Hi

I'm trying to understand the challenges to doing the MR right now:

1. Does the scramble require me to place rock anchors? A few things I have done with my partner are - Lassen, Pyramid, Round Top (made it to the top of Knife's edge but didn't want to continue without snow anchors) and scrambling up Conness in the summer (class 3 route). Should I be more prepared for the scramble?
2. Are there any other technical challenges I should be aware of? I'm able to self arrest, use crampons but never used snow anchors (although I have taken a class on it and plan to go back to Knife's edge and complete the route).
3. If you don't recommend that I do Whitney at this point, are there other mountains you would recommend in the Eastern Sierras (due to possible bad weather around Shasta and Tahoe)? I just did Pyramid Peak and found it to be a little too simple. I'm looking to do something that is a little technically harder or where I can practice snow anchors in real-life as opposed to a class.

Thanks for your help.

Hey ya big dog, how you doing?

About the route. Take your snow anchors if you are feeling a little bit nervous about the climb. It gets a little tricky near the top of the climb. Leave your rock gear at home but if the route has no snow on it just jam the snow gear into the rock for protection.

So the route goes straight up from the lake. You could pitch this if you like but it is pretty easy until the last section to the notch. There is like a tiny step thing. Once at the notch look left for a spot to climb up. This is were you might want tto use your snow anchors, maybe 100 Yards at most. Then you are at the top. Perfect learning .

Route finding on the route is fine once you find the lake. It is like round top but bigger. Actually it may be slightly easier than round top technically wise.

Go up and have a look anyway. It is a good area to know .

When I did the MR (it was July) the final climb to the summit plateau was very hard snow and alpine ice.

The party ahead of me had ice axes and crampons, but they turned back anyway, stating that it was "too dangerous."

I just had ski boots and ski poles, but I kicked my way to the summit without any problems or drama, and then skied the slopes that were "too dangerous" for crampons and ice axes.

Moral of the story: the technical challenges are dependent on your skills, or lack thereof.

As my cave diving instructor always said: "You won't know if you don't go."

So I agree with Yank-Tank. Go. Look. See.

When I did the Mountaineer's Route several years ago in the spring snow, it wasn't too hairy going up, but my group was glad to be able to use another party's rope for the first portion of the descent. Fortunately, we all had harnesses and ATC's. Lesson learned on always carrying a rope.