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davelwang
Jun 15, 2005, 4:36 AM
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Hi all, I am planning a trip to do the north ridge of lone pine peak. Based on the beta I can get my hands on, there is a 5.4 section that some people apparently rate as 5.7. For those of you who has been there, what do you think of the difficulty? I can comfortably lead 5.6-ish but 5.7 is pushing it given the circumstances. Thanks! Dave
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poorboy
Jun 15, 2005, 5:01 AM
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I wouldn't worry about it; anything hard you can circumvent; there are many ways to go. It's not very sustained, just little bits of technical here and there.
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jv
Jun 15, 2005, 5:01 AM
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In reply to: Hi all, I am planning a trip to do the north ridge of lone pine peak. . . . I can comfortably lead 5.6-ish but 5.7 is pushing it given the circumstances. Unless your partner knows the way, better wait until you can cruise 5.7. Do some easier, shorter routes first. Consider West Ridge of Conness, for example. JV
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poorboy
Jun 15, 2005, 5:33 AM
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check out SummitPost.org --> Lone Pine Peak for more information
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the_dude
Jun 15, 2005, 5:40 AM
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I think 5.7 is about right on. The issue though is being able to move fast enough. The route is much longer than it looks. The key to getting it done is being able to move unroped on 5th class terrain and being comfortable on it. If you stayed roped up for every technical and exposed section, that thing would take a few days. If you're not comfortable climbing unroped for some sections, hold off on the route untill you get a few more routes under your belt. It will make it more enjoyable. Cheers
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graniteboy
Jun 16, 2005, 3:00 PM
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If you can't move fast on easy terrain (like 5.7, frinstance) you should work up to being able to do so before you go and grab lone pine peak. It's a long one. here's a good beginner's hit list to get your skill level there: Cathedral Pk (5.6) West ridge conness (5.6) Swiss Arete (5.6) Matthes crest (5.7) East face whitney car to car in a day (5.7) You should also study the art of simul-climbing. Good luck. And don't get in over your head.
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ksolem
Jun 16, 2005, 3:33 PM
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It's the East Buttress on Whitney that's 5.7, and it is a better route I think than the East Face too. North ridge of Lone Pine? Proper route finding will brings it in around 5.7 in my opinion. Without a rope: 5 - 6 hours. With a rope: 1 - 2 days.
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halcyon
Jun 16, 2005, 4:00 PM
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How are the bivy opportunities? Need a portalege?
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the_dude
Jun 20, 2005, 4:44 AM
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I'm assuming your not trolling about the portaledge. Definitely not. Mountain climbing don't require no ledge. If you did decide to bivy on this route there is an abundance of spots to choose from. You would be hating life humping bivy gear on your back the whole way. It's such a great route to climb, having a heavy pack would spoil the experience in my book. Cheers
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howweirddean
Jun 20, 2005, 4:53 AM
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In reply to: It's the East Buttress on Whitney that's 5.7, and it is a better route I think than the East Face too. Most new guides have upgraded the East Face to 5.7 also.
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graniteboy
Jun 20, 2005, 3:29 PM
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Yes Ksolem, the east face and east buttress are both 5.7. And the east butt is a nicer route, with less rockfall. I was sending him to the east face as it's a little easier route that would still give him a good number of pitches, and get him into that groove of moving through alot of easy pitches with a few class 5 moves here and there, similar to what he is training for.
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csproul
Jun 20, 2005, 4:03 PM
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There are a couple spots of 5.7/5.8. You can go around them but finding a good way around them is difficult. I found routefinding in general to be somewhat difficult. It is a long route, much longer than the other routes that people have mentioned (at least the ones I've done). If belaying pitches it would take forever. There are good bivy sites all along the route, but I think it would not be any fun to carry everything over the route and would slow you down even more.
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megableem
Jun 20, 2005, 4:18 PM
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ksolem
Jun 20, 2005, 5:20 PM
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I've done it 4 times - always solo. What everyone says about "multiple choice" route finding is true. The difficulty you encounter will depend on your route decisions (I get much better at finding the fast and easy way when I don't have a rope.) But at the last notch, when facing the final section of the ridge I have yet to find a particularly easy way to get started. It always seems like the first 100 feet or so are 5.7/8 and then it gets mellow again. I was unaware that the east face of MW has gotten 3 number grades harder over the last few years. How did that happen?
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micronut
Jun 20, 2005, 7:35 PM
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dave, how much Sierra or mtn. experience do you have? i wouldn't recomend this as a first route. that being said, car to car is the way to go. the days are long, the decent is easy and totally doable by headlamp............get a 4:30 am start.
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