Mount Russell 14,088ft: "It's Not So Bad."

Mount Russell 14,088 ft: 7th Highest Peak in California 

#8 in the Summit Fever Challenge

Aug 19, 2014

By: Stefanie Notte

Oh, Mount Russell.  You got away from me once, and once was enough.  I first met you July 21, 2014 when I tried (and failed) to climb you in a day.  I made it all the way to your East Summit before I had to turn back due to a time constraint.  I shook it off, climbed three other badass mountains, and came back all the more wiser.  On August 19, 2014, you taught me a lesson:  perseverance and determination are the key to success, not in just mountain climbing, but in so many aspects of life.  Deep.

Day 1: 

I arrived at Whitney Portal at about 4pm.  I was not feeling any rush to get on trail since today's adventure was hastily planned last night. I was staying with some friends in Bishop, CA, and we were talking about my misfortune with Russell a month earlier. They wanted to join me on my next attempt at this mountain, so naturally I said, "lets do it tomorrow!"  And, as people of the Sierra are, they were so down!  

As I prepped for this upcoming trek, I took everything out of my car, as I always do, and packed my backpack one thing at a time, so I can see and touch everything I bring (I do this in lieu of having a tangible check list).  My one friend went to the General Store and grabbed me a Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA, which was a delicious, yet unnecessary treat.  It took me FOREVER to pack, as I was pleasantly distracted by a nice man whom ended up purchasing my MSR Ceramic Water Filter from me.  Good riddance!  

The plan: Day 1: camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake, Day 2: summit Russell and hike out.  My approach was the same as last time: the East Ridge, my friends: Fishhook Arête.  

This was the best of both worlds: I got my solo ascent which I very much needed with the benefit of having company for every other part of this trek.  We finally hit the trail at 6:10pm (8300 ft).  We started out at the back of the parking lot, about 50 yards or so passed the General Store and up to the right.  This trail connects with the Whitney Portal Trail about 100 feet after the split to take the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek Trail.  Meaning, once you get to this intersection, go right, cross the stream, and take a left up the North Fork trail.  Got it?  It shaves off some extra distance if compared to starting at the beginning of the WP Trail.  

The crew

The sun was setting around 7:45pm and we held out as long as possible before turning on the head lamps, about an hour later.  We got to camp (Upper Boy Scout Lake) at 9:07pm (~11,400 ft).  We were camping sans tent, so we set up our beds all lined up in the row, girls in the middle, boys on the outside.  This style of camping, known as cow[girl] camping, is the best way to fall asleep-- directly under all the sparkling stars in the sky.  It did get pretty chili that night, probably down to the low 30s, upper 20s.  Guess who was stoked she had her sleeping bag liner?  

sunset from the North Fork Trail

Day 2:

I naturally woke up around 4am, with about five hours of solid sleep and zero desire to emerge from my cocoon.  I went over my last Russell attempt a hundred times in my head until I heard Megs call my name.  That girl was lucky if she got a full hour of sleep. The sun came up around 5:30am and we all had our alarms set at 6.  I was the last one out of my bag, it was a bit windy and at some point this summer, I lost all discipline to get my ass on trail on time.  This is what got me with my last attempt at Russell, I overslept by three hours.  THREE HOURS!  Who does that? You would think I would have learned my lesson by now.  Brandon, Megan, and Cristian left camp at 6:30am as I was still filtering water for my much needed HOT coffee and oatmeal breakfast.  Lagging.  I still got on trail at the base of the scree gully by 7:10am, and this is where it all began.  

It was climbing this section where I was going through my mental battles with my last attempt. One month ago I referred to this section as “the shitty gully,” and by doing so I associated negativity with it.  HIKING IS MORE OF A MENTAL CHALLENGE THAN A PHYSICAL ONE, which is just another realization I came to sometime this summer.  I faced this wall of scree with a whole new attitude; I told myself that this is just part of climbing huge mountains, especially the California 14ers.  If it was a paved road (Whitney Portal) then everyone would do it.  Once I conquered the mental aspect of this section, it wasn’t so bad.  In fact, I charged it 30 minutes faster than the last time, getting to the top by 9:01am. It was on this section that I realized I left my SPOT Gen3 sitting back at camp; it didn’t make the transfer into the smaller day pack. Oops, it's almost a guarantee I'll forget one important item on every trek (about that check list...). 

  

Mount Russell from the crest of the Scree Gully

The next section of the trip is a sandy walk to the Russell-Carillon Pass, and every step of the way you have the most incredible view of the north face on Mount Whitney, with all her needles by her side.  Gorgeous.  I clearly am having a completely different experience than last time. I’m seeing everything through a brand new lens; it’s about the experience, not the expedition. 

Mount Whitney 

I arrived at the Carillion Pass 34 minutes later, leaving my trekking poles just off trail, propped on a rock marking their location with a large X in the sand to relocate them.  From here you can see one of the highest elevation lakes in California, Lake Tulainyo at 12,802 ft.  It looked pristine (note: this may be the highest lake in CA, but when trying to research this fact, it got messy).  The West Summit of Russell also came into view, so close yet so far.  This is where the fun begins: a class III rock scramble past the East Summit, via the ridge to the West Summit, the highest point of Russell at 14,088 ft. I took a brief snack break before this section and enjoyed a red Baby Bell and a granny smith apple, possibly the best backpacking snack combination of all time.  

Lake Tulainyo

At 10:30am I reached the East Summit, and in doing so, I have passed my previous turn-around spot!  From here on out, I am on new terrain.  I shed a tear, maybe two, I could hardly contain myself as I hiked with the sun beaming down on my face, enjoying the perfect High Sierra day.  It is worth noting, this section is HIGHLY EXPOSED, reliable hand holds become essential as well as dependable shoes.  There is a stretch between the two summits where you are walking the ridge with nothing but a sheer drop off on either side. So cool.  I think my Tyndall therapy last week was all I needed to quickly get into the rock climbing zone, one move, and then the next, slow, cautious.  It’s quite remarkable how little regard I have for heights since my mother is deathly afraid of them.  If you have even the slightest reservation of hiking in highly exposed terrain, the east ridge (and Russell for that matter) is not for you.  

North side of the East Ridge

Exposed ridge line  

At 11:38am, the most incredible thing happened, I reached the West Summit of RUSSELL!  Mount Russell, the 7th highest mountain in California brought me to tears yet again.  I have no idea why this keeps happening here, but it sure is the only mountain that has ever evoked this kind of emotion from me, and now it has happened twice!  The first time was out of pure disappointment, and this time, well, out of gratitude.  I have been humbled, put in my place, and learned many valuable lessons along the way.  I needed a little more experience on this type of terrain before charging it, and I wasn’t about to admit that 29 days ago.  This mountain has brought the best and the worst out of me, and for that, Russell has made it to the top of my favorites list.  

Me and the register, Whitney in the background 

I bet Israel was a crazy bastard 

I was here (Whitney over there) 

Lake Tulainyo and the East Summit of Russell

Megan, Cristian, and Brandon joined me at the summit via the Fishhook Arête route at 3:16pm.  I stayed on top of this mountain for over three hours before my friends joined me, taking it all in.  I was on top of Russell for almost 4 1/2 hours total, smashing my last record of chillin' on a peak by 3 1/2 hours.  The previous record was obtained last January 3rd (2014) when I soloed up Half Dome in Yosemite and spent an hour at the top, without another soul in sight.  

Way to go, Team!

The crew on the summit

At 4:01pm we all descended together.  Ugh, down climbing.  It was nice to have people around for this part because the descent is often where mistakes happen, not to mention slogging down just isn't as fun as the ascent.  In this case, I’m pleased to say nothing happened and it went quite smoothly.  I found my trekking poles at the Pass (X marks the spot!) and we marched down to camp arriving at 6:10pm.  We had a quick little snack before packing our big packs, and still had a 6+ mile trek to the cars from here.  At 6:45pm we were on our way down the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek Trail, following the cairns down the talus infested, rock slabby trail to Lower Boy Scout Lake, which we arrived 35 minutes later.  We continued through the Ebersbacher Ledges, passed the water fall, and arrived at the WP Trail junction just after dark.  We went up trail (right) for a short walk, crossing the creek and took the left onto the little unnamed trail that will lead us to the back to where we started, at the back of the parking lot down at Whitney Portal. 

Megs and I on the descent
photo credit: Brandon Commanda

We completed our mission at 8:39pm, and finished off the night at The Grill located down in Lone Pine, since the General Store at WP was closing right as we were walking up to it.  My Stone IPA, in a frosty pint, paired oh so nicely with my buffalo chicken sandwich (unfortunately, the fries weren’t all that good, they were more soggy-potatoey than crunchy, and crunchy is my favorite).  However, this restaurant saved the day by feeding this hungry crew, gearing us up for our hour drive north to Bishop.  

So, what’s next you say?  Well, I’ve saved some of the best for last: The Palisades and Split Mountain.  Shit just got real.  Split, North Pal, Mount Sill, and Middle Palisade are all up on the list, with Thunderbolt, Starlight, and Polemonium Peaks as well.  The last three are technically considered subsidiary peaks off of North Palisade and not “real 14ers” although I’m pretty sure Thunderbolt may have just made the jump to the elite list.  Either way, they count in my eyes.  There is a strange gray area in the land of the California Fourteeners; a mountain is measured on it’s prominence, if it’s prominence is less than 300 feet from the mountain it’s next to, then it isn’t considered a true mountain or peak.  Take Keeler Needle for example, it’s elevation is 14,260 ft. Since it is next to Mount Whitney which is 14,508 feet tall, it’s prominence is only 248 feet, downgrading it to a subsidiary peak.  Make sense? 

But, before I head to the Palisades, I’ve got an awesome adventure next on the list, one that has been on my mind for a few years now: the one, the only, John Muir Trail.  I start this quest in less than a week, August 28th to be exact and I can’t even explain the whirlwind of thoughts going through my mind!   But, one thing is for certain, it’s about the experience, not the expedition (although I may snag Split Mountain from the trail!).... Happy Isles to Whitney Portal, 220.8 miles, I am STOKED!  

Thank you, Mount Russell, for this experience. I am walking away from this one as a better mountaineer.  This experience was priceless!

Mount Russell
Photo credit: Brandon Commanda

11/16/2014

Update: I have finally come to terms with the fact that I will not be completing the Summit Fever Challenge by the end of 2014.  I did, however, complete the JMT back in September, and it was just incredible... there are no other words to describe it.  Wait, yes there are, but John Muir said them himself, and did so in such an eloquent manor that I'll leave it at that.  I will say we only had one day of disastrously, terrible weather (in 16 days), and that just so happened to be the day I was supposed to summit Split Mountain.  I'm learning to take these challenges in stride, and one thing is for sure, these mountains aren't going anywhere!!  I'll be back soon, until then...

Arrivederci.