There is no other fourteen thousand-foot peak in the Sierra with a better easy route to their summit.

There is enough difficulty to make this much more than a walkup, but the difficulties are not so great as to require technical climbing skills.

The Climb
Upper Boy Scout Lake is the base camp for this ascent.

We ascend about 1500 feet of sand and talus slopes, which in many ways make this the most arduous section of the route.

We arrive at the Russell-Carillon Col and look down the  far side to the highest named lake in North America, Tulainyo Lake at 12,821 feet.

It is here that the real fun starts.

The ridgecrest is narrow—but not a true knife-edge—with ample ledges and places to stop, rest and enjoy the views and the ever-increasing exposure.

We traverse this around blocks and pillars before coming to the east summit. From here the crest widens some and is almost level to the west summit a few feet higher than the first.

Our descent takes us back to the east summit and then a short 4th class step takes us into a big low-angle talus field. A short climb then puts us at the Russell-Whitney Col and we drop to Iceberg Lake and follow the trail back to camp at upper Boy Scout Lake.

Notes
The best guidebook is Peter Croft's “The Good, The Great, and the Awesome”.
Get it from Maximus Press.

You can also get our unpublished SMC Guide to Whitney/Russell here.

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