Finally the SUMMIT

We had started at 5:30 AM and were both on the summit by 11:50.  It was a great day.  Weather was overcast and helped keep the temperature very comfortable.  It was our mountain for the day.  We did not see a soul that day, although we did hear voices but they did not show their faces (if they were really there).  We enjoyed lunch (tuna with my tuna cleaning tool as you can see above) and signed in the summit register. 

The view of Mt Whitney's north face from the summit of Mt Russell. We could see the crowds of people on Mt.Whitney, but we did not share Mt. Russell's summit with anyone on this day.

On this summit ridge there was big exposure on the south side of the peak (my right).  One section we traversed onto the northern slope for about 50 yards and then to a notch that led to the down climb.

  The descent was casual with only one 3rd class section pictured below. 

The final 3rd class downclimb.  It was nice to have my rock shoes for the descent up until this point.  The talus slopes that followed would make me think twice about whether I should have brought up boots.

This talus field was relatively short and brought us back to our start point.  You can get a good view of the route's relief from the photo.  There are ledges on the arete that you can see here that were our belay stations as you go up.  The first face pitch pictured earlier is just above the first ledge.