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Marshall
climber
bay area
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May 30, 2007 - 03:17pm PT
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Killer pics! Was up there with a buddy last summer - pretty great piece of rock.
Here's a shot of mithral, for those scoring at home. Also a must do.
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hamid
Trad climber
Berkeley, California
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May 30, 2007 - 03:17pm PT
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Thank you all for your comments. It was such a beautiful day in the mountains. Mt Russel has one of the sweetest alpine faces anywhere!
Step lightly.
-Hamiz
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Jerry Dodrill
climber
Bodega, CA
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May 30, 2007 - 04:22pm PT
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Cool TR Dank, Thanks for sharing! It's certainly a memorable climb.
May 2000. Galen and I took a few days off work to ski in and climb Mithral Dihedral. We put our skis on at Lower Boyscout Lake, but I fell through a hole and broke one within 200yards. Thus began marathon post holing with a big pack while Galen jeered. He dropped his pack at Iceburg and skied back down to "rescue" me, making a big stink that a guy twice my age was carrying my pack. I was thankful anyway.
Next morning before sunrise we approached Russell. Deciding it too cold to climb Mithral, we started up Fish Hook. Thinking it smart, I brought a Camelbak, but the hose froze and began dripping on the rack turning the cams into ice cubes. Had to whack them on the stone to break the ice before placing them. We had thin fleece gloves on and were freezing. Galen had frost nip in the fingers and was screaming in pain while we simul-climbed the first couple pitches. I made a belay and handed him the rack.
He took off, trying to get warm, but took a wrong turn, heading left under the lip of the arete into steep ice glazed flared cracks. He plugged the frozen TCUs, which fell out as he passed. Feet skating, hyperventilating, cursing, seething, desperate... I looked at the ledges below us feeling guilty -sure he was about to deck- and thought through the phone call I'd have to make. "Uh, Barbara... Galen's dead..." But it wasn't his time, he cheated death for two more years.
Pretty soon he was at the notch. "OFF BELAY!" came as a relief and I slithered up the frigid crack (would have been mid 5.10 on a summer day), joining him in the blessed warmth of the sun. He took some pictures of me climbing the tower above, which in addition to Peter's book, have been published in his calendars and other publications. You can see that damn camelbak in the photos. I haven't used one since.
I understand that some of Galen's ashes were released to the wind right about where this photo was taken, near the summit of Whitney.
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handsome B
Gym climber
SL,UT
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May 30, 2007 - 04:29pm PT
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very nice, thanks for posting!
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snakefoot
climber
cali
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May 30, 2007 - 04:30pm PT
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great post, did that with my bro some years ago and had a blast....
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bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
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May 30, 2007 - 04:38pm PT
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Very cool. Bear Creek Spire was on my tick list this year but now...hmmmm, my plans my be changing.
Nice job.
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L
climber
A small kayak on a very big ocean
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May 30, 2007 - 04:43pm PT
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Wow Jerry--glad you lived to tell the tale!
I got goosebumps at the end...thanks for sharing that.
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dank
Trad climber
the pitch above you!
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Topic Author's Reply - May 30, 2007 - 09:29pm PT
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Jerry...that story is horrendously proud.
What's worse...postholing...or climbing with frost nipped fingers?
What an awesome pic and a memorable climb with a true legend.
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Jingy
Social climber
Flatland, Ca
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May 30, 2007 - 09:36pm PT
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Nice photos. This type of climbing would not be good for me. I know there was a whole lotta walking involved with getting to this climb which would make this a climb that I'd never see.
Thanks for the pics.
Jello - Poet? That was a good little diddy!
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Steve Grossman
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Fantastic TR! Here is the view looking back toward Whitney taken by Norman Clyde and included in The History of the Sierra Nevada by Francis Farquhar 1965. John Cleare's book Mountains has a wonderful account of climbing the Fishook Arete but my copy is buried. Thanks again for an inspiring post!
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Ed Hartouni
Trad climber
Livermore, CA
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when Gary and I were up climbing the E.Butt. of Whitney a few years ago we had a view of Mt. Russell all day long. It is etched in my mind as one of the most beautiful architectural aspects in the range... the Fish Hook Arete, and the Mithral are totally up there on the list of things to do. What you can't see in the photos (unless you look carefully) is the lack of O's...
Good on you guys!
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