Mount Russell

"Finally worked up the nerve for this one. From camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake via the (awful) Rockwell Variation. E Ridge was as advertised - use trail with minimal exposure for the first portion followed by exposed slabby ledges on the N side before starting the steep climb up to the E summit. The slabby section was the crux for me - not so much climbing as sketchy walking. The rest was fun scrambling over very solid rock. Also did Tunnabora and Carillon. Tulainyo Lake is spectacular!" — klotito • Oct 9, 2021

"Started from our camp at Upper Boy Scout Lake. (We did Whitney Mountaineer's route the day before.) The scree slope out of camp was no joke. (I since learned it can be avoided by following a supposed "boulder band" that rises from the second waterfall above Upper Boy Scout Lake.) Crossed the high plateau, and then worked out way up the terror-inducing ridge. Hole Cow, that was scary. We were tempted to stop at the East Summit to give our nerves a break, but we pushed on to the West Summit to tag the "actual" peak. I think that the little part of my brain that makes "fear" was just plain worn out at the end of this day. If you are going to do this peak, bring alcohol to settle down with afterwards. Yikes." — benjineer • Aug 14, 2021

"Fun loop for a full day solo adventure: started at Whitney Portal, climbed Mount Carillion and Mount Russell’s East Ridge via North Fork of Lone Pine Creek, descended via South Face of Russell, down to Whitney-Russell Col and Iceberg Lake. 13 hours car to car and lots of great memories. Recent light snowfall made the ridge a little tricky today - ran into a party that was simul-climbing it but decided to bail due to the slippery conditions " — danishclimber • May 24, 2021

"The partially snow covered East Ridge made things exciting for Dash, Iris, Matt, and I. The usual less than 30 minute climb from the saddle took about 90 minutes working our way up slowly. Descended via the South Face Right Side chute before returning via the Sakai Col" — tombecht • Jun 3, 2018

"Fun scramble up the east ridge. Did it in a day hike via rockwell variation with Spud and Anna. Kinda had a late start (730) but we made it with great views and got to the e ledges at dark. " — MatthewWinterberg • Oct 11, 2016

"We did this as a repeat dayhike. We failed in June due to too much snow on the East Ridge. It was still present even when we did it but not enough to cause any real issues. Our group consisted of myself and one other. We ended up trying to help a group of 7 up but only one of them ended up finishing with us. We found someone who went up the south slopes and he decided to come back with us leading the east ridge. Beautiful weather. The ridge isn't hard but boy is it attention getting." — Irrationalist • Sep 20, 2015

"After summiting Whitney and spending a beautiful night at Upper Boy Scout Lake, left at approximately 9:30am up the dreaded scree slog to gain the Russell-Carillon saddle. Very little patches of snow here and there. Once gaining the saddle, climbed the East Ridge proper up and over the false east summit. As I approached the final summit, snow patches became more prevalent and very sketchy. The snow was soft, heavy and wet, and fearful entire slabs would slide off the north side with 1,200+ vertical drop, made for very mental and tiring climbing. Finally gained the final 60+ degree chute up to the summit. Post holed some and also caused many small slab avalanches which were nerve wracking. Quickly gained the summit and retreated before the sun warmed the slabs even more and cruised over to Carillon Summit. Another great day in the Sierra Nevadas." — DrBoz • May 25, 2014

"Hiked up to upper boyscott and setup camp, hiked Russell then slept at upper boy. Russell is prob my favorite peak yet, had some snow so my make it a class 4/5 and stayed high" — Ryan_Wallace • Oct 24, 2013

"Did this as a dayhike. Drove up from Vegas Friday night. Got a couple hours of sleep in the Jeep, then up and at 'em at 330am! We took the Rockwell Variation of the East Ridge route, which avoided the huge scree slope & had more climbing instead. After bagging Russell & basking in the sun for a bit, a couple of us bagged Carillon too on the way back. This was a fun climb - definitely one I would do again!" — Kevin • Oct 5, 2013

"1st summit of my 5 day backpacking trip. The exposure on the east ridge is incredible! There were times when I really had to stop and think about my next move. A climber I ran into from Colorado said anything like this outside of California would be considered a class 4 climb, and California likes to sandbag their ratings. I'm glad he told me that after the fact, I'm not sure I would of went for it, but I'm definitely glad that I did. A very memorable climb." — Christopher • Jun 21, 2012