then its easy ground up and right to the summit.
Be quick, efficient, and be careful of your rope - watch rockfall, for your team and others.
Climbed this last September and enjoyed it. Check out our trip report
The first pitch traverses, and it could be difficult to reverse if it rains. This gives the route a greater feeling of commitment. After the Washboard, you can also go up a crack on the right (shown on SuperTopo) which is about 5.7 and good fun.
The "crux offwidth" section is protectable with smaller grear, but a #3 Camalot may be appreciated. It's a pumpy section and can be liebacked, probably the easiest technique if you don't run out of gas. This section, and the entire climb, was originally rated 5.4!
One good thing about doing it in a day (we did not) is that you can go down the trail rather than the Mtneers Route. This route is no cakewalk and has resulted in many accidents by unprepared hikers. I think 2 people were killed or seriously injured in 2005 alone. The problem with doing it in a day is that the approach is non-trivial in the dark.
I did this route with Doug Englekirk in October of 2005. We did the Mountaineer's approach (not too bad). Nice sunny day. When we started my thermo said 57 degrees. The Washboard was covered in snow but we made it by OK. Some of the other pitches were iced up in the cracks. By the time we reached the last pitch my thermo read 34 degrees. Spidrift was pelting me in the face and my fingers were completely numb. With windchill (30+ mph winds) it was way into the 20's. We topped out to find the summit under 1-2' of snow. Nobody else had made a climbing ascent up the east face that day. We were alone on the summit. On our walk down we found the 96 switchbacks completely in the shadows and covered in snow/ice. We made it down the switchbacks (very delicately) by dark without crampons or ice axe but I'd bring an axe next time. Others that day were not so lucky. One pair slid down the steep slope above the switchbacks and one man died. The other was stranded and had to be rescued. They too had no ice axe or crampons but decided to glissade down. Bad choice.
This route is a good canidate for a car to car adventure. However, if you have never hiked the N fork of Lone pine creek do not take this approach for granted. The big advantage is you can go light. I think we carried 1 set of stoppers, a few cams and many slings. The opportunity to sling natural protection is unbelievable. We did the shakey legs crack varation at the Fresh air traverse (5.8) I thought the crux was the exit pitch from the grand staircase. As stated before, be careful if desending the Mountaineers route, especially in the dark (you better have a headlamp.)
By RockMonkey From: Concord, CA Jul 3, 2007 rating: 5.7
The "Washboard" can be done in 2 pitches with a 70m rope. However, if you do rope up on the washboard, it brings the total pitches to 13 or so. I would also recommend an overnight at Iceberg Lake. Why rush this classic climb? From Iceberg one get's a great view of the East Face route. Start early as sun only hits from sunrise to about 2PM in the summer months and belaying in the shade gets pretty chilly.
Mt. Whitney
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