Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Climb MR -Summit & Return By Traditional Rt N aDay

During the week of Feb. 7 thru 12 I am planning on a Solo day trip by way of the Mountaineers Route then to the summit and return by the Traditional route via the snow field to the right of the switchbacks.From Trail Camp I will follow towards the right descending as the snow conditions allow in a long day.

I will drive up as far as the Portal road will take me and spend the night to help acclimatize.The next morning around 3am I will ascend by headlamp the Mountaineers Route reaching the summit and returning to my vehicle by dark or soon after barring any unforeseen issues. The weather during that week is expected but not guaranteed to be clear and free of any storms.The snow conditions should be nice due to current consolidation.The distance will be greatly shortened due to somewhat easier direct snow travel.

This will be my 26th ascent of Whitney and my first in true Winter.I will track my progress with a Spot 2 & take pics.

If any one has a few days off this will be a great time to summit Whitney under pristine crowd-less conditions. The allure of Whitney keeps me coming back as it does for many others.

Climb safe! I'm planning a trip in the coming weeks. I'd very much appreciate a report on the road and trail conditions. Good luck!

Can I ask when you're going tdmorgan79? I've been looking for some partners for that climb. Let me know if you're interested. ~Mark

The conditions were excellent on Sat the 12th for climbing the Mountaineers Route. I started out at 1am on the Portal Road, just past the road closed sign when I veered left cross country up to the next level of road reducing my walk along the Portal road significantly. The cross country route was free of any snow to speak of. I reached the summit at 9am. I spent little time on the summit wanting to utilize as much daylight on the descent. I descended the Traditional route with good conditions. The entire climb was accomplished on firm snow pack where the use of my snow shoes were never needed. The Mountaineers gully to the notch was in great shape. The final 400 was uneventful as long as you know the consequences if you slip. I have to say it was one of my favorite days on the mountain and my 26th ascent. I reached my car as the sun went down onto another awesome day on Whitney.

I am planning another ascent of the Mountaineers Route & return by the same route on the weekend of my 53 birthday of April 1, 2011 if the weather Gods cooperate.

Hi Mark,

I was planning on this weekend (19th or 20th), but it looks like the weather isn't cooperating - http://www.easternsierraforecast.com/forecast/?cat=5.

If I do decide to go, I'll post here.

Looks my Mt. Whitney climb scheduled for this weekend is officially postponed (I'm more concerned about avalanche danger than the cold and wind):

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php...nit=0&lg=en

Congrats MYIMMORTALITY! From one 53 year old to a 'soon to be' another. Sound like a perfect climb of the MR. Do you have any pix to share?

Hope the Sierra weather gods cooperate on your b-day... An April Fool's trick would be just plain cruel...

Hey, new to the board. Some guys and myself are coming out to do the MR March 18-19. From what I've gathered, it seems like this mountain sees quite a bit of traffic, even in winter (albeit, when weather is good). Does anyone have a guesstimate as to how many folks would be on this trail in Mid March (favorable weather/conditions)?
-PM

Congrats MYIMMORTALITY... That is quite the impressive feat for one day. You covered some serious terrain - those must have been some stellar conditions working on your behalf! I second the motion to post some pics if you have them.

Welcome, PeakyMonkey - I see that you're from the Phoenix area too. Ironically enough, I'm meeting some folks (maybe 4-5) out there second weekend of March to do the MR. Of course, that's assuming favorable conditions...

--Ben

SummitswithIPAs LOL love the screen name B! It turns out that we have confirmed 7 possibly 8 for March 11-13th. I figure we'll be able to meet a lot of other climbers this way. Most of these guys want to climb Rainier and Shasta as well! Should be good times!

Mr MY IMMORTALITY --
great job on your winter up over and back ..were u actually able to walk on top of the snow pretty much the whole way ? How much snow would you guesstimate is on the ground average from lower BSL to base of MR ?
thanks

Yes the snow was firm going from the Portal Trailhead past LBS,UBS & the bottom of MR to Notch & beyond. Starting out at 1am at the road closed sign helped insure the snow would be good for quick travel to the summit. As far as the snow pack on Feb 12th I would say more than adequate to bypass the E ledges & ascend with out many obstacles to the summit. I moved relatively quickly on excellent snow for cramponing. The snow shoes I brought along were not necessary.

Check out MAZIMAN's vid on Feb 12-14 ascent of MR to IB lake. It displays snow cover & conditions very nicely.

It was an awesome climb... Looking forward to going again soon hopefully on my 53 Birthday weekend of April 1.

According to the current weather report Whitney will have a few feet of new snow within the week which will change everything!!

Have fun & B Safe.

thanks. that sounds real nice for winter travel..
unfort cant get video at work