All Locations > California > High Sierra > 14 - Whitney &… > Mt Whitney

Hairline

Name: Hairline
Rating: 4.0

5.10d YDS 6b+ French 21 Ewbanks VII+ UIAA 21 ZA E3 5b British C2+

Routes in Mount Whitney

L › R R › L A › Z

	Cardiovascular Seizure T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
	Direct East Face T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
	East Buttress T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	East Face T 5.7 5a 15 V+ 13 MVS 4b
	Great Book, The T 5.9 5c 17 VI 17 HVS 5a
	Hairline T 5.10d 6b+ 21 VII+ 21 E3 5b C2+
	Hairline Free T 5.13d 8b 31 X 32 E8 7a PG13
	Happy Cowboy (Whitney Edge Traverse) T 4th 1 2 I 2 M 1b
	If At First… T 5.10+ 6b+ 21 VII+ 20 E3 5b
	Inyo Face T 5.11- 6c 22 VIII- 22 E3 5c
	Left Wing Extremist T 5.11 6c+ 23 VIII- 23 E4 5c
	Mount Whitney Trail, The Mod. Snow
	Mountaineer's Route, The 3rd 1- 1 I 1 M 1a Mod. Snow
	North Face T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c
	Our Own Devices T 5.8 5b 16 VI- 15 HVS 4c PG13
	SouthWest Edge T 5.5 4b 13 IV+ 11 MS 4a
	SouthWest Ridge T 4th 1 2 I 2 M 1b
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Type:	Trad, Aid, Alpine, 2000 ft (606 m), 12 pitches, Grade V
GPS:	36.57844, -118.29228
FA:	Bruce Bindner & Alex Schmauss 1987
Page Views:	10,228 total · 95/month
Shared By:	Richard Shore on Aug 31, 2017 · Updates
Admins:	Chris Owen, Lurk Er, Mike Morley, Adam Stackhouse, Salamanizer Ski, Justin Johnsen, Vicki Schwantes Page Updates (admin only)

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Explore this route in 3D

Use onX Backcountry to explore the terrain in 3D, view recent satellite imagery, and more. Now available in onX Backcountry Mobile apps! For more information see this post.

Access Issue: Certain Peaks: Access limited from May to October every year Details

Some of the peaks in this area are restricted (not all). See the Inyo National Forest's Mount Whitney Zone regulations webpage fs.usda.gov/detail/inyo/pas… for current information. Access is usually limited from May to October of every year from the highest elevations of most of the Lone Pine Creek watershed.

Description

Hairline tackles the line of highest resistance up the steepest portion of Mt Whitney's full East Face. Brutus of Wyde claimed this was his "proudest first ascent", but even with these grand accolades the route has seen little traffic since the late 80's FA. The logistics of technical big-walling at 14,000' and the heavy aid rack have likely kept many potential suitors at bay. The topo does an excellent job of describing the route, so I will keep things minimal to preserve the adventure. 2 pitches of free climbing lead to the crux of the route - 3 pitches of dramatically and continuously overhanging clean aid. Above P5, sustained and quality crack climbing are the name of the game. The route crosses the standard East Face line at the end of P9, and there is some rockfall hazard below that point from parties above. The route was rebolted by the ASCA in 2004 during the second ascent. Additional info here - http://www.summitpost.org/hairline/163476