Take an alternative route to the summit of California's highest peak. The friendly guides at Sierra Mountaineering International are your hosts on this 3-day tour of Mount Whitney.
Sierra Nevada (California)
3 Days
Jul - Sep
Intermediate
Intermediate
* Stay away from the crowds on the alternative "Mountaineer's Route"
* Stand atop the highest peak in the contiguous United States
* Trek past pine trees, boulders, granite slabs, high alpine meadows and lakes
At 14,508′, California’s Mount Whitney is the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States. Thousands of mountaineers stand atop this towering peak in the Sierra Nevadas every year, but not all take the same path to get there.
On this tour, we invite you to discover the less-traveled “Mountaineer’s Route” to the summit. This alternative route gives you the chance to experience the natural beauty of Mount Whitney, without the crowds.
While standing atop Mount Whitney may be the highlight of this tour, the path to get there is equally beautiful. Along the “Mountaineer’s Route”, we will pass by pine trees, high alpine meadows, granite slabs, boulders and lakes. This route on the northeast side of Mount Whitney is especially beautiful during the summer months.
From the trailhead at Whitney Portal, we will begin our ascent via Lone Pine Creek’s North Fork. Once we reach Upper Boy Scout Lake (11,300′), we will start scouting out the perfect place to set up camp. This camp, between Upper Boy Scout Lake and Iceberg Lake (12,600′), will be our base camp for the duration of our tour on Mount Whitney.
After a good night’s sleep at our base camp, we will continue upward early the next morning. We will ascend through the “Mountaineer’s Chute”, occasionally using our hands and feet to scramble across granite.
While in the chute, we will be ascending at a 25-35° angle. As we approach the summit, you can expect this angle to increase slightly (40-45°). We will use a rope for safety in the steepest section, but you do not need to have any previous rock climbing experience. The terrain is not technical in nature and is rated at a Class 3 difficulty level.
Once we have reached the summit of Mount Whitney, we will slowly retrace our steps back down to our base camp. On the final day, we will descend back to the trailhead at Whitney Portal.
You can find a detailed day-by-day itinerary below.
While this climb is certainly an adventure in and of itself, we also recommend it to anyone who is trying out new gear for a more technical climb.
To book your tour with us on Mount Whitney, please click on “Request to book” now. We look forward to showing you the path less traveled to the summit of the contiguous United States’ tallest peak this summer.
If one summit is just not enough, you can join our triple summit tour on Mount Whitney, Mount Russell and Mount Muir. Click here for more information.
We look forward to being in touch with you!
- Guiding fee
Group meeting in Lone Pine, CA
Carpool to the trailhead at Whitney Portal
Ascend the North Fork of Lone Pine Creek to Upper Boy Scout Lake (11,300′)
Set up camp between Upper Boy Scout and Iceberg Lakes
“Lights out” early in preparation for the next day
Rise and shine early in the morning
Ascend to nearby Iceberg Lake (12,600′)
Scramble up the “Mountaineer’s Chute”
Non-technical climb to the summit plateu
MOUNT WHITNEY SUMMIT
Retrace our steps back down to our base camp
Generally, we arrive back to Whitney Portal around lunchtime.
More info
PERSONAL EQUIPMENT LIST Clothing: -Light or mid weight long underwear top and bottom -Pile or thick wool sweater -Synthetic climbing pants -Waterproof/breathable jacket -Waterproof/breathable pants -Gaiters -Wool or pile cap -Face mask or balaclava -Pile or wool gloves -Mountaineering socks -Liner socks (optional) -Baseball cap -Shorts -T-shirt
Gear: -Pack with 4000+ cubic inch capacity* -Sleeping bag with stuff sack rated to at least 20° F* -Sleeping pad* -Boots (sturdy enough for off trail 3rd class terrain)* -Climbing harness* -Carabiners (2 large pear-shaped screw gate locking) -Mountaineering helmet* -Trekking poles with the baskets attached* -Headlamp (with fresh batteries and a spare bulb)* -Dark glasses with side shields and UV protection -(2) 1-liter wide-mouthed water bottles (with a personalized identifying mark) -Pocket knife -Sunscreen with minimum SPF 15 -Lip balm with minimum SPF 15 -Eating utensils, bowl, insulated cup and spoon -Camera -Personal lunch food
*Gear marked with an asterisk is available to rent from Sierra Mountaineering International.
Meeting point
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5.0
(1)
Mountain Guide
Based in Bishop, California, Sierra Mountaineering International was created in 1995, just after its founder, Kurt Wedberg, returned from his first successful Everest expedition. Since then, Kurt climbed Everest two more times and completed the Seven Summits, all while leading more than 110 expeditions all over the world: from Alaska to Antarctica and from Russia to Ecuador and Peru.
Today, the Sierra Mountaineering Team is made up of eight guides and leaders with extensive experience in California´s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Contact them for a memorable experience in the Eastern Sierras!
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Certificates
AMGA
Man
5
Climbing with guide Guillaume was absolutely a highlight of my 2-week Europe vacation. Originally, we were planning on climbing in the Calanques, but the park was closed due to wind and fire danger. Guillaume chose another amazing location (Pic de Bretagne) based on my climbing abilities and preferences and kindly offered train station pick-up and hotel drop off, which I appreciated very much. The multi-pitch route we did was not only fun but also the right amount of challenge, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The communication from the team (Gauthier) was prompt and clear—highly recommend!
Maxine
5
Luis Silva was a great climbing guide and belayer! He taught me how to do moves that were difficult and encouraged me to try routes that were challenging for me! Because of his encouragement, I managed to complete these routes! I really enjoyed the climbs and completed 8 routes in the Sesimbra/Azoia area. The weather was perfect, no direct sun and cool enough to enjoy the climbs. Explore-Share made booking an outdoor climbing experience in Lisbon extremely easy. Luis, our guide, was fantastic, and the platform’s organization was flawless.
Valeriya
5
You’re simply the best!!! :))) Explore-Share made everything easy and stress-free. Will definitely use again.
Joshua
5
We had Léo as a guide for our day climb in Fonty. We were blessed with a knowledgeable, warm, and instructive guide. Communication with Léo and Ivan was smooth and swift. Explore-Share was excellent in arranging everything for our day climb. The communication was quick, and the platform was easy to use, making our adventure stress-free.
Cami
5
Patrick was a great guide. He took us on an intermediate Via Ferrata at Passo Sella. Renato was quick to respond with any outreach on the Explore-Share platform. The booking process was straightforward, and once Patrick was confirmed, all went well. It was a wonderful experience, and I’d highly recommend the platform.
4.8
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