Mt. Whitney Mountaineer's Route, November 2014

Having not climbed anything in half a year (longer for my buddy Anthony) we decided it was time to get out of town and into the mountains.  We originally were shooting for North Peak Couloir but when we found out that Tioga Pass was closed I knew immediately where we had to go--Mt. Whitney.

Mt. Whitney Massif from the Ranger Station parking lot

We had unfinished business on Mt. Whitney after our first trip last year ago ended up being a complete cluster*uck.  Unable to find the E-Ledges, we wound up bushwhacking up and to the left of the major drainage that take climbers to Upper Boyscout Lake (instead of the correct way toward the right) and when darkness set in we used pocket knives and ice hammers to chop down tree branches and make a bed on an exposed piece of granite with a nice view of the mountain we knew we had driven 6 hours for, and were determined to not reach.

To put the cherry on top, when we got back to the car the next day I found out I had left the headlights on in the Subaru, and we had to call a tow truck for a jump, and then buy a new car battery to the tune of $300.

This was me in full defeat mode circa 2013...

Mt. Whitney Mountaineers Route (as the sign says) is a very difficult route to follow.  There is not really an obvious trail.  The place is littered with cairns however.  Cairns are stacks of rocks that people make to indicate a route.  The trouble is you never know what they mean, who put them there, how long ago, or where do they lead to.  They were everywhere!