John, higher up on the way to Russell, with an even better view of Whitney, the Needles and Muir (now looking slightly more significant). The ascent of Russell involved 3 main phases from our camp: this was at the end of Phase 1: a long scramble up steep scree (tiny rocks and sand). Phase 2 consisted of walking on relatively broad, flat shoulder of the mountain also filled with scree. Phase 3 would be the exciting part of a the climb: a traverse of a narrow and often exposed ridge line leading directly to Russell's eastern summit. Russell has two summits, the western one being the highest.