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Trip Report: Mithril Dihedral, Mount Russell
August 14, 2026 3 min read
If you aspire to climb California's tallest peaks, then you have likely heard of Mt. Russell. Situated directly north of Mt. Whitney, Mt. Russell is a "fourteener" (its western summit at 14,094 ft) well-known for its plentitude of trad climbing routes up beautiful lines of granite that will have you both gasping in awe and for air.
Trip Report:
Current As Of: 28 July 2026*
Activity During Report: Off-trail hiking, scrambling, 5.10a climbing at high altitude
We decided to climb the Mithril Dihedral, inspired by the aesthetic nature of the dihedral and a love for climbing in splitter crack + corner systems. The route is a Grade III, 5.10a high alpine trad climb.
We also decided to do this route as a part of a multi-day backpacking trip - after securing a North Fork of Lone Pine Creek backpacking permit from Inyo National Forest via recreation.gov, we were set to go.
The ascent to Iceberg Lake
The approach up to Iceberg Lake, where we set up base camp, is tedious and arduous with a heavy pack. Be sure to give yourself ample time to navigate trail cruxes, like the E ledges, willow and slab labyrinth between Upper and Lower Boy Scout Lakes, and final talus and scree field below Iceberg Lake if this is your first time in this drainage. We set-up a cowboy camp and crashed hard this first evening.
On the approach
Mithril Dihedral is a notoriously cold route, starting around 13,000ft and sitting in shade most of the morning. We enjoyed a leisurely morning, sipping coffee and eating breakfast in the sun, before traversing around Iceberg Lake and over Whitney-Russell Pass to the base of the route. The first two pitches were in the sun, and by the time we reached the classic dihedral for pitch 3 and 4, the sun too had just barely reached this corner. Despite temperatures hoovering around 100 degrees in Owens Valley, we were happiest climbing in the sun up here.
Dihedral climbing galore
After navigating linked dihedral pitches, lie-back exit pitch 5, and a few more low-angle pitches along the ridge, we reached the taller, western summit of Mt. Russell. We could hear exuberant whooping and hollering from Mt. Whitney next door, in addition to western views into Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, and eastern views of the Owens Valley, Inyo Mountains, and Conglomerate Mesa. My favorite sight: Tulainyo Lake, a massive lake sitting high in the basin northeast of Russell.
Summit Views
We down-climbed Russel's upper ridge towards the eastern summit, before descending a 3rd/4th class gully south back towards our base camp at Iceberg Lake. The lower portion of this gully is loose 2nd class, requiring attention and care. Sky pilots and other wildflowers adorned the off-trail path back to our cowboy camp home.
With its majestic setting, inspiring movement, aesthetic line and classic summit, Mithril Dihedral is easily one of my favorite alpine climbs I've done in the High Sierra.
The descent
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*All conditions reports are subject to change, increasingly so with each passing day since the observation(s) were made. They are provided as a tool to assist your adventuring, not to replace your own risk management and decision-making. No information in any trip or conditions report published by Eastside Sports should be considered definitive in its information or directive in its recommendation.
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