Mt. Russell
N of Whitney, Sierra crest · near Lone Pine · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Mountaineering
At a glance
- Grade
- technical
- Elevation
- 14088
- Best season
- July–September for dry rock; a summer alpine-rock objective
What is here
- Terrain
- alpine-rock
- Amenities
- North Fork of Lone Pine Creek approach · Iceberg Lake / Upper Boy Scout Lake camps · Guide services climb the Fishhook · Right next to Whitney — worlds quieter
- Best for
- World-class alpine granite with none of Whitney's crowds
- Features
- The classic Fishhook Arête (5.9) · A 14er right beside Whitney — and empty · Clean, exposed alpine granite · Twin summits above the Whitney basin
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Serious exposure on both the arête and the East Ridge · Altitude — a committing 14er far from help · Roped-rock skills & gear for the Fishhook Arête (5.9) · Afternoon storms; retreat off the arête is complex
- Beginner friendly
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Guided trips
- Yes
Mountaineering detail
- Skills
- roped-rock · scrambling · altitude
- Style
- rock-route
- Altitude
- 5
- Route notes
- A world-class alpine arête in the shadow of Whitney's crowds — the Fishhook Arête (5.9) sweeps up Russell's south face in clean, exposed granite, while the East Ridge offers a class-3 line to the same twin-summited crest, and almost nobody is up here
- Beta note
- ~14,088 ft; East Ridge Class 3, Fishhook Arête 5.9; approached via the North Fork like the Mountaineers Route
- Intl tip
- A stone's throw from Whitney's crowds, yet nearly empty — Mt. Russell offers world-class alpine climbing. The Fishhook Arête is one of the Sierra's finest moderate alpine rock climbs (a soaring, exposed 5.9), while the East Ridge gives strong scramblers a committing class-3 line to the same twin-summited crest. Approached via the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek permit (not the Whitney lottery). A high 14er with a fraction of the traffic — carry the skills for the position.
- Nickname
- a world-class alpine arête in the shadow of Whitney's crowds — and almost nobody's on it
- Directions note
- Approach from Whitney Portal via the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek
The guide
A stone's throw from the conga line on Whitney, Mt. Russell offers world-class alpine climbing in near-solitude. Its Fishhook A…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Mt. Russell — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 36.5875, -118.29