[Hide Comment] 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. Jul 13, 2007

[Hide Comment] 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. Dec 7, 2007

[Hide Comment] 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. Apr 5, 2008

[Hide Comment] 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. Jul 22, 2008

[Hide Comment] What's this obsession with cars ;-) ? Oct 1, 2008

[Hide Comment] Climbed this route in 14+ hours car-to-car in October 2009. Here is the trip report mountaineeringreview.blogsp… Nov 15, 2009

[Hide Comment] I would never do the hike up to this climb, just to scramble to the summit. best if used as a descent from one of the technical climbs, if you are doing car to car or camping at upper boy scout lake, which is what we did. incredible exposure with cool views of all major peaks in the surrounding area. Jun 26, 2014

[Hide Comment] Did this as the descent from Fishhook. Definitely stay on the ridge as much as possible; we stayed more north off the ridge and it turned into some sketchy exposed moves. Expect lots of scree/sand on the descent. Lots and lots. Jul 8, 2014

[Hide Comment] This is a superb descent route for Mithril/Fishhook... but damn, doing this as an ascent would be one hell of a scree slog... Jul 20, 2018

[Hide Comment] Whatever you do, don't do the scree slog up. After coming down that way, I can't imagine going up it. There is a 3rd class boulder chute to the right of the second waterfall above upper boyscout lake. It bypasses 99 percent of the lower scree slope. Be prepared for one awkward mantle if you go this way though. Aug 18, 2019

[Hide Comment] Sounds like you guys are spoiled!! This was my first time in the High Sierra and I found it to be well worth the sand slog. Not saying it doesn't suck, but the exposure and movement once on the ridge is wild. I was up there a few days ago, there was some snow on the slopes going up to the col, and then a couple snowy spots on/below the ridge itself. One spot in particular about half way up the ridge that was very exposed with wind drifted snow about 1.5ft deep was a little spooky. Crampons or Yak Tracks would've been nice for all the ice on the approach trail. However the route is still very doable until the next snowfall, or until they close the Portal road. Dec 23, 2020

[Hide Comment] I climbed this route car to car in 9h. If you're capable of climbing 6kft in one day, I'd recommend doing the climb car to car instead of taking 3 days.

The ridge climb is fairly exposed with a couple of minor technical moves sprinkled in. It's just barely enough risk and technical movement that a mistake could result in death if you're soloing, as the north side of the ridge is very steep and there are a couple of no fall zones.

The scree ascent is actually not bad if you stick to scrambling up the larger boulders that don't move with every step. And the scree on the way back down is soft and makes for a nice descent if you don't mind small rocks in your shoes.

I nearly got lost on the way back as I started to follow the north ridge instead of the east coming from the East Peak - be aware of the deceptive cairn and make sure to take the East ridge.

Overall super great training hike with great views of Whitney and some easy going exposed climbing. Jun 13, 2021

[Hide Comment] Did car to car with my cousin he went very slow and took us 19 hours total we rapped the south chute and descended to upper boy scout lake. Overall not nearly as scary as its made out to be honestly quite mellow and a day hike is the way to go unless your doing some more technical routes in the area. Jul 11, 2021

[Hide Comment] The scree slope NE of Upper Boy Scout Lake mentioned above is a fast/easy descent route (1500' of plunge stepping through loose dirt/scree), but it would suck as an approach. Much more enjoyable to follow the creek up a talus field NW from the lake to an easy class 3 chute leading back NE to the ridge plateau . . . Sep 25, 2024

[Hide Comment] I soloed this in a day in 2015. I wasn't fast back then, and also had a moderate to low tolerance for exposure.

If you haven't done mountaineering on other peaks, you might have a hard time. Gain some exposure therapy on technical routes, get faster, get a permit. You can do it!

Edit: that is to say, if you have a permit for an overnight, by all means, take advantage of it and luxuriate in the wilderness! Not everyone is so privileged to have that much time or an overnight permit, or to have someone to do Fishhook or Dihedral with. Jun 2, 2025

[Hide Comment] lol @ calling this a mellow day. Even if you’re conditioned to handle the altitude and vertical gain, the terrain is burly. I did it in a day and wished I had camped out. Aesthetically it’s cool to do in a day though.

I took the 3rd class chute variation after the 2nd waterfall at Upper Boyscout Lake. It’s pretty loose in the chute, but while descending the regular scree slope, I was happy not to have ascended it. Jul 21, 2025