Little Bear vs. Ellingwood/Blanca

[Scott P]

This may be a stupid question, and I know everyone is different, but which usually takes longer, Little Bear or Ellingwood/Blanca, assuming you aren't doing the traverse?

[HikerGuy]

On a weekday (no one else on route) with perfect weather, Little Bear took me less time than doing Ellingwood/Blanca the following day (also ideal conditions). I was camped above Lake Como across the trail from the Little Bear turnoff. I cannot remember the times exactly, but LB went much quicker than expected, so really becomes a mileage thing with E/B having the longer approach.

[Black Bear]

I would say that Little Bear takes less time, but that depends on how good of a climber you are. Climbing the hourglass and the final pitch to the summit involves scrambling and can add a lot of time if you arent comfortable with exposure or using your hands. If you are comfortable with climbing, then Little Bear will be quicker because it is shorter distance and less vertical to climb.
Not sure which one of the two traverses you are talking about (Little Bear-Blanca or Blanca-Ellingwood), but if you aren't doing the Blanca-Ellingwood traverse, I would recommend doing it. It will save you distance and vertical gain and is not really any more difficult than if you went down and re-climbed Ellingwood. It is well cairned and fairly easy to follow.

[twhalm]

I did these last weekend and we did Little Bear from the lake on day one and Ellingwood/Blanca with a high traverse the next day and finished almost exactly in the same amount of time. A lot of time was lost on Little Bear waiting for groups on the hourglass and just going slow on the loose sections. BUT it all depends how fast you move on different terrain.