Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board 2024

The 2 recent summits have been via variations up The Chute...
One up the left side of Doug's Rib (an exposed section of rock in the middle - it's visible in at least one of the photos above) and the other up the right side...

There is a report (above) of (possible) ascents via The Switchbacks...I'm going to check that out on Monday...I also still have a desire to do the Whitney/Russell Pass / Arctic Lakes Drainage / JMT/West Side ascent with a return to The Portal via The Main Trail...

We are hoping to attempt the switchback from Trail Camp on Wednesday so I would love to hear back on how they're looking on Monday!

A quick recap of the week storm systen last weekend snow on the upper elevations and cold wind all week surface was turning from somewhat soft snow to glazed over icy surface many hours of the day.

Forecast for yesterday 20% chance for moisture , we had several periods of sleet.snow and thunder upper parts of the mountain white out condition with the high winds and very cold. Many turning back about Mirror Lake , trail somewhat hard to follow above Mirror Lake with many false tracks , trail apps not helpful in this section as will want to follw trail and that leads into a steep head wall.

We are in the very normal spring season ,unstable weather cold nights and melting during the day that turns to ice early afternoon in the shaded areas or when we get cloud cover or wind .

We have often request for crampon rentals , please don't get tricked into some one said... winter mountaineering skills and at least many lower elevation trips to understand that every day every hour the mountain condition can change , this requires adapting to the conditions , if you haven't encountered these changes , gear could lead you into a unsafe area for your ability.

Whitney area had a tragic event this week , a repeat of last fall. The west side of the mountain, the final section of the mountaineers route is very icy and the snow from last week is on top of that icy surface. These events are very sad and we share the sadness with the friends and families.

Hello, Brett Williams here. I am going to post a new thread w/ photos & a full recap. but my friends and I made the summit yesterday in a very narrow margin. We hit the trail from Whitney Portal trail camp at 2am. We knew we may encounter weather, but our permit day was May 10 so we went w/ the intention of going as far as we could hoping the weather would hold up. We were met w/ snow flurries immediately...clear skies by the time we got to mirror lake. We had made it to trail camp on May 8th during the day to get to know the trail so we would know where we were going...this was the best thing we could have done. As it's been suggested on this board, it's very hard to follow the trail from mirror lake to Trail camp. We used FATMAP which marked the trail digitally, but it was micro spikes and hiking to make it.


Sunny skies and the sun had our hopes high as we hit trail camp, we re-filled water at trail meadow and made our way up the chute. about 60 minutes up the chute which at this point had some tracks, but most were snowed over. So we made our own switchbacks. Poles & Cramp-ons were the best method for me personally. others in my group used their axes.


We made it to trail crest at 9am, clouds rolled in while we were on our way to the summit.

1030 summit


11am it began to snow and we started our descent down. By 11:30 it was snowing hard. but luckily no wind. the hike back to the chute was slow and difficult. this took about 75 minutes.


Once back at the chute the sun was back. We had fresh powder on the chute and so we slid on our butts with ice axes and made our way down. an amazing adventure.

The rest of the way down was a mix of snow & sun. it seemed to change every 30 minutes. dumping snow, then sun, then dumping snow. the snow seemed to reach all the way down to a mile or so from the trailhead.

we made it, safe & sound and so happy we left when we did. We passed 3 groups that got stuck on the chute and did not summit due to the snow storm. Im also thankful we were safe, didnt push our limits and never felt out of control. it was an incredible day.

I am going to post a new thread with pictures and a full recap. thank you to this thread for their help, especially Doug at the Whitney Portal store who walked us through there chute the day before and a very helpful breathing technique!

came down to the tragic news of 2 hikers. im grateful for our experience. I hope this can be helpful to future climbers/hikers. it's fun, but it's very very real & dangerous.

appreciate you all.

brett

Hi Brett - great post, I appreciate it so much. I have permits to hike May 22-25. Based on the below there are enough running water so we don't need to carry extra from portal to outpost?

Let me know how it goes, we are hiking May 22-25. Happy hiking!

There is running water at trail meadow, about .5 mile from trail camp. I carried 3L in a bladder in my pack and an empty Nalgene bottle. I filled the Nalgene at trail meadow and replenished another 1L in my bladder. This got me to the summit and back to Trail meadow where I replenished another 3L...I likely didnt need all that water for the way back to camp, but it was all downhill and I wanted to be as hydrated as possible.

I got up to Trail Camp later than I wanted to and wasn't willing to give up a summit (in case The Switchbacks didn't go)...

Here are a few photos (comments below):


Zoom in and you'll see that there is a boot track on the outside of The Cables...



The critical section (Switchback 45, I believe.)...there is a boot track visible around it if you zoom in to the right edge of the photo...

I was too tired to climb up to have a look at Switchback 97...


My opinion: I don't think The Switchbacks are a go yet for "normal" hikers and I don't think I would waste the effort dealing with that terrain right now...The Chute is still the logical way to climb to Trailcrest...


Here's an overview shot of The Switchbacks from the West Side Trail...

The North Fork today...

BTW: more sad news...A climber on the E-Ledges was hit by a rock ...he didn't survive...

The Summit Marmot is out-and-about...Looks pretty fat already...

Adding a little info...there is a Spring flowing a few hundred yards prior to Outpost and also the Cascade at the far end of the camp.

If we ask nicely, maybe we can get Jeff M to provide a link to Bob's Water Sources document.

To find Bob's Water Sources documents on this Message Board:

Go to the topic WPSMB Member Photo Albums Links, then to Bob R. At the end of his numerous contributions, there are two of is albums, one for water sources for the Main Trail and one for the North Fork approach to the East Face routes and beyond. Each album has 14 photos and a detailed map showing locations.

Enjoy the "delicious" water flowing on the Mountain. Thanks Bob!

Jim

Thank you so much - I found the following (http://www.summitpost.com/docs/BobR/Whitney_water_trail.pdf), we will use cautious and stay safe. I appreciate all the info Richard.

A few more random comments from yesterday's climb:

-Finally a somewhat successful climb...I made it back down before the WPS closing to talk to the Crew...Success only recognized if a burger can be ordered...

-Hiked from the Cascade Turn to Mirror Lake with Dave and Family...recognized the face, but couldn't remember the name...

-It's starting to feel like summer (crowd-wise)...many people on the mountain...

-Youngest Climber I've seen this year:


Roped up with Mon and Dad...saw them again less than 1/2 mile from the summit...
BTW: Mom was carrying the BIG pack and was the lead end of the rope...


-Don't get suckered into following the Dry Trail off of the summit plateau...you'll be in for a LONG traverse on hard, wind-blown snow...

-The snow is deteriorating fast...postholing on the way down was just shy of horrendous...
I'd call the backside 50% melted out...but there are still plenty of steep traverses...

-Assisted Jimmy (from China - student in Wisconsin) down...he got lost on the descent and ended up coming down the Waterfall at Outpost...near panic mode while yelling at me for help...

Hey great to see you yesterday also for all the photos. One that I like shows the old switchbacks before one of the new routes to the cable area, often you can see the bottom area out of trailcamp. I understand the new trail was to avoid the scree and snow damage over the winters , but was out in the sun so would melt out sooner many changes over the last 120 years for sure!

We are hinting that people using the trail apps make sure you check that the app detects your location at the trailhead and check often before you get to the snow covered areas.

Hey All!

Camped at Portal May 13. Went up Main Route May 14. Camped at Trail Camp. May 15 successful summit and full descent! I've attached a link to my google drive photos/videos of the conditions.

Notes:

-No Snow first 3 miles up to the Whitney Zone Entrance(Just past Lone Pine Lake). From there up to Outpost are large snow pockets.

-Outpost camp is pretty clear of snow.

-Above Outpost all the way to Trail camp is a snow field. Once the snow starts, feel free to throw on crampons since it takes you all the way!

-Plenty of water along the entire route up. Water can be filtered from a couple holes in the lake at Trail Camp. No need to bring extra water up with you.

-Start going up the snow chute early! No later than 5-6am ideally for best snow conditions. 99 Switchbacks still iced/snow covered; stick to the chute. Need Ice Axe and CRAMPONS***, not microspikes! Make sure you know the difference or you will get turned around!

-From Trail Crest the upper backside has many snow drift deposits. About 75% of the remaining trail is covered in snow. There's a pretty good snow pack in place, but still many steep, narrow spots. I kept my crampons on, even through the longer stretches of clear trail to the next snow areas. See photos to gauge.

-Coming down from the peak at 1pm the snow quality started getting soft. Was able to glissade down the chute with ease, but the trail from the summit to the crest became sketchy at multiple steep spots. Would recommend descending earlier for ideal snow quality, so start the chute early!

****Final 400 of the Mountaineer's Route (North Fork) is covered in snow. Word is the "Class 2" Traverse is iced out and incredibly dangerous. I've added a photo in the drive looking down on the final 400 from above.

Google Drive Whitney May 2024

Slightly higher temperatures this week causing a lot of melt and softer snow. Keep an eye out on weather and temperatures over the next week. Temp aiming to drop at higher elevations which can ice things up!

ComradeBear,

Thanks for the TR!

In your photo of the Final 400, a climber is seen and getting close to topping out. Did you have a chance to talk to him? If so, did the climber make any comments on conditions on the MR?

Much appreciated.

Jim

Yes, his name was Matt, and he was wondering if there was anybody up at the peak as he had seen two snowboards and a pack sitting at the notch. I had to explain the incident that took place the week prior.

As for the conditions, he said that the snow quality was good up the chute and the final 400, but the traverse from the notch is totally iced and dangerous. As you can see from the photo, all of the final 400 is pretty much covered with steep snow at the moment. He didn't mention anything about conditions from before Iceberg Lake(I should have asked, but my mind was set on getting back down before the snow became too soft/slushy.)

Temperature projections show dropping below freezing again(daytime) at 14k this next week. If anyone plans to go up, be cautious of the snow quality, as it was soft and melting this past week at higher elevations. There could easily be ice now and snow could drop on top of it.

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum. I'm heading to Whitney from Cottonwood Meadows with a friend (multi day trip): we start on Tuesday 5/21/24. We will be going via Rock Creek and up the Dreaded Sandhill. Has anyone been here recently? What are the snow conditions like from Cottonwood Pass to Crabtree Pass? A recent picture would be great! I'm just wondering if I need to bring snowshoes or just micro spikes...
Thanks!