We Do Stuff: Mt. Russell Fishhook Arete and Devils Postpile National Monument

August 6, 2021

Mt Russell 14,094

Fishhook Arete

Looking across from Mt. Whitney in 2016 is when I first saw the Fishhook. I knew we needed to climb it. Laura and I were excited about returning to the eastern Sierra to add another 14er to our list. The goal is to climb as many as we can by technical routes. Mt. Russell holds several highly regarded alpine routes and we were looking forward to climbing on the excellent granite. We had climbed Mt. Whitney's East Buttress several years back and knew the rock quality was excellent.

First rays of sun on Mount Whitney as seen on our approach hike

So as it usually goes, Laura and I were talking about specific goals we have and we decided to try to get permits for the Whitney Zone that holds the access to Mt. Russell. We made a note for the permit application day and by both applying, were lucky enough to get one of the limited spots allocated to use this spectacular area. Okay, permits are good to go, now we need to secure a babysitter for Hazel!

Hey Grandpa, think you can hang with your granddaughter for a few days if we come to visit in the summer? Laura made plans and we soon had plane tickets booked to California. With approximately 6,000 feet of elevation gain and eight pitches of technical climbing near 14,000 feet, we knew we would need to be in good shape for this one. Most people do this as a two or three day trip, but we would go in a day as is our usual style. Laura's favorite saying about packing in is "Why would you want to carry all that extra shit when you can just do it in a day". I have learned to agree with this style and enjoy being out for long days rather than carrying the weight to stay overnight. We spent some long days in the mountains and several days climbing at Turkey Rock to be prepared for a big day in California.

The time had come and we were off to California. We flew into Sacramento and spent a day with Grandpa before heading south to Bishop.

We spent the day kayaking and picnicking at Wrights Lake

Picnic at Wrights Lake

Kayaking at Wrights Lake

Hazel would stay with Grandpa and Grandma and play in the swimming pool while Laura and I climbed. Our bags were packed with gear and rope along with water and food for the day. We woke at 12:30 am and drove the hour to the Whitney Portal. It was 2:15 when we started hiking along the familiar trail. At the second creek crossing is where the main Mt. Whitney trail breaks and heads toward the Mountaineers Route. We would make our first mistake of the day here. We crossed the creek rather than turning up on the actual trail. Ascending the path off route through the rocks and looseness we eventually rejoined the correct trail below Ebersbachers ledges.

Looking up from Lower Boy Scout Lake (picture taken on descent as it was too dark on the way up)

We worked our way through the maze of ledges and after exiting followed a path of cairns and social trails up and left toward a large rock wall. Mistake number two. Laura had been on the trail three times prior and has made the same mistake every time. It's easy to be pulled off here by following a super highway of cairns, but if I'll remember one thing about this approach route, it will be to stay right and low. You pass Lower Boy Scout Lake on its left side, walking directly along its shoreline. Note to future self: Do not go into the talus until you're past Lower Boy Scout Lake and are following the creek up. We estimate that we lost roughly two hours off trail and now needed to hustle.

Approaching the Fishhook Arete

We continued on and as we approached Iceberg Lake two other climbers were doing their best to race us to the route. They were totally out of breath as we stopped to chat with them. Apparently, one of them said he climbs alpine all the time. Since he thought he was such a badass in the mountains, I remarked "If you climb in the alpine all the time then why are you breathing so hard"? We were cruising and chatting and having a great time, not breathing hard at all. Laura and I stopped and filtered water, then continued on the trail over the Whitney-Russell saddle and onto the base of the route. The two guys who had passed us were standing there gearing up and taking their time. This is unfortunately typical climber etiquette. Beat others to the route and make them wait. Laura and I were patient and tried to make conversation with the belayer on the ground. After 45 minutes I began making comments that they were about to be passed by a woman if they didn't get moving faster than they were. They finished the pitch and we waited a while before starting up so we weren't waiting again on the wall. It was 8 am when we started.

Justin leading the first pitch

I lead most of the pitches and the lower half of the route was enjoyable. As I descended into the notch on the 4th pitch, the down climbing was difficult but safe. Laura followed and had some trouble climbing down into the notch but made it to me safely. The second half of the route was excellent. The climbing was slightly easier on the second half of the route so I started to run out the gear and rope a little further.

Justin starting out on the fourth pitch

One of the many enjoyable pitches on Fishhook Arete

Climbing on Fishhook Arete. There was lots of exposure.

Justin's favorite pitch

Our 6th pitch was a full 70 meters and was what I thought was one of my favorite alpine pitches I have ever climbed.

Another pitch high on Fishhook Arete

I felt like we were climbing a house of cards with so many precarious rocks balanced together.

We continued on and eventually the last 100 feet of climbing lead to within 20 feet of the true summit. Laura climbed up and took pictures on the summit while I coiled the rope and packed the gear into my backpack. It was 2:10 pm when we summited. We spent 30 minutes on the summit and then scrambled down the East ridge of Mt. Russell, eventually rejoining the trail above some granite slabs.

Justin making a fishhook at the summit of Mount Russell

Summit of Mount Russell with Mount Whitney in the background

Summit register on Mount Russell

Looking at the upper portion of the descent route

We hiked out past Lower Boy Scout Lake and through Ebersbachers Ledges, finally connecting into the Whitney trail, reaching the trailhead just before 6 pm. We drove out to Lone Pine, grabbed a beer and then drove the hour back to Bishop to meet up with Grandpa, Grandma and Hazel. Pizza and a glass of wine later we were relaxed and ready for bed. For gear I took a double set of cams .5-3 and 8 slings. The rock was gritty and you could step on just about anything but I found it surprising that there was still quite a bit of loose rock on a classic and well traveled route.